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RELIGION  IN  AMERICA; 


OR.    AN    ACCOUNT    OF 


THE  ORIGIN,  PROGRESS,  RELATION  TO  THE  STATE,  AND  PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE 
EVANGELICAL  CHURCHES  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


WITH    NOTICES    OF    THE    UNEVANGELICAL    DENOMINATIONS 


AUTHOR    OP 

'L'UNION  DE  L'EGLISE  AVEC  L'ETAT  DANS  LA  NOUVELLE  ANGLETERRE." 


NEW-YORK: 

PUBLISHED    BY   HARPER    &    BROTHERS. 

No.  8  2  Cliff-Street. 

18  45.   ■      ' 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1844,  by 

Hakper  &  Brothers, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Southern  District  of  New-York. 


RECOMMENDATORY  NOTICE 


REV.  DRS.  DAVID  WELSH,  WILLIAM  CUNNINGHAM,  AND  ROBERT 

BUCHANAN. 

Having  had  an  opportunity  of  perusing  a  considerable  portion  of  the  following  work 
while  it  was  passing  through  the  press,  we  have  no  hesitation  in  complying  with  a  re- 
quest made  to  us  by  the  publishers,  to  recommend  it  to  the  attention  of  the  British 
public.  The  author  is  an  esteemed  minister  of  the  American  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  has  had  full  access  to  the  best  and  most  authentic  sources  of  information  on  the 
various  subjects  which  he  discusses,  while  his  personal  acquaintance  with  the  state  of 
religion  and  the  condition  of  the  churches,  both  in  Britain  and  on  the  Continent,  has 
afforded  him  peculiar  advantages  in  selecting  the  materials  with  regard  to  the  state  of 
religion,  and  the  efforts  made  for  its  promotion  in  America,  which  it  might  be  most  in- 
teresting and  useful  for  the  British  churches  to  possess  and  to  examine.  The  work 
contains  a  very  large  amount  of  interesting  and  valuable  information  with  regard  to  the 
origin  and  the  history  of  the  different  religious  bodies  in  the  United  States,  and  their 
doctrines,  constitution,  organization,  and  agency,  their  relations  with  each  other,  and 
the  character  and  results  of  the  efforts  they  are  making  to  promote  religion  in  their 
own  country  and  in  other  lands.  It  supplies  a  larger  amount  of  information  upon  all 
these  important  topics  than  any  work  with  which  we  are  acquainted ;  and  there  can 
be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the  information  it  contains  is  well  fitted  to  encourage  the 
efforts  of  all  churches  which  are  similarly  situated  to  those  in  America,  and  to  afford 
some  important  practical  lessons  in  the  prosecution  of  those  great  objects  which  all 
Christian  churches,  in  every  variety  of  external  circumstances,  are  bound  to  aim  at. 
We  do  not  agree  in  all  the  opinions  which  the  esteemed  author  has  expressed,  but  we 
admire  the  judicious,  benevolent,  candid,  and  catholic  spirit  by  which  the  work  is  per- 
vaded. We  regard  the  publication  of  this  work  in  our  own  country  as  a  boon  conferred 
upon  the  British  churches,  not  merely  because  it  gives  a  fuller  view  than  could  any- 
where else  be  obtained  of  "  Religion  in  America,"  but  also  because  it  is  well  fitted  to 
promote  a  spirit  of  love  and  kindness  among  the  churches  of  Christ,  and  to  diffuse  more 
widely  the  benefits  which  may  be  derived  from  a  judicious  use  of  the  experience  of  the 
American  churches,  in  the  peculiar  circumstances  in  which,  in  providence,  they  have 
been  placed,  and  in  connexion  with  the  peculiar  way  in  which  the  Head  of  the  Church 
has  been  pleased  to  make  them  instrumental  in  accomplishing  his  gracious  purposes. 
Whatever  diversities  of  opinion  may  prevail  in  this  country  on  some  important  points 
connected  with  the  condition  and  prospects  of  religion  in  America,  no  candid  man  will 
deny  that  religion  has  there  been  placed  in  circumstances,  and  has  appeared  in  aspects, 
which  are  well  worthy  of  serious  consideration,  and  from  a  judicious  investigation  of 
which,  important  practical  lessons  are  to  be  learned.  And  on  this  ground  we  hail  with 
much  satisfaction  the  publication  of  a  work  which  contains  a  very  large  amount  of  in- 
formation upon  this  interesting  and  important  subject,  and  cordially  recommend  it  to 
the  perusal  of  British  Christians. 

David  Welsh, 
William  Cunningham, 
Robert  Buchanan. 

Edinburgh,  September,  1843. 


PREFACE   TO   THE  AMERICAN  EDITION. 


The  reader  will  learn  from  the  preface  to  the  English  edition  of  this  work, 
that  it  was  originally  intended  to  meet  the  wishes  of  Christians  on  the  Conti- 
nent. Valued  friends  in  Great  Britain  having,  however,  expressed  the  belief 
that  it  might  be  useful  in  that  country,  it  was  published  there  in  the  month  of 
September  last,  being  introduced  to  the  Christian  public  by  the  very  kind  and 
flattering  recommendation  of  the  Rev.  Drs.  Welsh,  Buchanan,  and  Cunning- 
ham, of  Edinburgh.  Upon  his  return  to  this  country  in  November,  the  en- 
terprising publishers  who  present  this  work  to  the  American  public  having 
expressed  their  willingness  to  undertake  its  publication,  the  author  at  once  ap- 
plied himself  to  the  task  of  giving  it  a  thorough  revision,  in  order  to  make  it 
as  useful  as  possible  in  this  country.  In  doing  so,  he  has  availed  himself  of 
the  aid  of  many  excellent  men  of  almost  all  our  evangelical  denominations,  in 
order  to  give  not  only  the  most  exact,  but  also  the  most  recent  information 
respecting  our  churches. 

And  although  the  well-informed  American  reader  will  see  many  things  in 
this  book  with  which  he  is  already  familiar,  yet  it  is  presumed  he  will  find 
some  things,  especially  taken  in  the  connexion  in  which  they  are  presented, 
that  may  both  interest  and  profit  him.  There  is  no  work  among  us  that  goes 
over  the  whole  ground  which  the  author  has  attempted  to  survey  and  de- 
scribe in  this  book. 

At  first  he  thought  of  abridging  certain  portions,  especially  the  first,  fourth, 
and  fifth  books  ;  but  he  was  dissuaded  from  this  by  the  publishers,  who  pre- 
ferred to  give  it  entire,  and  to  put  it  at  a  price  which  would  place  it  within 
the  reach  of  all  who  might  wish  to  have  it. 

The  reader  will  perceive  that  the  work  throughout,  even  in  its  American 
dress,  bears  the  stamp  of  being  written,  as  it  really  was,  for  the  perusal,  and 
the  author  would  fain  hope  the  benefit,  of  Europeans.  To  have  altered  this 
would  have  required  the  remodelling  of  the  whole  plan  of  the  work ;  nor 
was  it  necessary,  inasmuch  as  the  information  is  just  as  well  conveyed  in  the 
one  form  as  in  the  other. 

In  writing  this  work,  the  author,  if  he  has  not  been  self-deceived,  has  simply 
aimed  at  giving  a  faithful  picture  of  the  religious  and  moral  state  of  his  coun- 
try. He  has  endeavoured  to  write  in  strict  accordance  with  fact  and  truth. 
He  trusts  that  in  doing  so  he  has  not  violated  that  Christian  charity  which 
ought  to  regulate  our  opinions  as  well  as  our  actions  in  relation  to  others.  It 
has  given  him  great  pleasure  to  speak  of  the  zeal  and  the  prosperity  of  all  the 
evangelical  denominations  in  our  land ;  and  if  he  has  said  anything  which 


vi  PREFACE   TO   THE   AMERICAN   EDITION. 

may  not  be  entirely  acceptable  to  them,  he  begs  that  it  may  be  ascribed  to 
inadvertence  or  want  of  correct  information.  Of  those  which  are,  in  his 
opinion,  not  evangelical,  he  has  tried  to  say  what  he  deems  to  be  the  truth, 
in  no  unkindness  of  spirit.  He  felt  compelled,  however,  to  follow  what  he 
believed  to  be  the  clear  demands  of  truth. 

It  is  probable  that  many  readers  will  not  agree  with  the  author  in  all  his 
statements  and  computations,  especially  those  which  are  contained  in  the 
Conclusion  of  the  work.  He  only  requests  such  persons  to  take  the  pains 
which  he  has  done  to  examine  into  the  facts  of  the  case ;  and  then,  if  they 
differ  from  him,  he  can  have  no  reason  to  complain.  But  he  is  of  the  opinion 
that  but  few  people  have  taken  the  trouble  necessary  to  form  a  correct  judg- 
ment respecting  either  the  present  state  or  the  past  progress  of  evangelical 
religion  among  us.  In  what  he  has  written  on  this  subject,  he  has  endeav- 
oured to  state  only  what  appeared  to  him  to  be  true.  It  is  due  to  candour, 
however,  to  say,  that  it  is  possible  a  strong  feeling  of  patriotism — he  hopes  a 
Christian  patriotism — may  have  led  him  to  take  a  more  favourable  view  of 
some  things  than  others  may  be  able  to  do. 

He  is  aware  that  on  some  subjects  he  has  incurred  the  danger  of  those 
who  would  walk  over  hidden  fires  ;  but  he  trusts  to  that  "  charity"  which  will 
believe  that  he  has  tried  to  discuss  these  matters  in  an  impartial  spirit. 

The  work  in  its  American  form  is  that  from  which  the  translation  is  to  be 
made  into  French,  and  probably  into  German  and  one  or  two  other  langua- 
ges on  the  Continent.  The  author  has,  therefore,  made  it  more  full  on  some 
points,  and  especially  in  its  summary  statements  in  the  Conclusion,  than  it  is 
in  the  English  edition. 

Such  as  it  is,  he  commends  it  to  the  blessing  of  God,  and  bespeaks  for  it  a 
candid  consideration  on  the  part  of  his  countrymen  and  fellow-Christians 

New-York,  January,  1844. 


PREFACE. 


A  few  words  respecting  the  circumstances  which  have  led  to  the  prep- 
aration and  publication  of  the  work  now  submitted  to  the  reader  seem  to  be 
required  by  way  of  preface. 

In  the  year  1835,  at  the  instance  of  several  distinguished  Christian  gentle- 
men of  his  native  land,  the  author  visited  the  Continent  of  Europe  for  the 
prosecution  of  certain  religious  and  philanthropic  objects,  and  in  this  pursuit 
he  has  been  employed  during  the  eight  years  that  have  since  elapsed.  He 
has  had  occasion,  in  the  course  of  that  period,  to  visit  repeatedly  almost  every 
country  on  the  Continent,  and  has  been  led,  also,  to  spend  some  time,  more 
than  once,  in  England  and  in  Scotland,  from  the  latter  of  which  two  countries 
his  forefathers  were  compelled,  by  persecution,  to  emigrate  two  hundred  years 
ago. 

In  the  course  of  his  Continental  journies,  his  engagements  introduced  him 
to  the  acquaintance  of  a  goodly  number  of  distinguished  individuals,  belong- 
ing to  almost  all  professions  and  stations  in  society.  Among  these  are  many 
who  rank  high  in  their  respective  countries  for  enlightened  piety,  zeal,  and 
usefulness  in  their  several  spheres.  From  such  persons  the  author  has  had 
innumerable  inquiries  addressed  to  him,  in  all  the  places  he  has  visited,  some- 
times by  letter,  but  oftener  in  conversation,  respecting  his  native  country,  and 
especially  respecting  its  religious  institutions.  To  satisfy  such  inquiries  when 
addressed  to  him  by  an  illustrious  individual,*  whom  God  has  called  from  the 
scene  of  her  activity  in  this  world  to  Himself,  he  wrote  a  small  work  on  the 
Origin  and  Progress  of  Unitarianism  in  the  United  States,  f  But  that  little 
work,  while  it  so  far  satisfied  curiosity  on  one  subject,  seemed  but  to  augment 
it  with  regard  to  others ;  so  that,  without  neglecting  what  was  by  his  friends 
as  well  as  himself  deemed  a  manifest  duty,  the  author  had  no  alternative 
but  to  accede  to  the  earnest  request  of  some  distinguished  friends  in  Ger- 
many, Sweden,  France,  and  Switzerland,  that  he  would  write  a  work  as 
extensive  as  the  subject  might  require,  on  the  origin,  history,  economy,  ac- 
tion, and  influence  of  religion  in  the  United  States.  This  task  he  has  en- 
deavoured to  accomplish  in  the  course  of  the  summer  and  autumn  that  have 
just  elapsed,  and  which  he  has  been  permitted  to  spend  in  this  ancient  city, 
whose  institutions,  and  the  influence  of  whose  great  Reformer,  have,  through 
their  bearings  on  the  history  of  England  and  Scotland,  so  greatly  affected 

*  The  late  Duchess  de  Broglie. 

t  This  work  was  published  in  Paris  in  1837,  under  the  title,  "L'Union  de  TEglise  et  de  PEtat  dans  la 
Nouvelle  Angleterre." 


viii  PREFACE. 

the  colonization,  political  government,  and  religious  character  of  the  greater 
part  of  North  America. 

His  aim  throughout  this  work  has  been,  neither  to  construct  a  theory  on 
any  controverted  point  in  the  economy  of  the  Church,  or  its  relations  to  the 
State  in  any  European  country,  nor  to  defend  the  political  organizations  of 
his  own,  or  the  conduct  of  its  government,  on  any  measure,  properly  political, 
whether  of  foreign  or  domestic  policy.  His  sole  and  simple  object  has  been 
to  delineate  the  religious  doctrines  and  institutions  of  the  United  States,  and 
to  trace  their  influence,  from  their  first  appearance  in  the  country  down  to  the 
present  time,  with  as  little  reference  as  possible  to  any  other. 

The  author  has  mingled  freely  with  his  Protestant  brethren  in  all  the  coun- 
tries of  Europe  where  Protestants  are  to  be  found,  whatever  might  be  their 
political  sentiments,  and  whatever  the  religious  communions  to  which  they 
belonged.  He  has  received  nothing  but  kindness  from  them  all.  And  while 
it  would  be  the  merest  affectation  of  impartiality,  and  most  unbecoming  in 
him  as  a  Christian,  to  profess  having  formed  no  opinion  on  the  various  ques- 
tions so  warmly  discussed  among  them,  and  especially  on  the  relations  which 
do,  or  ought  to,  subsist  between  the  Church  and  the  State — a  question  so 
much  agitated  at  the  present  moment  in  some  countries,  and  which  seems 
destined,  ere  long,  to  be  so  in  many  others — yet  he  can  most  conscientiously 
say  that  he  has  not  allowed  himself  to  be  involved  in  any  of  them,  nor  is  he 
aware  of  having  written  a  sentence  in  the  present  work  with  the  view  either 
of  supporting  or  opposing  any  of  them.  He  has  endeavoured  to  confine  him- 
self throughout  to  a  faithful  exhibition  of  the  religious  institutions  of  his  native 
country — their  nature,  their  origin,  their  action,  and  their  effects.  His  first 
desire  has  been  to  satisfy  the  reasonable  curiosity  of  those  at  whose  request 
he  writes  ;  his  second  and  most  strenuous  endeavour  has  been  to  promote  the 
extension  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom  in  the  world,  by  communicating  some  in- 
formation respecting  measures  which,  through  God's  blessing,  have  proved 
useful  in  America  without  having  anything  to  adapt  them  to  that  country 
more  than  to  any  other. 

The  more  that  the  author  has  seen  of  the  Christian  world,  the  more  has  he 
been  impressed  with  the  conviction  that,  whatever  relations  the  churches 
maintain  with  the  civil  powers,  whatever  their  exterior  forms  or  even  their 
internal  discipline,  nothing  in  these  respects  can  compensate  for  the  want  of 
soundness  of  doctrine  and  vital  piety.  Not  that,  as  some  seem  to  do,  he  would 
treat  those  things  as  matters  of  indifference ;  for  he  firmly  believes  the  main- 
tenance and  promotion  of  true  religion  to  be  much  affected  by  them ;  but  it 
is  not  in  them  that  we  are  to  look  for  that  panacea  for  all  evils  which  many 
hope  to  find  in  them,  or  any  substitute  for  the  agency  which  God  has  ap- 
pointed for  securing  the  effectual  reception  of  his  glorious  salvation.  That 
agency,  he  humbly  conceives,  is  the  presentation  of  the  Gospel  in  all  its  ful- 
ness, in  all  proper  ways,  and  on  all  suitable  occasions,  by  a  spiritually-minded 
ministry,  ordained  and  set  apart  to  that  work,  combined  with  holy  living, 
faithful  co-operation  in  their  proper  spheres,  and  earnest  prayer  on  the  part 
of  the  members,  in  general,  of  the  churches.     The  parts  of  his  work,  accord- 


PREFACE.  ix 

ino-ly,  that  relate  to  this  agency  and  its  results  in  the  experience  of  the  church- 
es in  the  United  States,  are  those  in  which  he  himself  feels  most  interest,  and 
to  which  he  would  specially  direct  the  attention  of  the  reader. 

The  author  has  divided  his  work  into  eight  Books.  The  First  is  devoted 
to  preliminary  remarks  intended  to  throw  light  on  various  points,  so  that 
readers  the  least  conversant  with  American  history  and  society  may,  without 
difficulty,  understand  what  follows.  Some  of  these  preliminary  remarks  may 
be  thought  at  first  not  very  pertinent  to  the  subject  in  hand,  but  reasons  will 
probably  be  found  for  changing  this  opinion  before  the  reader  comes  to  the 
end  of  the  volume. 

The  Second  Book  treats  of  the  early  colonization  of  the  country  now  form- 
ing the  United  States ;  the  religious  character  of  the  first  European  colonists 
— their  ecclesiastical  institutions — and  the  state  of  the  churches  when  the 
Revolution  took  place  by  which  the  colonies  became  independent  of  the 
mother-country. 

The  Third  treats  of  the  changes  involved  in  and  consequent  upon  that 
event — the  influence  of  those  changes — the  character  of  the  civil  governments 
of  the  States — and  the  relations  subsisting  between  those  governments  and 
the  churches. 

The  Fourth  exhibits  the  operations  of  the  voluntary  system  in  the  United 
States,  and  the  extent  of  its  influence. 

The  Fifth  treats  of  the  discipline  of  the  churches — the  character  of  Ameri- 
can preaching — and  the  subject  of  revivals. 

The  Sixth  is  occupied  with  brief  notices  of  the  evangelical  denominations 
in  the  United  States — their  ecclesiastical  polity  and  discipline — the  doctrines 
peculiar  to  each — their  history  and  prospects. 

The  Seventh  treats  in  like  manner  of  the  unevangelical  sects. 
The  Eighth  shows  what  the  churches  are  doing  in  the  way  of  sending  the 
Gospel  to  other  lands. 

From  the  very  nature  of  such  a  work,  it  was  requisite  that  the  author  should 
consult  many  authorities.  In  order  to  procure  the  requisite  materials,  he 
visited  his  native  country  last  year,  and  so  abundantly  was  he  supplied  with 
what  he  needed,  that,  in  the  actual  execution  of  his  task,  he  found  himself  in 
want  of  only  one  or  two  books  and  documents,  and  these  of  no  essential  im- 
portance. 

But  he  would  be  guilty  of  great  injustice  were  he  not  to  acknowledge  his 
obligations  to  many  distinguished  friends  in  America  for  their  kind  co-opera- 
tion and  aid.  Without  naming  all  who  have  anywise  assisted  him  by  furnish- 
ing necessary  documents,  or  in  communicating  important  facts,  he  cannot 
forbear  to  mention  the  names  of  the  Rev.  Drs.  Dewitt,  Hodge,  Goodrich, 
Bacon,  Anderson,  Durbin,  Emerson,  and  Schmucker,  and  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Tracy,  Berg,  and  Allen.*  To  the  secretaries  of  almost  all  the  Religious  So- 
cieties and  Institutions  in  the  country  he  is  also  greatly  indebted  for  the  Re- 

*  These  gentlemen  belong  to  the  Reformed  Dutch,  Presbyterian,  Congregational,  Methodist,  Lutheran, 
German  Reformed,  and  Baptist  churches,  and  are  among  the  most  distinguished  ministers  in  the  United 
States. 


x  PREFACE. 

ports,  and  in  many  cases,  also,  for  the  valuable  hints  they  have  furnished. 
Nor  can  he  omit  to  acknowledge  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Howe,  Principal  of  the 
Institute  for  the  Blind  at  Boston,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Weld,  Principal  of  the  Deaf 
and  Dumb  Asylum  at  Hartford,  in  Connecticut,  and  Dr.  Woodward,  Director 
of  the  Hospital  for  the  Insane  at  Worcester,  Massachusetts. 

For  the  invaluable  chapter  on  Revivals,  the  reader,  as  well  as  the  author, 
is  indebted  to  the  Rev.  C.  A.  Goodrich,  D.D.,  who  has  long  been  a  distin- 
guished professor  in  Yale  College,  at  New-Haven,  in  Connecticut,  than  whom 
no  man  in  the  United  States  is  more  capable  of  treating  that  subject  in  a  ju- 
dicious and  philosophical  manner. 

Nor  should  the  names  of  the  Honourable  Henry  Wheaton,  the  Minister  for 
the  United  States  of  America  at  the  court  of  Prussia,  and  of  Robert  Walsh, 
Esq.,  now  residing  in  Paris,  be  omitted.  Among  other  obligations,  to  the 
former  of  these  gentlemen,  the  author  is  indebted  for  some  views  which  the 
reader  will  find  in  the  Third  Book;  and  he  has  to  thank  the  latter  for  many 
important  suggestions  which  he  has  found  much  reason  to  appreciate  in  the 
course  of  his  work.  He  makes  this  acknowledgment  with  the  more  pleasure, 
because  Mr.  Walsh  is  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  yet,  with  a  kindness  and  liber- 
ality in  every  way  remarkable,  he  tendered  his  assistance  with  the  full  knowl- 
edge that  the  author  is  a  decided  Protestant,  and  that  his  work,  however 
liberal  the  spirit  in  which  it  is  written,  was  to  be  of  a  thoroughly  Protestant 
character. 

One  word  more  to  the  English  reader.  The  author  deems  it  right  to  say 
that  his  work  was  originally  designed  and  primarily  written  for  Germany 
and  other  countries  on  the  Continent  of  Europe.  Accordingly,  it  is  fuller  on 
some  points  than  was  absolutely  requisite  for  British  readers,  these  being, 
no  doubt,  better  acquainted  with  the  United  States  than  are  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Continent. 

Deeply  sensible  that  the  work  is  far  from  perfect,  he  commends  it,  never- 
theless, to  the  blessing  of  Him  without  whose  favour  nothing  that  is  good  can 
be  accomplished. 

Geneva  (Switzerland),  September,  1843. 


CONTENTS. 


BOOK  I. 

PRELIMINARY   REMARKS.  p 

Chap.  I. — General  Notice  of  North  America     .      9 

Chap.  II. — The  Aborigines  of  North  America   .     11 

Chap.  III. — Discovery  of  that  Part  of  North 
America  which  is  comprised  in  the  Limits  of 
the  United  States.  —  The  early  and  unsuc- 
cessful Attempts  to  Colonize  it  .        .15 

Chap.  IV. —  The  Colonization  of  the  Territo- 
ries now  constituting  the  United  States  at 
length  accomplished 17 

Chap.  V. — Interior  Colonization  of  the  Country    20 

Chap.  VI. — Peculiar  Qualifications  of  the  An- 
glo-Saxon Race  for  the  Work  of  Coloniza- 
tion   23 

Chap.  VII  —On  the  alleged  Want  of  National 
Character  in  America 25 

Chap.  VIII.— The  Royal  Charters     ...    27 

Chap.  IX. — How  a  correct  Knowledge  of  the 
American  People,  the  Nature  of  their  Gov- 
ernment, and  of  their  National  Character  may 
best  be  attained 29 

Chap.  X. — How  to  obtain  a  correct  View  of  the 
Spirit  and  Character  of  the  Religious  Institu- 
tions of  the  United  States       .        .        .        .31 

Chap.  XI. — A  brief  Notice  of  the  Form  of  Gov- 
ernment in  America 33 

Chap.  XII. — A  brief  Geographical  Notice  of  the 
United  States 35 

Chap.  XIII. — Obstacles  which  the  Voluntary 
System  in  supporting  Religion  has  had  to  en- 
counter in  America:  1.  From  the  erroneous 
Opinions  on  the  Subject  of  Religious  Econo- 
my which  the  Colonists  brought  with  them   .    37 

Chap.  XIV.  —  Obstacles  which  the  Voluntary 
System  has  had  to  encounter  in  America  :  2. 
From  the  Newness  of  the  Country,  the  Thin- 
ness of  the  Population,  and  the  unsettled  state 
of  Society 39 

Chap.  XV.  —  Obstacles  which  the  Voluntary 
System  has  had  to  encounter  in  America :  3. 
From  Slavery 40 

Chap.  XVI.  —  Obstacles  which  the  Voluntary 
System  has  had  to  encounter  in  America  :  4. 
From  the  vast  Emigration  from  Foreign  Coun- 
tries          42 

BOOK  II. 

THE   COLONIAL   ERA. 

Chap.  I. — Religious  Character  of  the  early  Col- 
onists.— Founders  of  New-England        .        .    44 

Chap.  II. — Religious  Character  of  the  Founders 
of  New-England. — Plymouth  Colony    .        .    47 

Chap.  III.  —  Religious  Character  of  the  early 
Colonists. — Founders  of  New-England. — Col- 
ony of  Massachusetts  Bay      .        .        .        .51 

Chap.  IV.  —  Religious  Character  of  the  early 
Colonists. — Founders  of  New-England, — Col- 
onies of  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  New- 
Hampshire,  and  Maine. — General  Remarks   .    56 

Chap.  V.  —  Religious  Character  of  the  early 
Colonists.— Founders  of  the  Southern  States     60 

Chap.  VI.  —  Religious  Character  of  the  early 
Colonists. — Colonists  of  New-York        .        .    64 

Chap.  VII. — Religious  Character  of  the  early 
Colonists. — Founders  of  New-Jersey       .        .    66 

Chap.  VIII. — Religious  Character  of  the  early 
Colonists.  —  Founders  of  Delaware,  at  first 
called  New  Sweden 68 

Chap.  IX. — Religious  Character  of  the  early 
Colonists. — Founders  of  Pennsylvania    .        .    69 

Chap.  X.  —  Religious  Character  of  the  early 
Colonists. — Emigrants  from  Wales         .        .71 


Page 

Chap.  XI. — Religious  Character  of  the  early 
Colonists  of  America. — Emigrants  from  Scot- 
land and  Ireland 71 

Chap.  XII. — Religious  Character  of  the  early 
Colonists. — Huguenots  from  France       .        .    75 

Chap.  XIII.— Religious  Character  of  the  early 
Colonists. — Emigrants  from  Germany    .        .    80 

Chap.  XIV. — Religious  Character  of  the  early 
Colonists. — Emigrants  from  Poland        .        .    81 

Chap.  XV. —  Religious  Character  of  the  early 
Colonists. — Emigrants  from  the  Vallies  of 
Piedmont 82 

Chap.  XVI. — Summary 82 

Chap.  XVII. — Relations  between  the  Churches 
and  the  Civil  Power  in  the  Colonies  of  Amer- 
ica.— 1.  In  New-England         .        .        .        .84 

Chap.  XVIII. — Relations  between  the  Church 
and  the  Civil  Power  in  the  Colonies. — 2.  In 
the  Southern  and  Middle  Provinces       .        .    88 

Chap.  XIX. — The  Influences  of  the  Union  of 
Church  and  State,  as  it  formerly  existed  in 
America. — 1.  In  New-England        .        .        .91 

Chap.  XX. — The  Influences  of  the  Union  of 
Church  and  State. — 2.  In  the  Southern  and 
Middle  States 96 

Chap.  XXI. — State  of  Religion  during  the  Co- 
lonial Era 99 

BOOK  III. 

THE    NATIONAL   ERA. 

Chap.  I. — Effects  of  the  Revolution  upon  Reli- 
gion.— Changes  to  which  it  necessarily  gave 
rise 102 

Chap.  II. — The  Dissolution  of  the  Union  of 
Church  and  State  not  effected  by  the  General 
Government,  nor  did  it  take  place  immediately  104 

Chap.  III.— Dissolution  of  the  Union  of  Church 
and  State  in  America,  when  and  how  effected  105 

Chap.  IV. —  Effects  of  the  Dissolution  of  the 
Union  of  Church  and  State  in  the  several 
States  in  which  it  once  subsisted   .        .        .  112 

Chap.  V. — Whether  the  General  Government 
of  the  United  States  has  the  Power  to  pro- 
mote Religion 116 

Chap.  VI. — Whether  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  may  justly  be  called  Infidel  or 
Atheistical 118 

Chap.  VII. — The  Government  of  the  United 
States  shown  to  be  Christian  by  its  Acts        .  120 

Chap.  VIII. — The  Governments  of  the  Individ- 
ual States  organized  on  the  basis  of  Christi- 
anity          122 

Chap.  IX.  —  The  Legislation  of  the  States 
shown  to  be  in  favour  of  Christianity      .        .  124 

Chap.  X. — The  Legislation  of  the  States  often 
bears  favourably,  though  incidentally,  on  the 
cause  of  Religion 126 

Chap.  XI. — In  what  cases  the  action  of  the 
Civil  Authority  may  be  directed  in  reference 
to  Religion 127 

Chap.  XII. — Review  of  the  ground  which  we 
have  gone  over 129 

BOOK  IV. 

the  voluntary  principle  in  America;  its 
action  and  influence. 

Chap.  I.  —  The  Voluntary  Principle  the  great 
Alternative. — The  Nature  and  Vastness  of  its 
Mission 129 

Chap.  II. — Foundation  of  the  Voluntary  Princi- 
ple to  be  sought  for  in  the  Character  and 
Habits  of  the  People  of  the  United  States      .  131 


xli 


CONTENTS. 


Chap.  III. — How  Church  Edifices  are  built  in 

the  Cities  and  large  Towns     .        ,        .         .132 
Chaf.  IV.— How  Church  Edifices  are  built  in 

the  New  Settlements 134 

Chap.  V. — The  Voluntary  Principle  developed. 

— How  the  Salaries  of  the  Pastors  are  raised    136 
Chap.  VI.  —  How  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  are 
brought  forward,  and  how  they  become  set- 
tled Pastors 138 

Chap.  VII. — The  Voluntary  Principle  developed 
in  Home  Missions. — American  Home  Mission- 
ary Society 140 

Chap.  VIII. — Presbyterian  Board  of  Domestic 
Missions,  under  the  Direction  of  the  General 
Assembly 142 

Chap.  IX. — Home  Missions  of  the  Episcopal, 
Baptist,  and  Reformed  Dutch  Churches         .  144 

Chap.  X.  —  Home  Missions  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church 145 

Chap.  XI. — The  Voluntary  Principle  developed. 
— Influence  of  the  Voluntary  Principle  on  Ed- 
ucation.— Of  Primary  Schools         .         .        .  146 

Chap.  XII. — Grammar-schools  and  Academies    143 

Chap.  XIII. — Colleges  and  Universities    .        .  150 

Chap.  XIV. — Sunday-schools. — American  Sun- 
day-school Union,  and  other  Sunday-school 
Societies 152 

Chap.  XV.— Bible-classes  .        .        .        .156 

Chap.  XVI.— Maternal  Societies        .        .        .156 

Ckap.  XVII. — Education  Societies    .        .        .  157 

Chap.  XVIII.— Theological  Seminaries     .        .  159 

Chap.  XIX.  —  Efforts  to  diffuse  the  Sacred 
Scriptures 166 

Chap.  XX.  —  Associations  for  the  Circulation 
and  Publication  of  Religious  Tracts  and  Books  167 

Chap.  XXI. — The  Religious  Literature  of  the 
United  States 169 

Chap.  XXII. — Efforts  to  promote  the  Religious 
and  Temporal  Interests  of  Seamen         .         .  172 

Chap.  XXIII.— Of  the  Influence  of  the  Volunta- 
ry Principle  in  reforming  existing  Evils. — 
Temperance  Societies 172 

Chap.  XXIV. — The  American  Prison  Discipline 
Society 174 

Chap.  XXV. — Sundry  other  Associations  .  176 

Chap.  XXVI. — Influence  of  the  Voluntary  Prin- 
ciple on  the  Beneficent  Institutions  of  the 
Country 177 

Chap.  XXVII.  —  Influence  of  the  Voluntary- 
Principle  on  the  Beneficent  Institutions  of  the 
Country. — Asylums  for  the  Insane  .        .        .  178 

Chap.  XXV11I.  —  Influence  of  the  Voluntary 
Principle  on  the  Beneficent  Institutions  of  the 
Country. — Asylums  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  .  179 

Chap.  XXIX. — Influence  of  the  Voluntary  Prin- 
ciple on  the  Beneficent  Institutions  of  the 
Country. — Asylums  for  the  Blind    .        .        .  180 

Chap.  XXX.  —  Concluding  Remarks  on  the 
Development  of  the  Voluntary  Principle        .  181 

BOOK  V. 

THE   CHURCH   AND   THE    PULPIT    IN   AMERICA. 

Chap.  I. — Importance  of  this  Part  of  the  Sub- 
ject   183 

Chap.  II. — The  Evangelical   Churches  in  the 

United  States  maintain  Discipline  .        .        .  183 
Chap.  III. — The  Way  in  which  Membership  in 

our  Churches  is  obtained         ....  185 
Chap.  IV. — The  Relations  which  unconverted 

Men  hold  to  the  Church  .  .  .  .187 
Chap.  V. — The  Administration  of  Discipline  .  189 
Chap.  VI. — Character  of  American  Preaching  189 
Chap.  VII.— Revivals  of  Religion  .  .  .196 
Chap.  VIII. — Supplementary  Remarks  on  Re- 
vivals of  Religion  .  .  ...  213 
Chap.  IX. — Alleged  Abuses  in  Revivals  of  Re- 
ligion         214 


Paga 

Chap.  X. — Concluding  Remarks  on  the  Church 
and  the  Pulpit  in  America     ....    218 

BOOK  VI. 

THE    EVANGELICAL   CHURCHES   IN  AMERICA. 

Chap.  I. — Preliminary  Remarks  in  reference  to 

this  Subject 219 

Chap.  II. — The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  .  220 
Chap.  III. — The  Congregational  Churches  .  223 
Chap.  IV.— The  Regular  Baptist  Churches  .  229 
Chap.  V. — The  Presbyterian  Church  .  .  233 
Chap.  VI.— The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  .  245 
Chap.  VII.—  The  Moravian  Church  .  .  .  250 
Chap.  VIII. — Smaller  Baptist  Denominations  .  251 
Chap.  IX. — Smaller  Presbyterian  Churches. — 

Cumberland  Presbyterians      ....  252 
Chap.  X. — Smaller   Presbyterian  Churches. — 

Reformed  Dutch  Church         ....  253 
Chap.  XI. — Smaller  Presbyterian  Churches. — 
The  Associate  Church. — The  Associate  Re- 
formed Church,  and  the  Reformed  Presbyte- 
rian Church 255 

Chap.  XII. — Smaller  Presbyterian  Churches. — 

The  Lutheran  Church 257 

Chap.  XIII. — Smaller  Presbyterian   Churches. 

— The  German  Reformed  Church  .  .  .  260 
Chap.  XIV.— Smaller  German  Sects  .  .  261 
Chap.  XV. — Smaller  Meti.jdist  Denominations  262 
Chap.  XVI.— The  Friend*  or  Quakers  .  .  263 
Chap.  XVII.— The  Summary  .  .  .  .264 
Chap.  XVIII.— Number  of  Evangelical  Sects  .  266 
Chap.  XIX. — Alleged  Want  of  Harmony  among 
the  Evangelical  Christians  of  the  United 
States 267 

BOOK  VII. 

UNEVANGELICAL   DENOMINATIONS   IN   AMERICA. 

Chap.  I. — Introductory  Remarks  .  .  .  269 
Chap.  II. — The  Roman  Catholic  Church  .        .  270 

Chap.  III. — Unitarianism 272 

Chap.  IV. — The  Chnst-ian  Connexion  .  .  280 
Chap.  V. — The  Universalists  ....  281 
Chap.  VI.  Swedenborgians  and  Tunkers  .        .  282 

Chap.  VII.— The  Jews 283 

Chap.  VIII. — Rappists,  Shakers,  Mormons,  &c.  283 
Chap.  IX. — Atheists,  Deists,  Socialists,  Four- 

rierists,  &c 286 

Chap.  X. — General  Remarks  on  the  State  of 

Theological  Opinion  in  America     .        .        .  287 

BOOK  VIII. 

EFFORTS   OF   THE   AMERICAN    CHURCHES   FOR   THE 
CONVERSION   OF    THE   WORLD. 

Chap.  I. — Introductory  Remarks        .        .        .  292 

Chap.  II. — Earlier  Efforts  to  convert  the  Abori- 
gines          293 

Chap.  III. — American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions       .....  299 

Chap.  IV. — Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church 307 

Chap.  V. — Missions  of  the  Baptist  Churches    .  309 

Chap.  VI. — Foreign  Missions  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church 310 

Chap.  VII. —  Board  of  Missions  of  the  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Church 311 

Chap.  VIII. — Foreign  Missions  of  other  Denom- 
inations     312 

Chap.  IX. — American  Society  for  Ameliorating 
the  Condition  of  the  Jews       ....  313 

Chap.  X. — Foreign  Evangelical  Society  of  the 
United  States  .        .        .        .        .        .        .313 

Chap.  XI. — American  Colonization  Society      .  314 

Chap.  XII— Summary 317 

Conclusion       .        .        .       .        .        .        .  318 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


BOOK   I. 

PRELIMINARY    REMARKS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL   NOTICE    OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 

The  configuration  of  the  Continent  of 
North  America,  at  first  view,  presents  sev- 
eral remarkable  features.  Spreading  out 
like  a  partially  open  fan,  with  its  apex  to- 
Avards  the  south,  its  coasts,  in  advancing 
northward,  recede  from  each  other  with 
considerable  regularity  of  proportion  and 
correspondence,  until,  from  being  separa- 
ted by  only  sixty  miles  at  the  Isthmus  of 
Darien,  they  diverge  to  the  extent  of  4500 
miles  ;  the  east  coast  pursuing  a  northeast- 
ern, and  the  west  a  nothwestern  direction. 

Parallel  to  these  coasts,  and  at  almost 
equal  distances  from  them,  there  are  two 
ranges  of  mountains.  The  eastern  range, 
called  the  Alleghany,  or  Appalachian,  runs 
from  southwest  to  northeast,  at  an  average 
distance  of  150  miles  from  the  Atlantic. 
Its  length  is  usually  estimated  at  900  miles.* 
Its  greatest  width,  which  is  in  Virginia  and 
Pennsylvania,  is  about  120  miles.  Rather 
a  system,  than  a  range,  of  mountains,  it 
is  composed  of  parallel  ridges,  generally 
maintaining  a  northeast  and  southwest  di- 
rection. But  as  it  advances  towards  its 
northern  extremity,  and  passes  through  the 
New-England  States,  it  loses  much  of  its 
continuity,  and  gradually  runs  off  into  a 
chain  of  nearly  isolated  mountains.  The 
southern  extremity  gradually  sinks  down 
into  the  hills  of  Georgia,  unless,  indeed, 
we  may  consider  it  as  disappearing  in  the 
low,  central  line  of  the  peninsula  of  Flori- 
da. The  northeastern  end  terminates  in 
the  ridges  of  Nova  Scotia.  The  whole  of 
this  range  is  within  the  limits  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  excepting  that  part  of  it  which 
stretches  into  the  British  Provinces  of  New 
Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia.  We  may  re- 
mark, in  passing,  that  although  this  mount- 
ain range  apparently  separates  the  waters 
which  flow  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  from 
those  which  fall  into  the  Mississippi  and 
the  St.  Lawrence,  such  is  not  really  the 


*  This  is  the  length  of  the  chain  considered  as  a 
continuous  range,  from  the  northern  parts  of  Geor- 
gia and  Alabama  to  the  State  of  New -York.  Taken 
in  the  extensive  sense  in  which  it  is  spoken  of  in  the 
text,  the  entire  range  exceeds  1500  English  miles. 


case.  These  mountains  simply  stand,  as  it 
were,  on  the  plateau  or  elevated  plain  on 
which  those  waters  have  their  origin.  Ri- 
sing in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  each  other, 
and  often  interlocking,  these  streams  are  not 
in  the  least  affected  in  their  course  by  the 
mountains,  the  gaps  and  valleys  of  which 
seem  to  have  been  made  to  accommodate 
them,  instead  of  their  accommodating 
themselves  to  the  shape  and  position  of  the 
mountains.  In  a  part  of  its  northern  ex- 
tension, this  range  of  mountains  seems  to 
detach  itself  entirely  from  the  plain  where 
those  streams  have  their  source,  and  lies 
quite  east  of  it,  so  that  the  streams  that 
fall  into  the  Atlantic,  in  making  their  way 
to  the  southeast,  as  it  were,  cut  through 
the  mountain  range,  in  its  entire  width. 

When  first  discovered  by  Europeans,  and 
for  a  century  and  more  afterward,  the  long 
and  comparatively  narrow  strip  of  country 
between  the  Alleghany  range  and  the  At- 
lantic Ocean  was  covered  with  an  unbro- 
ken forest.  The  mountains,  likewise,  up 
to  their  very  summits,  and  the  valleys  that 
lay  between  them,  were  clad  with  wood. 
Nothing  deserving  the  name  of  a  field,  or 
a  prairie,  was  anywhere  to  be  seen. 

On  the  western  side  of  the  continent,  as 
has  been  stated,  another  range  of  mount- 
ains runs  parallel  to  the  coast  of  the  Pa- 
cific Ocean.  This  range  is  a  part  of  the  im- 
mense system  of  mountains  running  from 
Cape  Horn  throughout  the  entire  length 
of  the  continent,  and  seems  as  if  intended, 
like  the  backbone  in  large  animals,  to  give 
it  unity  and  strength.  It  is  by  far  the  long- 
est in  the  world  ;*  and  bearing  different 
names  in  different  parts  of  its  extent,  it  is 
the  Andes  in  South  America,  the  Cordille- 
ras in  Guatimala  and  Mexico,  and  th^  Rocky 
Mountain sf  in  the  north. 

The  long,  and,  in  many  parts,  wide  strip 
of  land  between  the  Oregon  Mountains 
and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  is  claimed,  on  the 


*  The  entire  length  of  this  range  is  estimated  to 
be  9000  English  miles. 

t  The  proper  name  of  this  portion  of  the  range  is 
Oregon,  a  word  of  Indian  origin,  and  which,  whatev- 
er may  be  its  original  signification,  is  a  much  better 
name  than  that  which  it  has  so  long  borne,  and  which 
has  nothing  distinctive  about  it,  for  all  mountains 
are  rocky. 


10 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  I. 


north,  by  Russia  ;  on  the  south,  by  Mexico  ; 
and  in  the  middle,  by  England  and  the  Uni- 
ted States. 

Between  these  two  ranges  of  mountains 
— the  Alleghany  on  the  east  and  the  Ore- 
gon on  the  west — lies  the  immense  Cen- 
tral Valley  of  North  America,  wider  in 
the  north  than  towards  the  south,  and 
reaching  from  the  Northern  Ocean  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  It  is  the  most  extensive 
valley  in  the  world,  and  is  composed  of  two 
vast  sections,  separated  by  a  zigzag  line 
of  table-land.  This  ridge,  which  is  of  no 
great  elevation,  and  which  commences  near 
the  4*2°  of  north  latitude  on  one  side,  while 
it  terminates  near  the  49°  on  the  other, 
stretches  across  from  the  Alleghany  sys- 
tem to  the  Oregon,  and  thus  separates. 
also,  the  waters  that  flow  southward  into 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  from  those  flowing  in 
the  opposite  direction  into  the  northern 
seas.  Thus  the  one  section  of  this  great 
valley  inclines  to  the  south,  the  other  gen- 
tly, nay,  almost  imperceptibly,  descends  to- 
wards the  north.  The  former  is  drained 
mainly  by  one  great  river  and  its  numerous 
branches,  called,  in  the  pompous  language 
of  the  Aborigines  of  the  country,  the  Mis- 
sissippi, or  Father  of  Waters.  The  latter 
is  drained  by  the  St.  Lawrence,  falling  into 
the  Northern  Atlantic  ;  the  Albany  and  oth- 
er streams  falling  into  Hudson's  Bay ;  and 
by  M'Kenzie's  River,  which  falls  into  the 
Arctic  Ocean. 

These  great  sections  of  this  immense 
valley  differ  much  in  character.  The  north- 
ern possesses  a  considerable  extent  of  com- 
paratively elevated  and  very  fertile  land  in 
its  southern  part ;  while  towards  the  north 
it  subsides  to  a  low,  monotonous,  swampy 
plain,  little  elevated  above  the  level  of  the 
ocean,  and,  by  reason  of  its  marshes,  bogs, 
and  inhospitable  climate,  is  almost  as  unin- 
habitable as  it  is  incapable  of  cultivation. 
The  southern  section  —  more  commonly 
called  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi — termi- 
nates on  the  low,  marshy  coast  of  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  ;  but,  with  the  exception  of  the 
part  of  it  which  lies  on  the  upper  streams 
of  the  Red  River  and  La  Platte,  it  eve- 
rywhere abounds  in  fertile  land,  covered, 
for  the  most  part,  even  yet,  with  noble  for- 
ests, or  adorned  with  beautiful  prairies. 
The  St.  Lawrence  is  the  great  river  of  the 
northern  section  or  basin,  though  not  with- 
out a  rival  in  the  M'Kenzie's  River ;  while 
its  southern  rival,  the  Mississippi,  flows  al- 
most alone  in  its  vast  domain.  There  are, 
however,  the  Alabama  and  a  few  small 
rivers  on  its  left,  and  the  Sabine,  the  Bra- 
zos, and  some  others  of  lesser  note  on  its 
right.  The  St.  Lawrence  boasts  a  length 
of  more  than  2000  miles.  That  of  the 
Mississippi  exceeds  2500  ;  and  if  the  Mis- 
souri be  considered  the  main  upper  branch, 
as  it  ought  to  be,  then  it  may  fairly  claim 
the  honour  of  dragging  its  vast  length,  with 


many  a  fold,  through  more  than  4000  miles. 
But,  though  exceeded  by  the  Mississippi  in 
length,  the  St.  Lawrence  clearly  has  the 
advantage  in  depth  and  noble  expansion 
towards  its  mouth,  being  navigable  for  the 
largest  ships  of  war  as  high  as  Quebec,  340 
miles ;  and  for  large  merchant  vessels  to- 
Montreal,  180  miles  farther;  whereas  the 
Mississippi  does  not  reach  the  medium 
width  of  a  mile,  nor  a  depth  in  the  shallow 
places  of  the  central  channel,  when  the 
stream  runs  low,  of  more  than  fifteen  feet ; 
so  that,  excepting  when  in  flood,  it  is  not 
navigable  by  ships  of  500  tons  for  more  than 
300  miles.  The  St.  Lawrence,  and  all  the 
other  considerable  rivers  of  the  northern 
basin,  pass  through  a  succession  of  lakes, 
some  of  vast  extent,  by  which  the  floods 
caused  by  melting  snows  and  heavy  rains, 
which  otherwise,  by  rushing  down  in  the 
spring,  and  accumulating  vast  masses  of 
ice  in  the  yet  unopened  channel  of  its  low- 
er and  northern  course,  would  spread  dev- 
astation and  ruin  over  the  banks,  are  col- 
lected in  huge  reservoirs,  and  permitted 
to  flow  off  gradually  during  the  summer 
months.  Wonderful  display  of  wisdom  and 
beneficence  in  the  arrangements  of  Divine 
creation  and  providence  !  But  the  Missis- 
sippi, as  it  flows  into  the  warmer  regions 
of  the  south,  needs  no  such  provision  ;  and 
hence,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  small 
lakes  connected  with  the  head  streams  of 
the  Upper  Mississippi  in  the  west,  and  one 
or  two  connected  with  the  Alleghany,  a 
branch  of  the  Ohio,  in  the  east,  no  lake 
occurs  in  the  whole  of  the  southern  basin. 
Owing  to  this  difference  in  these  rivers,  a 
sudden  rise  of  three  feet  in  the  waters  of 
the  St.  Lawrence  would  be  more  surpri- 
sing than  a  rise  of  thirty  feet  in  the  Missis- 
sippi. But  in  order  that  the  country  which 
borders  upon  the  latter  may  not  be  too 
much  exposed  to  great  and  destructive  in- 
undation, the  Creator  has,  in  his  wisdom, 
given  to  it  a  peculiar  configuration.  The 
inclined  plane  which  slopes  down  from 
the  Oregon  Mountains  towards  the  east  is 
much  wider  than  that  sloping  from  the 
mountains  on  the  opposite  side.  Hence 
the  rivers  from  the  western  side  of  the  val- 
ley have  a  much  greater  distance  to  trav- 
erse than  those  that  drain  the  eastern  slope, 
and  the  floods  which  they  roll  down  in  the 
spring  are,  of  course,  proportionally  later 
in  reaching  the  Lower  Mississippi.  In  fact, 
just  as  the  floods  of  the  Tennessee,  the 
Cumberland,  and  the  Ohio,  have  subsided, 
those  of  the  Arkansas,  the  Missouri,  and 
Upper  Mississippi  begin  to  appear.  If 
these  all  came  down  at  once,  the  Lower 
Mississippi,  as  the  common  outlet,  by 
swelling  to  such  an  extent  as  to  overflow 
its  banks,  would  spread  destruction  far  and 
wide  over  the  whole  Delta.  Such  a  calam- 
ity, or,  rather,  something  approaching  to 
it,  does  occasionally  occur  ;  but  at  long  in- 


chap.  II.]  GENERAL    NOTICE    OF   NORTH    AMERICA.  11 

tervals,  to  teach  men  their  dependance  on  [  a  few  straggling  Indians  are  occasionally 
Divine  Providence,  as  well  as  to  punish .  seen  upon  its  outskirts.  With  these  ex- 
them  for  their  sins.  ceptions,  the  whole  portion  of  North  Amer- 

Of  the  slope  between  the  Oregon  Mount-  i  ica  which  is  now  either  occupied  or  claim- 
ains  and  the  Pacific,  the  northern  part,  ed  by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  was, 
occupied  by  Russia,  is  cold,  and  little  of  when  first  visited  by  Europeans,  and  for 


it  fit  for  cultivation  ;  the  middle,  claimed 
by  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  is 
said  to  be  a  fine  country  in  many  parts  ; 
while  that  occupied  by  Mexico  has  very 
great  natural  advantages.  The  country 
bordering  on  the  Gulf  of  California  is 
surpassed  by  none  in  North  America  for 
pleasantness  of  climate  and  fertility  of 
soil. 

On  both  sides  of  the  Upper  Mississippi, 
as  well  as  on  both  sides  of  the  Missouri, 
there  are  extensive  prairies,*  as  the  French, 
who  first  explored  that  country,  called 
them  ;  that  is,  in  many  places  there  are 
districts,  some  of  them  very  extensive,  in- 
cluding hundreds,  and  even  thousands  of 
acres  of  land ;  others  smaller,  and  resem- 
bling a  field  or  meadow,  which  are  covered 
in  the  summer  with  tall  grass  and  a  great 
variety  of  flowers,  but  on  which  scarcely 
anything  in  the  shape  of  a  tree  is  to  be 
found.  Many  of  these  prairies  possess  a 
fertile  soil ;  but  others  produce  only  a  sort 
of  stunted  grass  and  short  weeds  ;  and  be- 
tween the  upper  streams  of  the  Red  River 
and  the  La  Platte,  towards  the  Oregon 
Mountains,  there  lies  an  extensive  tract 
which  has  been  called  the  Great  American 
Desert.  The  country  there  is  covered 
with  sand  and  detached  rocks,  or  boul- 
ders, which  have  evidently  come  from  the 
Oregon  Mountains,  and  is  thinly  clothed 
with  a  species  of  vegetation  called  buffalo 
grass.  The  prickly  pear  may  often  be 
seen  spreading  its  huge  leaves  over  the 
ground.  Not  a  tree,  and  scarcely  a  bush, 
is  to  be  met  with  in  many  places  for  miles. 
Herds  of  buffalo  sometimes  traverse  it.  and 


*  Much  has  been  said  and  written  on  the  origin 
of  the  prairies  of  North  America;  but,  after  all,  no 
perfectly  satisfactory  theory  has  yet  been  invented. 
The  Indians  know  nothing  on  the  subject.  As  to 
the  barren  prairies  between  the  upper  streams  of  the 
Red  River  and  the  Platte,  mentioned  in  the  text  un- 
der the  name  of  the  Great  American  Desert,  the  same 
cause  produced  them  which  produced  the  Great  Sa- 
hara in  Africa,  the  utter  sterility  of  the  soil.  But 
as  it  relates  to  those  fertile  prairies  which  one  finds 
in  the  States  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,  and  in  the  Ter- 
ritories of  Wisconsin  and  Iowa,  the  case  is  very  dif- 
ferent. In  some  respects,  the  theory  that  they  owe 
their  existence  to  the  annual  burning  of  the  dry,  de- 
cayed grass,  and  other  vegetable  matter,  in  the  au- 
tumnal months,  seems  plausible.  It  accounts  well 
enough  for  the  perpetuation  of  these  prairies,  but  it 
fails  to  account  for  their  origin.  How  is  it  that  the 
same  cause  did  not  produce  prairies  in  those  parts 
of  North  America  where  none  have  ever  existed  ? 
which  yet  have  been,  as  far  as  we  can  learn,  occu- 
pied by  the  Aborigines  as  long  as  those  in  which  the 
prairies  are  found.  It  is  very  likely  that  fire  was  one 
of  the  causes  of  their  origin  ;  but  there  may  have 
been  others  not  less  efficient,  as  well  as  various  con- 
curring circumstances,  with  respect  to  which  we 
are  wholly  in  the  dark. 


more  than  a  century  afterward,  one  vast 
wilderness.  The  luxuriant  vegetation  with 
which  it  had  been  clothed  year  after  year, 
for  ages,  was  destined  only  to  decay  and 
enrich  the  soil.  Thus  did  the  work  of  pre- 
paring it  to  be  the  abode  of  millions  of  civ- 
ilized men  go  silently  and  steadily  on ;  the 
earth  gathering  strength,  during  this  long 
repose,  for  the  sustentation  of  nations 
which  were  to  be  born  in  the  distant  fu- 
ture. One  vast  and  almost  unbroken  for- 
est covered  the  whole  continent,  unbo- 
soming in  its  sombre  shadows  alike  the 
meandering  streamlet  and  the  mighty  riv- 
er, the  retired  bay  and  the  beautiful  and 
tranquil  lake.  A  profound  and  solemn  si- 
lence reigned  everywhere,  save  when  in- 
terrupted by  the  songs  of  the  birds  which 
sported  amid  the  trees,  the  natural  cries  of 
the  beasts  which  roamed  beneath,  the  ar- 
ticulate sounds  of  the  savage  tribes  around 
their  wigwams,  or  their  shouts  in  the  chase 
or  in  the  battle.  The  work  of  God,  in  all 
its  simplicity,  and  freshness,  and  grandeur, 
was  seen  everywhere  ;  that  of  man  almost 
nowhere ;  universal  nature  rested,  and,  as 
it  were,  kept  Sabbath. 

Two  hundred  years  more  pass  away, 
and  how  widely  different  is  the  scene ! 
Along  the  coasts,  far  and  wide,  tall  ships 
pass  and  repass.  The  white  sails  of  brig 
and  sloop  are  seen  in  every  bay,  cove, 
and  estuary.  The  rivers  are  covered  with 
boats  of  every  size,  propelled  by  sail  or 
oar.  And  in  every  water  the  steamboat, 
heedless  alike  of  wind  and  tide,  pursues 
its  resistless  way,  vomiting  forth  steam 
and  flame.  Commerce  flourishes  along 
every  stream.  Cities  are  rising  in  all  di- 
rections. The  forests  are  giving  way  to 
cultivated  fields  or  verdant  meadows.  Sav- 
age life,  with  its  wigwams,  its  blanket-cov- 
ering, its  poverty,  and  its  misery,  yields  on 
every  side  to  the  arts,  the  comforts,  and 
even  the  luxuries  of  civilization. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    ABORIGINES    OF    NORTH    AMERICA. 

North  America,  when  discovered  by 
Europeans,  was  in  the  occupancy  of  a 
great  number  of  uncivilized  tribes  ;  some 
large,  but  most  of  them  small ;  and,  al- 
though differing  in  some  respects  from 
one  another,  yet  exhibiting  indubitable  evi- 
dence of  a  common  origin.  Under  the  be- 
lief that  the  country  was  a  part,  of  the  East 
Indies,  to  reach  which,  by  pursuing  a  west- 
erly course,  had  been  the  object  of  their 


12 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  I. 


voyage,  the  companions  of  Columbus  gave 
the  name  of  Indians  to  those  nations  of 
the  Aborigines  which  they  first  saw.  Sub- 
sequent and  more  extensive  exploration  of 
the  coasts  of  America  convinced  them  of 
their  mistake,  but  the  name  thus  given  to 
the  indigenous  tribes  has  adhered  to  them 
to  this  day. 

A  striking  similarity  of  organization  per- 
vades the  tribes  of  North  America.*  All 
have  the  same  dull  vermilion,  or  cinna- 
mon complexion,  differing  wholly  from 
the  white,  the  olive,  and  the  black  vari- 
eties of  the  human  family  ;  all  have  the 
same  dark,  glossy  hair,  coarse,  but  uni- 
formly straight.  Their  beards  are  gen- 
erally of  feeble  growth,  and  instead  of  be- 
ing permitted  to  become  long,  are  almost 
universally  eradicated.  The  eye  is  elonga- 
ted, and  has  an  orbit  inclined  to  a  quadran- 
gular shape.  The  cheek-bones  are  prom- 
inent ;  the  nose  broad ;  the  jaws  project- 
ing ;  the  lips  large  and  thick,  though  far 
less  so  than  those  of  the  Ethiopic  race. 

Yet  there  are  not  wanting  considerable 
varieties  in  the  organization  and  complex- 
ion of  the  Aborigines  of  North  America. 
Some  nations  are  fairer  skinned,  some 
taller  and  more  slender  than  others ;  and 
even  in  the  same  tribe  there  are  often 
striking  contrasts.  Their  limbs,  unre- 
strained in  childhood  and  youth  by  the 
appliances  which  civilization  has  invented, 
are  generally  better  formed  than  those  of 
the  white  men.  The  persons  of  the  males 
are  more  erect,  but  this  is  not  so  with  the 
females  ;  these  have  become  bowed  down 
with  the  heavy  burdens  which,  as  slaves, 
they  are  habitually  compelled  to  bear. 

Their  manner  of  life,  when  first  discov- 
ered, was  in  the  highest  degree  barbarous. 
They  had  nothing  that  deserved  the  name 
of  houses.  Rude  huts,  mostly  for  tempo- 
rary use,  of  various  forms,  but  generally 
circular,  were  made  by  erecting  a  pole  to 
support  others  which  leaned  upon  it  as  a 
centre,  and  which  were  covered  with  leaves 
and  bark,  while  the  interior  was  lined  with 
skins  of  the  buffalo,  the  deer,  the  bear,  &c. 
A  hole  at  the  top  permitted  the  escape  of 
the  smoke  ;  a  large  opening  in  the  side 
answered  the  purpose  of  a  door,  a  window, 
and  sometimes  of  a  chimney.  The  skins 
of  animals  formed  almost  the  whole  cov- 
ering of  the  body.  Moccasins,  and  some- 
times a  sort  of  boot,  made  of  the  skins  of 
the  animals  slain  in  the  chase,  were  the 


*  This  may  be  said  also  of  all  the  aboriginal  tribes 
of  America  entire,  from  the  shores  of  the  Northern 
Ocean  to  the  island  of  Terra  del  Fuego.  But  there 
was  a  vast  difference  in  regard  to  civilization.  The 
inhabitants  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  when  those  coun- 
tries were  visited  and  conquered  by  Cortes  and  Pi- 
•zarro,  were  far  more  civilized  than  the  tribes  of  the 
portion  of  North  America  which  we  are  considering. 
No  remains  of  antiquity  among  the  latter  can  be  for 
a  moment  compared  with  those  of  the  kingdom  of 
Montezuma. 


only  protection  to  their  feet  and  legs  in 
the  coldest  weather.  The  head  was  adorn- 
ed with  feathers  and  the  beaks  and  claws 
of  birds,  the  neck  with  strings  of  shells, 
and  that  of  the  warrior  with  the  scalps  of 
enemies  slain  in  battle  or  in  ambush. 

Nothing  like  agriculture  was  known 
among  them,  save  the  planting  of  small 
patches  of  a  species  of  corn  which  takes 
its  name  from  them,  and  which,  when 
parched,  or  when  pounded  and  made  into 
paste  and  baked,  is  both  palatable  and  nu- 
tritious. Having  no  herds,  the  use  of  milk 
was  unknown.  They  depended  mainly  on 
the  chase  and  on  fishing  for  a  precarious 
subsistence,  not  having  the  skill  to  fur- 
nish themselves  with  suitable  instruments 
for  the  prosecution  of  either  with  much 
success  ;  and  when  successful,  as  they 
had  no  salt,  they  could  preserve  an  abun- 
dant supply  of  game  only  by  smoking  it. 
Hence  the  frequent  famines  among  them, 
during  the  long,  cold  months  of  winter. 

Poets  have  sung  of  the  happiness  of  the 
natural,  in  other  words,  uncivilized  life. 
But  all  who  know  anything  of  the  abori- 
ginal tribes  of  North  America,  even  in 
the  present  times,  when  those  that  border 
upon  the  abodes  of  civilized  men  live  far 
more  comfortably  than  did  their  ances- 
tors three  hundred  years  ago,  are  well 
aware  that  their  existence  is  a  miserable 
one.  During  the  excitements  of  the  chase, 
there  is  an  appearance  of  enjoyment ;  but 
such  seasons  are  not  long,  and  the  utter 
want  of  occupation,  and  the  consequent 
tedium  of  other  periods,  make  the  men  in 
many  cases  wretched.  Add  to  this  the 
want  of  resources  for  domestic  happiness  ; 
the  evils  resulting  from  polygamy ;  the  de- 
pression naturally  caused  by  the  sickness 
of  friends  and  relatives,  without  the  means 
of  alleviation  ;  the  gloomy  apprehensions 
of  death  ;  and  we  cannot  wonder  that  the 
"  red  man"  should  be  miserable,  and  seek 
gratification  in  games  of  chance,  the  revel- 
ries of  drunkenness,  or  the  excitements  of 
war.  I  have  seen  various  tribes  of  Indians  ; 
I  have  travelled  among  them  ;  I  have  slept 
in  their  poor  abodes,  and  never  have  I 
seen  them,  under  any  circumstances,  with- 
out being  deeply  impressed  with  the  con- 
viction of  the  misery  of  those  especially 
who  are  not  yet  civilized. 

They  are  not  without  some  notions  of  a 
Supreme  Power  which  governs  the  world, 
and  of  an  Evil  Spirit  who  is  the  enemy  of 
mankind.  But  their  theogony  and  their 
theology  are  alike  crude  and  incoherent. 
They  have  no  notion  of  a  future  resurrec- 
tion of  the  body.  Like  children,  they  can- 
not divest  themselves  of  the  idea  that  the 
spirit,  of  the  deceased  still  keeps  company 
with  the  body  in  the  grave,  or  that  it  wan- 
ders in  the  immediate  vicinity.  Some, 
however,  seem  to  have  a  confused  impres- 
sion that  there  is  a  sort  of  elysium  for  the 


Chap.  I] 


THE  ABORIGINES   OF   NORTH  AMERICA. 


13 


departed  brave,  where  they  will  forever 
enjoy  the  pleasures  of  the  chase  and  of 
war.  Even  of  their  own  origin  they  have 
nothing  but  a  confused  tradition,  not  ex- 
tending back  beyond  three  or  four  genera- 
tions. As  they  have  no  calendars,  and 
reckon  their  years  only  by  the  return  of 
certain  seasons,  so  they  have  no  record  of 
time  past. 

Though  hospitable  and  kind  to  strangers 
to  a  remarkable  degree,  they  are  capable 
of  the  most  diabolical  cruelty  to  their  ene- 
mies. The  well-authenticated  accounts  of 
the  manner  in  which  they  sometimes  treat 
their  prisoners  would  almost  make  us 
doubt  whether  they  can  belong  to  the 
human  species.  And  yet  we  have  only  to 
recall  to  our  minds  scenes  which  have 
taken  place  in  highly-civilized  countries, 
and  almost  within  our  own  day,  when 
Christian  men  have  been  put  to  death  in  its 
most  horrible  forms  by  those  who  pro- 
fessed to  be  Christians  themselves,  to  be 
convinced  that,  when  not  restrained  by  the 
grace  and  providence  of  God,  there  is  no- 
thing too  devilish  for  man  to  do. 

Some  remains  of  the  law,  written  origi- 
nally on  the  heart  of  man  by  his  Creator, 
are  to  be  found  even  among  the  Indian 
tribes.  Certain  actions  are  considered 
criminal  and  deserving  of  punishment ; 
others  are  reckoned  meritorious.  The 
catalogue,  it  is  true,  of  accredited  virtues 
and  vices  is  not  extensive.  Among  the 
men,  nothing  can  atone  for  the  want  of 
courage  and  fortitude.  The  captive  war- 
rior can  laugh  to  scorn  all  the  tortures  of 
his  enemies,  and  sing  in  the  very  agonies 
of  a  death  inflicted  in  the  most  cruel  man- 
ner, what  may  be  termed  a  song  of  triumph, 
rather  than  of  death  !  The  narrations  which 
the  Jesuit  (French)  missionaries,  who  knew 
the  Indian  character  better,  perhaps,  than 
any  other  white  men  that  have  ever  writ- 
ten of  them,  have  left  of  what  they  them- 
selves saw,  are  such  as  no  civilized  man 
can  read  without  being  perfectly  appalled.* 
Roman  fortitude  never  surpassed  that  dis- 
played in  innumerable  instances  by  cap- 
tured Indian  warriors.  In  fact,  nothing  can 
be  compared  with  it  except  that  said  to 
have  been  exhibited  by  the  Scandinavians, 
in  their  early  wars  with  one  another  and 
with  foreign  enemies  ;  and  of  which  we 
have  many  accounts  in  their  Elder  and 
Younger  Eddas,  and  in  their  Sagas. 


*  The  reader  is  referred  to  the  work  entitled  "  Re- 
lation de  ce  qui  s'est  passe  en  la  Nouvelle  France," 
in  1632,  and  the  years  following,  down  till  1660. 
Also  to  the  work  of  Creuxius,  and  the  Journal  of 
Marest.  Much  is  to  be  found  on  the  same  horrible 
subject  in  Charlevoix's  "  Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle 
France  ;"  Lepage  Dupratz's  "  Histoire  de  la  Louisi- 
ane ;"  Jefferson's  "Notes  on  Virginia;"  "Transac- 
tions of  the  American  Philosophical  Society,"  vol.  i. ; 
and  the  volumes  of  the  late  excellent  Heckewelder, 
who  was  for  forty  years  a  missionary  among  the 
Delaware  Indians,  and  whom  the  author  of  this 
work  had  the  happiness  of  knowing  intimately. 


Very  many  of  the  tribes  speak  dialects, 
rather  than  languages,  distinct  from  those* 
of  their  neighbours.  East  of  the  Missis- 
sippi River,  and  within  the  bounds  of  wha* 
is  now  the  United  States,  when  the  coloni- 
zation of  the  country  by  Europeans  com- 
menced, there  were  eight  races,  or  families 
of  tribes,  each  comprehending  those  most 
alike  in  language  and  customs,  and  who 
constantly  recognised  each  other  as  rela- 
tives. These  were,  1.  The  Algonquins, 
consisting  of  many  tribes,  scattered  over 
the  whole  of  the  New-England  States,  the 
southern  part  of  New- York,  New-Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Vir- 
ginia, and  what  is  now  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illi- 
nois, and  Michigan.  Being  the  most  nu- 
merous of  all  the  tribes,  they  occupied 
about  half  the  territory  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and 
the  lakes.  2.  The  Sioux,  or  Dacotas,  liv- 
ing between  Lake  Superior  and  the  Missis- 
sippi. These  were  a  small  branch  of  the 
great  tribe  of  the  same  name,  to  be  found 
about  the  higher  streams  of  that  river,  and 
between  them  and  the  Oregon  Mountains. 

3.  The  Hukon-Iroquois  nations,  who  occu- 
pied all  the  northern  and  western  parts  of 
what  is  now  the  State  of  New- York,  and  a 
part  of  Upper  Canada.  The  most  impor- 
tant of  these  tribes  were  the  Five  Nations, 
as  they  were  long  called,  viz. ,  the  Mohawks, 
Oneidas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas,  and  Sene- 
cas.  These  were  afterward  joined 'by  the 
Tuscaroras  from  the  Carolinas,  a  branch 
of  the  same  great  family,  and  then  they 
took  the  name  of  the  Six  Nations,  by  which 
title  they  are   better  known   to  history. 

4.  The  Catawbas,  who  lived  chiefly  in 
what  is  now  South  Carolina.  5.  The 
Cherokees,  who  lived  in  the  mountainous 
parts  of  the  two  Carolinas,  Georgia,  and 
Alabama.  Their  country  lay  in  the  south- 
ern extreme  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains, 
and  abounded  in  ridges  and  valleys.  6. 
The  Uchees,  who  resided  in  Georgia,  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  site  occupied  at  present 
by  the  city  of  Augusta.  7.  The  Natchez, 
so  famous  for  their  tragical  end,  who  lived 
on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  present  city  of  Nat- 
chez. 8.  The  Mobilian  tribes,  or,  as  Mr. 
Gallatin  calls  them,  the  Muskhogee-Choc- 
ta,  who  occupied  the  country  which  com- 
prises now  the  States  of  Alabama  and 
Mississippi,  and  the  Territory  of  Florida. 
The  tribes  which  composed  this  family,  or 
nation,  are  well  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Creeks,  the  Chickasas,  the  Choctas,  and 
the  Seminoles  ;  to  whom  may  be  added 
the  Yamasses,  who  formerly  lived  on  the 
Savannah  River,  but  exist  no  longer  as  a 
separate  tribe. 

The  languages  of  these  eight  families  of 
tribes  are  very  different,  and  yet  they  arc 
marked  by  strong  grammatical  affinities. 
It  is  most  probable  that  the  people  who 


14 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  h 


first  settled  America,  come  whence  they  I 
might,  spoke  different,  though  remotely  re-  \ 
lated  languages.  All  the  languages  of  the  | 
Aborigines  of  America  are  exceedingly 
complicated,  regular  in  the  forms  of  verbs, 
irregular  in  those  of  nouns,  and  admitting 
of  changes  by  modifications  of  final  sylla- 
bles, initial  syllables,  and  even,  in  the  case  j 
of  verbs,  by  the  insertion  of  particles,  in  a  j 
way  unknown  to  the  languages  of  Western 
Europe.  They  exhibit  demonstrative  proof 
that  they  are  not  the  invention  of  those 
who  use  them,  and  that  they  who  use  them 
have  never  been  a  highly-civilized  people. 
Synthesis,  or  the  habit  of  compounding 
words  with  words,  prevails,  instead  of  the 
more  simple  method  of  analysis,  which  a 
highly  cultivated  use  of  language  always 
displays.*  The  old  English  was  much 
more  clumsy  than  the  modern.  The  same 
thing  is  true  of  the  French  and  German  ; 
indeed,  of  every  cultivated  language.  The 
languages  of  the  tribes  bordering  upon  the 
frontier  settlements  of  the  United  States 
begin  to  exhibit  visible  evidences  of  the 
effect  of  contact  with  civilization.  The 
half-breeds  are  also  introducing  modifica- 
tions, which  show  that  the  civilized  mind 
tends  to  simplify  language  ;  and  the  labours 
of  the  missionaries,  who  have  introduced 
letters  among  several  tribes,  are  also  pro- 
ducing great  results,  and  leading  to  decided 
improvements. 

A  great  deal  has  been  said  and  written 
about  the  gradual  wasting  and  disappear- 
ance of  the  tribes  which  once  occupied  the 
territories  of  the  United  States. 

It  is  not  intended  to  deny  that  several 
tribes  which  figure  in  the  history  of  the 
first  settlement  of  the  country  by  Europe- 
ans are  extinct,  and  that  several  more  are 
nearly  so.  Nor  is  it  denied  that  this  has 
been  partly  occasioned  by  wars  waged  with 
them  by  the  white  or  European  popula- 
tion;  si  ill  more  by  the  introduction  of 
drunkenness  and  other  vices  of  civilized 
men,  and  by  the  diseases  incident  to  those 
vices.  But  while  this  may  be  all  true, 
still  the  correctness  of  a  good  deal  that 
has  been  said  on  this  subject  may  well  be 
questioned.  Nothing  can  be  more  certain 
than  that  the  tribes  which  once  occupied 
the  country  now  comprised  within  the  Uni- 
ted States,  were,  at  the  epoch  of  the  first 
settlement  of  Europeans  on  its  shores, 
gradually  wasting  away,  and  had  long  been 
so  ;  from  the  destructive  wars  waged  with 
each  other  ;  from  the  frequent  recurrence 
of  famine,  and  sometimes  from  cold  ;  and 
from,  diseases    and    pestilences,    against 


*  The  reader  who  desires,  may  see  much  on  the 
Indian  languages  in  Humboldt's  Voyages ;  Vater's 
Mithradates,  vol.  iii. ;  Baron  Will.  Humboldt ;  Pub- 
lications of  the  Berlin  Academy,  vol.  xliv.  ;  Gallatin's 
Analysis  ;  Du  ponceau's  Notes  on  Zeisberger  ;  Amer- 
ican Quarterly  Review,  vol.  iii. ;  Heckevvelder's  two 
works  respecting  Indian  manners,  customs,  etc.  ; 
and  Mr.  Schoolcraft's  publications. 


which  they  knew  not  how  to  protect  them- 
selves. If  the  Europeans  introduced  some 
diseases,  it  is  no  less  certain  that  they 
found  some  formidable  ones  among  the 
natives.  A  year  or  two  before  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  reached  the  coast  of  New-Eng- 
land, the  very  territory  on  which  they  set- 
tled was  swept  of  almost  its  entire  pop- 
ulation by  a  pestilence.  Several  of  the 
tribes  which  existed  when  the  colonists 
arrived  from  Europe  were  but  the  rem- 
nants, as  they  themselves  asserted,  of  once 
powerful  tribes,  that  had  been  almost  an- 
nihilated by  war  or  by  disease.  This,  as  is 
believed,  was  the  case  with  the  Catawbas, 
the  Uchees,  and  the  Natchez.  Many  of 
the  branches  of  the  Algonquin  race,  and. 
some  of  the  Huron-Iroquois,  used  to  speak 
of  the  renowned  days  of  their  forefathers, 
when  they  were  a  powerful  people.  It  is 
not  easy,  indeed,  to  estimate  what  was  the 
probable  number  of  the  Indians  who  occupi- 
ed, at  the  time  of  its  discovery,  the  country 
east  of  the  Mississippi  and  south  of  the  St, 
Lawrence,  comprising  very  nearly  what 
may  be  called  the  settled  portion  of  the 
United  States  ;  and  from  which  the  Indian 
race  has  disappeared,  in  consequence  of 
emigration  or  other  causes.  But  I  am  in- 
clined to  think,  with  Mr.  Bancroft,  an  Amer- 
ican author  who  deserves  the  highest  praise 
for  the  diligent  research  he  has  displayed 
in  his  admirable  work  on  the  United  States, 
and  to  whom  I  am  greatly  indebted  on 
this  subject,  as  well  as  many  others  which 
are  treated  in  this  work,  that  there  may 
have  been  in  all  not  far  from  one  hundred 
and  eighty  thousand  souls.*  That  a  con- 
siderable number  were  slain  in  the  numer- 
ous wars  carried  on  between  them  and 
the  French  and  English  during  our  colo- 
nial days,  and  in  our  wars  with  them  after 
our  independence,  and  that  ardent  spir- 
its, also,  have  destroyed  many  thousands, 
cannot  be  doubted.  But  the  most  fruitful 
source  of  destruction  to  these  poor  "  chil- 
dren of  the  wood"  has  been  the  occasional 
prevalence  of  contagious  and  epidemic  dis- 
eases, such  as  the  smallpox,  which  some 
years  since  cut  off,  in  a  few  months,  al- 
most the  whole  tribe  of  the  Mandans,  on 
the  Missouri. 

Of  the  Algonquin  race,  whose  numbers, 
two  hundred  years  ago,  were  estimated  at 
ninety  thousand  souls,  only  a  few  small 
tribes,  and  remnants  of  tribes,  remain, 
probably  not  exceeding  20,000  persons. 
Of  the  Huron-Iroquois,  not  more  probably 
than  two  or  three  thousand  remain  within 
the  limits  of  the  United  States.  The  great- 
er part  who  survive  are  to  be  found  in 
Canada.  The  Sioux  have  not  diminished. 
The  Cherokees  have  increased.  The  Ca- 
tawbas are  nearly  extinct  as  a  nation.  The 
remains  of  the  Uchees  and  Natchez  have 

*  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  IQT 
p.  253. 


Chap.  III.] 


DISCOVERY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


id 


been  absorbed  among  the  Creeks  and 
Choctas  ;  and,  indeed,  it  is  certain,  that 
not  only  straggling  individuals,  but  also 
large  portions  of  tribes,  have  united  with 
other  tribes,  and  so  exist  in  a  commingled 
state  with  them.  It  has  happened  that  an 
entire  conquered  tribe  has  been  compelled 
to  submit  to  absorption  among  the  conquer- 
ors. And,  finally,  the  Mobilian  or  Musk- 
hogee-Chocta  tribes,  taken  as  a  whole, 
have  decidedly  increased,  it  is  believed, 
within  the  last  twenty-five  years.  They, 
with  the  Cherokees,  and  the  remains  of 
several  tribes  of  the  Algonquin  race,  are 
almost  all  collected  together,  in  the  district 
of  country  assigned  to  them  by  the  Gen- 
eral Government,  west  of  the  States  of  Ar- 
kansas and  Missouri.  Respecting  this  plan, 
as  well  as  touching  the  general  policy  of 
the  government  of  the  United  States  to- 
wards the  Indians,  I  shall  speak  fully  in 
another  place. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate,  with  anything 
like  absolute  precision,  the  number  of  In- 
dians that  now  remain  as  the  descendants 
of  the  tribes  which  once  occupied  the  coun- 
try of  which  we  have  spoken.  Without 
pretending  to  reckon  those  who  have  sought 
refuge  with  tribes  far  in  the  West,  we  may 
safely  put  it  down  at  one  hundred  and  fif- 
teen or  twenty  thousand  souls.  Of  what 
is  doing  to  save  them  from  physical  and 
moral  ruin,  I  shall  speak  hereafter. 

The  most  plausible  opinion  respecting 
the  origin  of  the  Aborigines  of  America  is, 
that  they  are  of  the  Mongolian  race  ;  and 
that  they  came  to  America  from  Asia,  ei- 
ther by  way  of  the  Polynesian  world,*  or 
by  Behring's  Straits,  or  by  the  Aleutian 
Islands,  Mednoi  Island,  and  the  Behring 
group.  Facts  well  attested  prove  this  to 
have  been  practicable.  That  the  resem- 
blance between  the  Aborigines  of  America 
and  the  Mongolian  race  is  most  striking, 
every  one  will  testify  who  has  seen  both. 
"  Universally  and  substantially,"  says  the 
American  traveller,  Ledyard,  respecting 
the  Mongolians,  "  they  resemble  the  Abo- 
rigines of  America." 


CHAPTER  III. 

DISCOVERY    OF    THAT    PART    OF    NORTH     AMER- 
ICA   WHICH     IS     COMPRISED    IN     THE    LIMITS 

OF  THE    UNITED    STATES. THE    EARLY    AND 

UNSUCCESSFUL    ATTEMPTS    TO   COLONIZE    IT. 

As  the  American  hemisphere  had  been 
discovered  by  expeditions  sent  out  by 
Spain,  that  country  claimed  the  erUre  con- 
tinent, as  well  as  the  adjohi'.g  islands; 
and  to  it  a  pope,  as  the  vicegerent  of  God, 
undertook  to  cede  the  .vnole.     But  other 


*  Lang's  View  of  the  Polynesian  Nations.     Ban- 
croft's History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  iii.,  p.  315-18. 


countries  having  caught  the  spirit  of  dis- 
tant adventure  in  quest  of  gold,  these  soon 
entered  into  competition  with  the  nation 
whose  sovereign  had  won  the  title  of  Most 
Catholic  Majesty;  and  as  all  Christendom  at 
that  day  bowed  its  neck  to  the  spiritual  do- 
minion of  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  as  the  Bishop 
of  Rome  claimed  to  be,  they  could  not  be 
r.e fused  a  portion  from  the  "  holy  father,''' 
on  showing  that  they  were  entitled  to  it. 
On  the  ground  that  Spain  could  not  justly 
appropriate  to  herself  any  part  of  the  Amer- 
ican Continent  which  she  had  not  actually 
discovered,  by  coasting  along  it,  by  mark- 
ing its  boundaries,  and  by  landing  upon  it, 
they  created  for  themselves  a  chance  of. 
obtaining  no  inconsiderable  share. 

England  was  the  first  to  follow  in  the' 
career  of  discovery.  Under  her  auspices, 
the  continent  itself  was  first  discovered,* 
June  24,  1497,  by  the  Cabots,  John  and  Se- 
bastian, father  and  son,  the  latter  of  whom 
was  a  native  o£that  country,  and  the  for- 
mer a  merchant  adventurer  from  Venice, 
but  at  the  time  residing  in  England,  and 
engaged  in  the  service  of  Henry  VII.  By 
this  event,  a  very  large  and  important  part- 
of  the  coast  of  North  America  was  secured 
to  a  country  which,  within  less  than  half 
a  century,  was  to  begin  to  throw  oft"  the 
shackles  of  Rome,  and  to  become,  in  due 
time,  the  most  powerful  of  all  Protestant 
kingdoms.  He  who  "hath  made  of  one 
blood,  all  nations  of  men,  for  to  dwell  on 
all  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  hath  deter- 
mined the  times  before  appointed,  and  the 
bounds  of  their  habitation,"  had  resolved  in 
this  manner  to  prepare  a  place  to  which,  in 
ages  then  drawing  near,  those  who  should 
be  persecuted  for  Christ's  sake  might 
flee  and  find  protection,  and  thus  found 
a  great  Protestant  empire.  And  yet  how 
near,  if  we  may  so  speak,  was  this  mighty 
plan  to  being  defeated  1  A  Spanish  discov- 
erer, a  year  or  two  before,  was  diverted, 
by  some  apparently  trivial  circumstance, 
from  directing  his  course  from  Cuba  to» 
the  very  coast  which  the  Cabots  after- 
ward sailed  along.  Had  he  done  so,  how 
different,  in  some  momentous  respects, 
might  have  been  the  state  of  the  world  at 
this  day  !  We  have  here  another  illustra- 
tion of  the  littleness  of  causes  with  which 
the  very  greatest  of  human  events  are 
often  connected,  and  of  that  superintend- 
ing Providence  which  rules  in  all  things. 

Spain,  however,  far  from  at  once  relin- 
quishing her  pretensions  to  a  country  thus 
discovered  by  England,  insisted  on  claim- 
ing a  large  part  of  it,  and  for  a  long  time 
extended  the  name  of  the  comparatively 
insignificant  peninsula  of  Florida,  with 
which  she  was  compelled  to  be  contented  at 
last,  over  the  whole  tract  reaching  as  fai 

*  Columbus  had  not  at  that  epoch  touched  the 
continent,  but  had  only  discovered  the  West  India 
Islands. 


16 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  \. 


north  as  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  if  not  farther. 
France,  on  the  other  hand,  was  not  likely, 
under  so  intelligent  and  ambitious  a  mon- 
arch as  Francis  I.,  to  remain  an  inactive 
spectator  of  maritime  discoveries  made  by 
the  nations  on  both  sides  of  her.  Under 
her  auspices,  Verrazzani,  in  1524,  and  Car- 
tier  ten  years  afterward,  made  voyages  in 
search  of  new  lands,  so  that  soon  she,  too, 
had  claims  in  America  to  prosecute.  As 
the  result  of  the  former  of  those  two  en- 
terprises, she  claimed  the  coast  lying  to 
the  south  of  North  Carolina,  and  extending, 
as  was  truly  asserted,  beyond  the  farthest 
point  reached  by  the  Cabots.  Still  more 
important  were  the  results  of  Cartier's 
voyage.  Having  gone  up  the  River  St. 
Lawrence  as  far  as  the  island  on  which 
Montreal  now  stands,  he  and  Roberval 
made  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  found  a 
colony,  composed  of  thieves,  murderers, 
debtors,  and  other  inmates  of  the  prisons 
in  France,  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by 
Quebec.  Two  other  unsuccessful  attempts 
at  colonization  in  America  were  made  by 
France,  the  one  in  1598,  under  the  Marquis 
de  la  Roche ;  the  other  in  1600,  under  Chau- 
vin.  At  length,  in  1605,  a  French  colony 
•was  permanently  established,  under  De 
Monts,  a  Protestant,  at  the  place  now  call- 
ed Annapolis,  in  Nova  Scotia,  but  not  un- 
til after  having  made  an  abortive  attempt 
within  the  boundaries  of  the  present  State 
of  Maine.  Quebec  was  founded  in  1608, 
under  the  conduct  of  Champlain,  who  be- 
came the  father  of  all  the  French  settle- 
ments in  North  America.  From  that  point 
the  French  colonists  penetrated  farther  and 
farther  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  until  at  length 
parties  of  their  hunters  and  trappers,  ac- 
companied by  Jesuit  missionaries,  reached 
the  great  lakes,  passed  beyond  them,  and 
descending  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
established  themselves  at  Fort  Du  Quesne, 
Vincennes,  Kaskaskia,  and  various  other 
places.  Thus  the  greater  part  of  the  im- 
mense Central  Valley  of  North  America 
fell,  for  a  time,  into  the  hands  of  the 
French. 

Nor  was  it  only  in  the  North  that  that  na- 
tion sought  to  plant  colonies.  The  failure 
of  the  French  Protestants  in  all  their  efforts 
to  secure  for  themselves  mere  toleration 
from  their  own  government,  naturally  sug- 
gested the  idea  of  expatriation,  as  the  sole 
means  that  remained  to  them  of  procuring 
liberty  to  worship  God  according  to  his  own 
Word.  Even  the  Prince  of  Conde,  though 
of  royal  blood,  nobly  proposed  to  set  the  ex- 
ample of  withdrawing  from  France,  rather 
than  be  the  occasion,  by  remaining  in  it, 
of  perpetual  civil  war  with  the  obstinate 
partisans  of  Rome;  and  in  1562, under  the 
auspices  of  the  brave  and  good  Coligny,  to 
whom,  also,  the  idea  of-expatriation  was 
familiar,  two  attempts  were  made  by  the 
Huguenots  to  establish  themselves  on  the 


southern  coast  of  North  America.  The  first 
of  these  took  place  on  the  confines  of  South 
Carolina,  and  seems  at  once  to  have  failed. 
The  second,  which  was  on  the  River  St. 
John's  in  Florida,  survived  but  a  few  years. 
In  1565,  it  was  attacked  by  the  Spaniards, 
under  Melendez,  that  nation  claiming  the 
country  in  right  of  discovery,  in  conse- 
quence of  Ponce  de  Leon  having  landed 
upon  it  in  1512;  and  as  religious  bigotry 
was  added  to  national  jealousy  in  the  as- 
sailants, they  put  almost  all  the  Huguenots 
to  death  in  the  most  cruel  manner,  "  not  as 
Frenchmen,"  they  alleged,  "but  as  Luther- 
ans." For  this  atrocity  the  Spaniards  were 
severely  punished  three  years  afterward, 
when  Dominic  de  Gourgues,  a  Gascon, 
having  captured  two  of  their  forts,  hanged 
his  prisoners  upon  trees,  not  far  from  the 
spot  where  his  countrymen  had  suffered, 
and  placed  over  their  bodies  this  inscrip- 
tion :  "  I  do  not  this  as  unto  Spaniards  or 
mariners,  but  as  unto  traitors,  robbers,  and 
murderers." 

With  a  view  to  encourage  the  coloniza- 
tion of  those  parts  of  North  America  that 
were  claimed  by  England,  several  patents 
were  granted  by  the  crown  of  that  country 
before  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
The  enterprises,  however,  to  which  these 
led,  universally  failed.  The  most  famous 
was  that  made  in  North  Carolina,  under  a 
patent  to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  and  others  ;  it 
was  continued  from  1584  to  15H8  ;  but  even 
the  splendid  talents  and  energy  of  its  chief 
could  not  save  his  colony  from  final  ruin. 
Though  the  details  of  this  unsuccessful 
enterprise  fill  many  a  page  in  the  history 
of  the  United  States,  strange  to  say,  we 
are  in  absolute  ignorance  of  the  fate  of  the 
few  remaining  colonists  that  were  left  on 
the  banks  of  the  Roanoke  :  the  most  prob- 
able conjecture  being  that  they  were  mas- 
sacred by  the  natives,  though  some  affirm 
that  they  were  incorporated  into  one  of 
the  Indian  tribes.  Two  monuments  of 
that  memorable  expedition  remain  to  this 
day ;  first,  the  name  of  Virginia,  given  to 
the  entire  coast  by  the  courtier,  in  honour 
of  his  royal  mistress,  though  afterward  re- 
stricted to  a  single  province ;  and,  next,  the 
use  of  tobacco  in  Europe,  Sir  Walter  hav- 
ing successfully  laboured  to  make  it  an 
article  of  commerce  between  the  two  con- 
tinents. 

Some  of  the  voyages  made  from  Eng- 
land to  America  in  that  century  for  the 
mere  purpose  of  traffic  were  not  unprofit- 
able to  the  adventurers,  but  it  was  not  until 
the  following  that  any  attempt  at  coloniza- 
tion met  with  success.  In  this  no  one  who 
loves  to  mark  the  hand  of  God  in  the  af- 
fairs of  men,  and  who  has  studied  well  the 
history  of  those  times,  can  fail  to  be  struck 
with  the  display  it  presents  of  the  Divine 
wisdom  and  goodness.  For  be  it  observed, 
that  England  was  not  yet  ripe  for  the  work 


Chap.  IV.] 


COLONIZATION   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


17 


of  colonization,  and  could  not  then  have 
planted  the  noble  provinces  of  which  she 
was  to  be  the  mother-country  afterward. 
The  mass  of  her  population  continued,  until 
far  on  in  the  sixteenth  century,  to  be  at- 
tached to  Rome ;  her  glorious  Constitution 
was  not  half  formed  until  the  century  that 
followed.  The  Reformation,  together  with 
the  persecutions,  the  discussions,  and  the 
conflicts  that  followed  in  its  train,  were  all 
required,  in  order  that  minds  and  hearts 
might  be  created  for  the  founding  of  a  free 
empire,  and  that  the  principles  and  the 
forms  of  the  government  of  England 
might  in  any  sense  be  fit  for  the  imitation 
of  her  colonies. 

Though  England,  when  she  first  discover- 
ed America,  thought  only,  as  other  nations 
had  done,  of  enriching  herself  from  mines 
of  the  precious  metals  and  gems  ;  on  being 
undeceived  by  time,  she  indulged  for  a 
while  the  passion  that  followed  for  traffick- 
ing with  the  natives.  But  the  commercial, 
as  well  as  the  golden  age,  if  we  may  so 
speak,  had  to  pass  away,  before  men  could 
be  found  who  should  establish  themselves 
on  that  great  continent  with  a  view  to  agri- 
culture as  well  as  commerce,  and  who 
should  look  to  the  promotion  of  Christiani- 
ty no  less  than  to  their  secular  interests. 
To  this  great  and  benevolent  end  God  was 
rapidly  shaping  events  in  the  Old  World. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

COLONIZATION  OF  THE  TERRITORIES  NOW  CON- 
STITUTING THE  UNITED  STATES  AT  LENGTH 
ACCOMPLISHED. 

The  first  permanent  colony  planted  by 
the  English  in  America  was  Virginia. 
Even  in  that  instance,  what  was  projected 
was  a  factory  for  trading  with  the  natives, 
rather  than  a  fixed  settlement  for  persons 
expatriating  themselves  with  an  eye  to  the 
future  advantage  of  their  offspring,  and 
looking  for  interests  which  might  recon- 
cile them  to  it  as  their  home.  It  was 
founded  in  1607,  by  a  Company  of  noble- 
men, gentlemen,  and  merchants  in  London, 
by  whom  it  was  regarded  as  an  affair  of 
business,  prosecuted  with  a  view  to  pecu- 
niary profit,  not  from  any  regard  to  the 
welfare  of  the  colonists.  These,  consist- 
ing of  forty-eight  gentlemen,  twelve  labour- 
ers, and  a  few  mechanics,  reached  the 
Chesapeake  Bay  in  April,  1607,  and  having 
landed,  on  the  13th  of  May,  on  a  peninsula 
in  the  James  River,  there  they  planted  their 
first  settlement,  and  called  it  James  Town. 
There  had  been  bestowed  upon  the  com- 
pany by  royal  charter  a  zone  of  land,  ex- 
tending from  the  thirty-fourth  to  the  thirty- 
eighth  degree  of  north  latitude,  and  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  together 
with  ample  powers  for  administering  the 
affairs  of  the  colony,  but  reserving  to  the 
B 


king  the  legislative  authority,  and  a  con- 
trol over  appointments  ;  a  species  of  doub- 
le government,  under  which  few  political 
privileges  were  enjoyed  by  the  colonists. 

What  from  the  wilderness  state  of  the 
country,  the  unfriendliness  of  the  Abori- 
gines, the  insalubrity  of  the  climate,  the  ar- 
bitrary conduct  of  the  company,  and  the  un- 
fitness of  most  of  the  settlers  for  their  task, 
the  infant  colony  had  to  contend  with  many 
difficulties.  Yet  not  only  did  it  gain  a  per- 
manent footing  in  the  country,  but,  not- 
withstanding the  disastrous  wars  with  the 
Indians,  insurrectionary  attempts  on  the 
part  of  turbulent  colonists,  misunderstand- 
ings with  the  adjacent  colony  of  Maryland, 
changes  in  its  own  charter,  and  other  unto- 
ward circumstances,  it  had  become  a  power- 
ful province  long  before  the  establishment  of 
American  Independence.  By  a  second  char- 
ter granted  in  1609,  all  the  powers  that  had 
been  reserved  by  the  first  to  the  king  were 
surrendered  to  the  company ;  but  in  1624 
that  second  charter  was  recalled,  the  com- 
pany dissolved,  and  the  government  of  the 
colony  assumed  by  the  crown,  which  con- 
tinued thereafter  to  administer  it  in  a  gen- 
eral way,  though  the  internal  legislation 
of  the  colony  was  left,  for  the  most  part, 
to  its  own  Legislature. 

Massachusetts  was  settled  next  in  the 
order  of  time,  and  owed  its  rise  to  more 
than  one  original  colony.  The  first  plant- 
ed within  the  province  was  that  of  New- 
Plymouth,  founded  on  the  west  coast  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  in  1620 ;  but  although 
it  spread  by  degrees  into  the  adjacent  dis- 
trict, yet  it  never  acquired  much  extent. 
It  originated  in  a  grant  of  land  from  the 
Plymouth  Company  in  England,  an  incor- 
poration of  noblemen,  gentlemen,  and  bur- 
gesses, on  which  King  James  had  bestowed 
by  charter  all  the  territories  included  with- 
in the  forty-first  and  forty-fifth  degrees  of 
north  latitude,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  That  company  having 
undergone  important  modifications,  much 
more  numerous  settlements  were  made 
under  its  auspices,  in  1628  at  Salem,  and 
in  1630  at  Boston,  from  which  two  points 
colonization  spread  extensively  into  the 
surrounding  country,  and  the  province  soon 
became  populous  and  powerful.  A  colony 
was  planted  in  New-Hampshire  in  1631, 
and  some  settlements  had  been  made  in 
Maine  a  year  or  two  earlier ;  but  for  a 
long  time  the  progress  of  all  these  was 
slow.  In  1636,  the  celebrated  Roger 
Williams,  being  banished  from  Massachu- 
setts, retired  to  Narragansett  Bay,  and  by 
founding  there,  in  1638,  the  city  of  Prov- 
idence, led  to  the  plantation  of  a  new 
province,  now  forming  the  State  of  Rhode 
Island.  In  1635,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hooker 
and  John  Haynes  having  led  a  colony  into 
Connecticut,  settled  at  the  spot  where  the 
city  of  Hartford  now  stands,  and  rescued 


18 


RELIGION    IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  I. 


the  Valley  of  Connecticut  from  the  Dutch, 
who,  having  invaded  it  from  their  province 
of  New  Netherlands,  had  erected  the  fort 
called  Good  Hope  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
river.  Three  years  thereafter,  the  colony 
of  New-Haven  was  planted  by  two  Puritan 
Nonconformists,  the  Rev.  John  Davenport 
and  Theophilus  Eaton,  who  had  first  re- 
tired to  Holland  on  account  of  their  reli- 
gious principles,  and  then  left  that  country 
for  Boston,  in  1637.  Thus,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Vermont,  which  originated  in  a 
settlement  of  much  later  date,  drawn 
chiefly  from  Massachusetts  and  New- 
Hampshire,  we  see  the  foundation  of  all 
the  New-England  States  laid  within  twenty 
years  from  the  arrival  of  the  Pilgrim  Fa- 
thers at  Plymouth. 

Meanwhile,  Maryland,  so  called  in  hon- 
our of  Henrietta  Maria,  daughter  of  Henry 
IV.  of  France,  and  wife  of  Charles  I.,  had 
been  colonized.  The  territory  forming  the 
present  state  of  that  name,  though  inclu- 
ded in  the  first  charter  of  Virginia,  upon 
that  being  cancelled  and  the  company  be- 
ing dissolved,  reverted  to  the  king,  and  he, 
to  gratify  his  feelings  of  personal  regard, 
bestowed  the  absolute  proprietorship  of 
the  whole  upon  Sir  Charles  Calvert,  the 
first  Lord  Baltimore,  and  his  legal  heirs  in 
succession.  Never  was  there  a  more  lib- 
eral charter.  The  statutes  of  the  colony 
were  to  be  made  Avith  the  concurrence  of 
the  colonists,  thus  securing  to  the  people 
a  legislative  government  of  their  own. 
Sir  Charles  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  but 
his  colony  was  founded  on  principles  of 
the  fullest  toleration  ;  and  though  he  died 
before  the  charter  in  his  favour  had  passed 
the  great  seal  of  the  kingdom,  yet  all  the 
royal  engagements  being  made  good  to  his 
son  Cecil,  who  succeeded  to  the  title  and 
estates,  the  latter  sent  out  a  colony  of 
about  two  hundred  persons,  most  of  whom 
were  Roman  Catholics,  and  many  of  them 
gentlemen,  accompanied  by  his  brother 
Leonard.  Maryland,  though  subjected  to 
many  vicissitudes,  proved  prosperous  upon 
the  whole.  Though  the  Roman  Catholics 
formed  at  first  the  decided  majority,  the 
Protestants  became  by  far  the  more  nu- 
merous body  in  the  end,  and,  with  shame 
be  it  said,  enacted  laws  depriving  the  Ro- 
man Catholics  of  all  political  influence  in 
the  colony,  and  tending  to  prevent  their 
increase. 

The  first  colony  in  the  State  of  New- 
York  was  that  planted  by  the  Dutch,  about 
the  year  1614,  on  the  southern  point,  it  is 
supposed,  of  the  island  where  the  city  of 
New-York  now  stands.  The  illustrious 
English  navigator  Hudson,  having  been  in 
the  employment  of  the  Dutch  at  the  time 
of  his  discovering  the  river  that  bears  his 
name,  Holland  claimed  the  country  bor- 
dering upon  it,  and  gradually  formed  set- 
tlements there,  the   first  of  which  was 


situate  on  an  island  immediately  below  the 
present  city  of  Albany.  Hudson  being 
supposed  to  have  been  the  first  European 
that  sailed  up  the  Delaware,  the  Dutch 
claimed  the  banks  of  that  river  also.  But 
their  progress  as  colonists  in  America  was 
slow.  Though  Holland  was  nominally  a 
republic,  yet  she  did  not  abound  in  the  ma- 
terials proper  for  making  good  colonists. 
The  country  presenting  but  a  limited  scope 
for  agriculture,  the  people  were  mostly  en- 
gaged in  trade  or  in  the  arts. 

Pursuing  in  the  New  World  the  same 
selfish  principles  which  made  the  Dutch 
mercantile  aristocracy  the  worst  enemies 
of  their  country  in  the  Old,  the  New  Neth- 
erlands colonists  were  allowed  little  or 
no  share  in  the  government,  and  accord- 
ingly, notwithstanding  the  greatest  nat- 
ural advantages,  the  progress  of  the  colony 
was  very  slow.  New  Amsterdam,  which, 
in  consequence  of  such  advantages,  might 
have  been  expected  even  to  outstrip  the 
mother-city,  as  she  has  since  done  under 
the  name  of  New-York,  remained  but  an 
inconsiderable  village.  The  vicinity  of 
New-England  provoked  comparisons  that 
could  not  fail  to  make  the  Dutch  colonists 
discontented  with  their  institutions.  At 
length,  in  1664,  the  English  took  posses- 
sion of  all  the  Dutch  colonies  in  North 
America,  which  by  that  time,  in  addition 
to  their  settlements  on  the  Hudson,  ex- 
tended to  the  eastern  part  of  New-Jersey, 
Staten  Island,  and  the  western  extremity 
of  Long  Island,  besides  a  detached  settle- 
ment on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware,  with 
a  population  not  exceeding  in  all  ten  thou- 
sand souls.  New  Netherlands  was  granted 
by  Charles  II.  to  his  brother  the  Duke  of 
York,  from  whom  the  colony  and  its  cap- 
ital took  the  name  of  New-York.  The 
voice  of  the  people  was  now,  for  the  first 
time,  heard  in  its  Legislature ;  it  began 
thenceforth  to  advance  rapidly  in  popula- 
tion, and,  notwithstanding  occasional  sea- 
sons of  trial  and  depression,  gave  early 
promise  of  what  it  was  one  day  to  become. 

New-Jersey  was  likewise  granted  to 
the  Duke  of  York,  who,  in  1664,  handed  it 
over  to  Lord  Berkeley  and  Sir  George 
Carteret,  both  proprietors  of  Carolina. 
Difficulties,  however,  having  arisen  be- 
tween the  colonists  and  the  lords  superior 
with  regard  to  the  quit-rents  payable  by 
the  former,  that  province  was  gladly  sur- 
rendered by  the  latter,  upon  certain  con- 
ditions, to  the  crown,  and  was  for  some 
time  attached  to  New- York,  within  twenty 
years  after  all  the  Dutch  possessions  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  English.  West 
Jersey  was  afterward  purchased  by  a 
company  of  Friends,  or  Quakers,  and  a 
few  years  later,  in  1680,  William  Penn, 
previous  to  his  undertaking  to  plant  a  col- 
ony on  a  larger  scale  in  Pennsylvania, 
purchased  East  Jersey,  with  the  view  of 


Chap.  IV.] 


COLONIZATION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


59 


making  it  an  asylum  for  his  persecuted 
co-religionists.  Finally,  East  and  West 
Jersey  being  united  as  one  province  un- 
der the  direct  control  of  the  crown,  ob- 
tained a  Legislature  of  its  own,  and  enjoyed 
a  gradual  and  steady  prosperity  down  to 
the  Revolution  by  which  the  colonies  were 
severed  from  England. 

Pennsylvania,  as  is  indicated  by  its 
name,  was  founded  by  the  distinguished 
philanthropist  we  have  just  mentioned,  but 
he  was  not  the  first  to  colonize  it.  This 
was  done  by  a  mixture  of  Swedes,  Dutch, 
and  English,  who  had  for  years  before  oc- 
cupied the  right  bank  of  the  Delaware,  both 
above  the  point  where  Philadelphia  now 
stands,  and  many  miles  below.  The  char- 
ter obtained  by  William  Penn  from  Charles 
II.  dates  from  1681.  On  the  27th  of  Octo- 
ber in  the  following  year,  the  father  of  the 
new  colony  having  landed  on  his  vast  do- 
main in  America,  immediately  set  about 
the  framing  of  a  constitution,  and  began  to 
found  a  capital,  which  was  destined  to  be- 
come one  of  the  finest  cities  in  the  Western 
hemisphere.  The  government,  like  that 
established  by  the  Quakers  in  New-Jersey, 
was  altogether  popular.  The  people  were 
to  have  their  own  Legislature,  whose  acts, 
however,  were  not  to  conflict  with  the  just 
claims  of  the  proprietor,  and  were  to  be 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  crown  alone. 
The  colony  soon  became  prosperous.  The 
true  principles  of  peace,  principles  that 
form  so  conspicuous  a  part  of  the  Quaker 
doctrines,  distinguished  every  transaction 
in  which  the  Aborigines  were  concerned. 
It  is  the  glory  of  Pennsylvania  that  it  nev- 
er did  an  act  of  injustice  to  the  Indians. 

The  territory  belonging  to  the  State  of 
Delaware  was  claimed  by  Penn  and  his 
successors,  as  included  in  the  domain  de- 
scribed in  their  charter,  and  for  a  time 
formed  a  part  of  Pennsylvania,  under  the 
title  of  the  Three  Lower  Counties.  But 
the  mixed  population  of  Swedes,  Dutch, 
and  English  by  which  it  was  occupied, 
were  never  reconciled  to  this  arrange- 
ment, and  having  at  last  obtained  a  gov- 
ernment of  its  own,  Delaware  became  a 
separate  province. 

The  settlement  of  the  two  Carolinas  be- 
gan with  straggling  emigrants  from  Vir- 
ginia, who  sought  to  better  their  fortunes 
in  regions  farther  south,  and  were  after- 
ward joined  by  others  from  New-England, 
and  also  from  Europe.  At  length,  in  1663, 
the  entire  region  lying  between  the  thirty- 
sixth  degree  of  north  latitude  and  the  Riv- 
er St.  John's  in  Florida,  was  granted  to  a 
proprietary  company  in  England,  which 
was  invested  with  most  extraordinary  pow- 
ers. The  proprietors,  eight  in  number, 
were  Lord  Ashley  Cooper,  better  known 
as  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  Clarendon, 
Monk,  Lord  Craven,  Sir  John  Colleton, 
Lord  John  and  Sir  William  Berkeley,  and 


Sir  George  Carteret.  Their  grand  object 
was  gain,  yet  the  celebrated  John  Locke„ 
at  once  a  philosopher  and  a  Christian,  was 
engaged  to  make  "  Constitutions,"  or  a 
form  of  government,  for  an  empire  that 
was  to  stretch  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pa- 
cific. The  result  of  the  philosophical  law- 
giver's labours  was  such  as  the  world  had; 
never  seen  the  like  of  before.  The  pro- 
prietors were  to  form  a  close  corporation ; 
the  territory  was  to  be  partitioned  out  into 
counties  of  vast  extent,  each  of  which  was. 
to  have  an  Earl  or  Landgrave,  and  two  Bar- 
ons or  Caciques,  who,  as  lords  of  manors, 
were  to  have  judicial  authority  within  their 
respective  estates.  Tenants  of  ten  acres 
were  to  be  attached  as  serfs  to  the  soil'r  to* 
be  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  their  lords 
without  appeal,  and  their  children  were  tc* 
continue  in  the  same  degradation  forever  E 
The  possession  of  at.  least  fifty  acres  of 
land  was  to  be  required  in  order  to  the  en- 
joyment of  the  elective  franchise  ;  and  of 
five  hundred  acres  in  order  to  a  man's  be- 
ing eligible  as  a  member  of  the  colonial 
Parliament  or  Legislature.  These  "  Con- 
stitutions," into  the  farther  details  of  which: 
we  cannot  enter,  were  attempted  to  be  in- 
troduced, but  were  soon  rejected  in  North. 
Carolina  ;  and  after  a  few  years'  struggle, 
were  thrown  aside  also  in  South  Carolina, 
which  had  been  separated  from  the  Nor- 
thern province.  The  colonists  adopted  for 
themselves  forms  of  government  analo- 
gous to  those  of  the  other  colonies ;  the 
proprietary  company  was  after  a  while 
dissolved  ;  the  Carolinas  fell  under  the  di- 
rect control  of  the  crown,  but  were  gov- 
erned by  their  own  legislatures.  Their 
prosperity  was  slow,  having  been  frequent- 
ly interrupted  by  serious  wars  with  the 
native  tribes,  particularly  the  Tuscaroras, 
which,  as  it  was  the  most  powerful,  was 
for  a  long  time  also  the  most  hostile. 

Last  of  all  the  original  thirteen  provin- 
ces, in  the  order  of  time,  came  Georgia, 
which  was  settled  as  late  as  1732,  by  the 
brave  and  humane  Oglethorpe.  The  col- 
onists were  of  mixed  origin,  but  the  Eng- 
lish race  predominated.  Although  it  had! 
difficulties  to  encounter  almost  from  the 
first,  yet,  notwithstanding  wars  with  the 
Spaniards  in  Florida,  hostile  attacks  froza 
the  Indians,  and  internal  divisions,  Geor- 
gia acquired,  by  degrees,  a  considerable, 
amount  of  strength. 

Such  is  a  brief  notice  of  the  thirteen! 
original  North  American  provinces,  which*, 
by  the  Revolution  of  1775-1783,  were  trans- 
formed into  as  many  states.  They  all 
touch  more  or  less  on  the  Atlantic,  and 
stretch  to  a  greater  or  less  distance  into 
the  interior.  Virginia,  Georgia,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  North  Carolina  are  the  largest;. 
Rhode  Island  and  Delaware  are  the  small- 
est. 

In  1803,  the  French  colony  of  Louisiana^ 


20 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  I. 


now  the  state  of  that  name,  together  with 
the  territories  since  comprised  in  the 
States  of  Arkansas  and  Missouri,  and  an 
almost  indefinite  tract  lying  westward  of 
these  last  two,  was  purchased  by  the  Uni- 
ted States  for  fifteen  millions  of  dollars. 
And  in  1821,  the  Spanish  colony  of  Flori- 
da, comprising  the  peninsula  which  used 
to  be  called  East  Florida,  and  a  narrow 
strip  of  land  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  called 
West  Florida,  was  purchased  by  the  same 
government  for  five  millions  of  dollars. 
Both  purchases  now  form,  of  course,  part 
of  the  great  North  American  Republic. 


CHAPTER  V. 

INTERIOR    COLONIZATION    OF    THE    COUNTRY. 

After  the  short  account  we  have  given 
of  the  first  planting  of  the  thirteen  original 
provinces,  by  successive  arrivals  of  colo- 
nists from  Europe,  on  the  seacoast  and 
the  banks  of  the  larger  streams,  we  pro- 
ceed to  say  something  of  the  progress  of 
colonization  in  the  interior  of  the  country. 

A  hundred  and  twenty-five  years,  it  will 
be  observed,  elapsed  between  the  found- 
ation of  the  first  and  the  last  of  these 
provinces ;  also,  that,  with  the  exception 
of  New- York  and  Delaware,  which  receiv- 
ed their  first  European  inhabitants  from 
Holland  and  Sweden,  they  were  all  origi- 
nally English  ;  but  that,  eventually,  these 
two  were  likewise  included  in  English  pat- 
ents, and  their  Dutch  and  Swedish  inhabi- 
tants merged  among  the  English. 

All  these  colonies  were  of  slow  growth, 
ten,  and  even  twenty  years  being  required, 
in  several  instances,  before  they  could  be 
regarded  as  permanently  established.  That 
of  Virginia,  the  earliest,  was  more  than  once 
on  the  point  of  being  broken  up.  Indeed, 
we  may  well  be  surprised  that,  when  the 
colonists  that  survived  the  ravages  of  dis- 
ease and  attacks  from  the  Indians  were 
still  farther  reduced  in  their  number  by  the 
return  of  a  part  of  them  to  England,  the 
remainder  did  not  become  disheartened 
and  abandon  the  country  in  despair.  The 
Plymouth  colonists  lost,  upon  the  very 
spot  where  they  settled,  half  their  number 
within  six  months  after  their  arrival ;  and 
terrible,  indeed,  must  have  been  the  sor- 
rows of  the  dreary  winter  of  1620-21,  as 
endured  by  those  desolate  yet  persevering 
exiles.  But  they  had  a  firm  faith  in  God's 
goodness  ;  they  looked  to  the  future  ;  they 
felt  that  they  had  a  great  and  a  glorious 
task  to  accomplish,  and  that,  although  they 
themselves  might  perish  in  attempting  it, 
yet  their  children  would  enjoy  the  prom- 
ised land. 

Stout  hearts  were  required  for  such  en- 
terprises. Few  of  the  colonists  were 
wealthy  persons,  and  as  those  were  not 


the  days  of  fine  packets,  or  of  large  and 
well-appointed  merchant  vessels,  the  voy- 
ages had  to  be  made  in  small  and  crowded 
ships.  The  inconveniences,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  sickness  that  attended  them,  were 
but  ill  calculated  to  nerve  the  heart  for 
coming  trials  ;  and  as  the  colonists  ap- 
proached the  coast,  the  boundless  and  sol- 
emn forests  that  stretched  before  them, 
the  strangeness  of  every  object  that  filled 
the  scene,  the  absence  of  all  tillage  and 
cultivation,  and  of  a  village  or  house  to 
give  them  shelter,  and  the  uncouth  and 
even  frightful  aspect  of  the  savage  inhabi- 
tants, must  have  damped  the  boldest  spir- 
its. In  the  case  of  Plymouth  and  some 
others,  the  settlers  arrived  during  winter, 
when  all  nature  wore  her  gloomiest  attire. 
The  rudest  hovels  were  the  only  abodes 
that  could  be  immediately  prepared  for 
their  reception,  and  for  weeks  together 
there  might  only  be  a  few  days  of  such 
weather  as  would  permit  their  proceeding 
with  the  operations  required  for  their  com- 
fort. Not  only  conveniences  and  luxuries, 
such  as  the  poorest  in  the  mother-country 
enjoyed,  but  even  the  necessaries  of  life, 
were  often  wanting.  Years  had  to  be 
passed  before  any  considerable  part  of  the 
forest  could  be  cleared,  comfortable  dwell- 
ings erected,  and  pleasant  gardens  plant- 
ed. Meanwhile,  disease  and  death  would 
enter  every  family  ;  dear  friends  and  com- 
panions in  the  toils  and  cares  of  the  enter- 
prise would  be  borne,  one  after  another,  to 
the  grave.  To  these  causes  of  depression 
there  were  often  added  the  horrors  of  sav- 
age warfare,  by  which  some  of  the  colo- 
nies were  repeatedly  decimated,  and  du- 
ring which  the  poor  settler,  for  weeks  and 
months  together,  could  not  know,  on  reti- 
ring to  rest,  whether  he  should  not  be 
awakened  by  the  heart-quailing  war-whoop 
of  the  savages  around  his  house,  or  by  find- 
ing the  house  itself  in  flames.  Ah,  what 
pen  can  describe  the  horror  that  fell  upon 
many  a  family,  in  almost  all  the  colonies, 
not  once,  but  often,  when  aroused  by  false 
or  real  alarms  !  Who  can  depict  the  scenes 
in  which  a  father,  before  he  received  the 
fatal  blow  himself,  was  compelled  to  see 
his  wife  and  children  fall  by  the  tomahawk 
before  his  eyes,  or  be  dragged  into  a  cap- 
tivity worse  than  death '  With  such  de- 
pressing circumstances  to  try  the  hearts 
of  the  colonists — circumstances  that  can 
be  fully  understood  by  those  only  who 
have  passed  through  them,  or  who  have 
heard  them  related  with  the  minute  fideli- 
ty of  an  eyewitness — who  can  wonder 
that  the  colonists  advanced  but  slowly? 

Still,  as  I  have  said,  they  gradually  gain- 
ed strength.  At  the  Revolution  in  England 
of  1688,  that  is,  eighty-one  years  after  the 
first  settlement  of  Virginia,  and  sixty-eight 
after  that  of  Plymouth,  the  population  of 
the  colonies,  then  twelve  in  number,  waa 


Chap.  V.] 


INTERIOR  COLONIZATION   OF  THE  COUNTRY. 


21 


estimated  at  about  two  hundred  thousand, 
which  might  be  distributed  thus  :  Massa- 
chusetts, including-  Plymouth  and  Maine, 
may  have  had  forty-four  thousand  ;  New- 
Hampshire  and  Rhode  Island,  including 
Providence,  six  thousand  each  ;  Connecti- 
cut, from  seventeen  to  twenty  thousand ; 
making  up  seventy-five  thousand  for  all 
New-England  :  New- York,  not  less  than 
twenty  thousand ;  New-Jersey,  ten  thou- 
sand ;  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware,  twelve 
thousand  ;  Maryland,  twenty-five  thou- 
sand ;  Virginia,  fifty  thousand  ;  and  the 
two  Carolinas,  which  then  included  Geor- 
gia, probably  not  fewer  than  eight  thou- 
sand souls. 

After  having  confined  their  settlements 
for  many  years  within  a  short  distance, 
comparatively  speaking,  from  the  coast, 
the  colonists  began  to  penetrate  the  inland 
forests,  and  to  settle  at  different  points  in 
the  interior  of  the  country,  in  proportion 
as  they  considered  themselves  strong 
enough  to  occupy  them  safely.  Where 
hostility  on  the  part  of  the  Aborigines  was 
dreaded,  these  settlers  kept  together  as 
much  as  possible,  and  established  them- 
selves in  villages.  This  was  particularly 
the  case  in  New-England,  where,  from  the 
soil  being  less  favourable  to  agriculture, 
colonization  naturally  assumed  the  com- 
pact form  required  for  the  pursuits  of  trade 
and  the  useful  arts,  as  well  as  for  mutual 
assistance  when  exposed  to  attack.  As 
the  New-England  colonists  had  all  along 
devoted  themselves  much  to  the  fisheries 
and  other  branches  of  commerce,  their  set- 
tlements were  for  a  long  time  to  be  found 
chiefly  on  the  coast,  and  at  points  affording 
convenient  harbours.  But  it  was  much 
otherwise  in  the  South.  In  Virginia,  in 
particular,  the  colonists  were  induced  to 
settle  along  the  banks  of  rivers  to  very 
considerable  distances,  their  main  occu- 
pation being  the  planting  of  tobacco  and 
trading  to  some  extent  with  the  Indians. 
In  the  Carolinas,  again,  most  hands  being 
employed  in  the  manufacture  of  tar,  tur- 
pentine, and  rosin,  or  in  the  cultivation  of 
rice,  indigo,  and,  eventually,  of  cotton,  the 
colonial  settlements  took  a  considerable 
range  whenever  there  was  peace  with  the 
Indians  in  their  vicinity.  Where  there 
was  little  or  no  commerce,  and  agricultu- 
ral pursuits  of  different  kinds  were  the  chief 
occupation  of  the  people,  there  could  be 
few  towns  of  much  importance  ;  and  so 
much  does  this  hold  at  the  present  day, 
that  there  is  not  a  city  of  twenty-five 
thousand  inhabitants  in  all  the  five  South- 
ern Atlantic  States,  with  the  exception  of 
Baltimore,  in  Maryland,  and  Charleston,  in 
South  Carolina. 

Even  at  the  commencement  of  the  war 
of  the  Revolution,  in  1775,  the  colonies 
had  scarcely  penetrated  to  the  Alleghany 
or  Appalachian  Mountains  in  any  of  the 


provinces  that  reach  thus  far,  and  their 
whole  population  was  confined  to  the  strip 
of  land  interposed  between  those  mount- 
ains and  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  It  is  true, 
that  immediately  after  the  treaty  of  Paris, 
in  1763,  by  which  England  acquired  the 
Canadas  and  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi — 
excepting  Louisiana,  which  remained  with 
France,  or,  rather,  was  temporarily  ceded 
to  Spain— a  few  adventurers  began  to  pass 
beyond  the  mountains,  and  this  emigration 
westward  continued  during  the  war  of  the 
Revolution.  But  when  peace  came,  in 
1783,  I  much  doubt  if  there  were  twen- 
ty thousand  Anglo-Americans  in  West- 
ern Pennsylvania,  Western  Virginia,  Ken- 
tucky, and  Tennessee.  These  were  but  the 
advanced  posts  of  the  immense  host  about 
to  follow,  and,  for  many  years  after  the 
peace,  the  colonization  of  the  interior  was 
slower  than  might  be  supposed.  The  pop- 
ulation of  the  thirteen  provinces  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Revolution  is  not 
positively  known,  but  it  certainly  did  not 
exceed  three  millions  and  a  half,  slaves  in- 
cluded. No  doubt  the  population  of  the 
seaboard  increased  with  considerable  ra- 
pidity, and  Vermont  was  not  long  in  be- 
ing added  to  the  original  thirteen  states, 
making  fourteen  in  all  upon  the  Atlan- 
tic slope.  They  amount  now  to  fifteen, 
Maine,  which  was  long  a  sort  of  province 
to  Massachusetts,  having  become  a  sep- 
arate state  in  1820.  After  the  establish- 
ment of  Independence,  danger  from  the 
Aborigines  ceased  to  be  apprehended 
throughout  the  whole  country  situated  be- 
tween the  Alleghany  Mountains  and  the 
Atlantic  Ocean.  The  remains  of  the  nu- 
merous tribes,  its  former  inhabitants,  had. 
with  some  exceptions  in  New-England, 
New- York,  and  the  Carolinas,  retired  to 
the  West,  and  there  they  either  existed 
apart,  or  had  become  merged  in  other  and 
kindred  tribes. 

But  it  was  far  otherwise  in  the  great  re- 
gion to  the  west  of  the  Appalachian  range. 
There,  many  of  the  Indian  tribes  occupied 
the  country  in  all  their  pristine  force,  and 
were  the  more  to  be  dreaded  by  settlers 
from  the  Eastern  States,  inasmuch  as 
they  were  supposed  to  be  greatly  under 
the  influence  of  the  British  government  in 
Canada,  and  as  unkindly  feelings  long  sub- 
sisted between  the  Americans  and  their 
English  neighbours,  each  charging  the  oth- 
er, probably  not  without  justice,  with  exci- 
ting the  Indians,  by  means  of  their  respect- 
ive agents  and  hunters,  to  commit  acts  of 
violence.  Excepting  in  some  parts  of 
Western  Pennsylvania  and  Eastern  Ten- 
nessee, there  was  little  security  for  Amer- 
ican settlers  in  the  West  from  1783  until 
1795.  The  first  emigrants  to  Ohio  suffered 
greatly  from  the  Indians  ;  two  armies  sent 
against  them,  in  the  western  part  of  that 
state,  under  Generals  Harmer  and  St.  Clair* 


22 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  I. 


were  defeated  and  shockingly  cut  to  pie- 
ces ;  and  not  until  they  had  received  a 
dreadful  defeat  from  General  Wayne,  on 
the  River  Miami-of-the-lake,*  was  there 
anything  like  permanent  peace  established. 
But,  as  a  prelude  to  the  war  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain,  which 
commenced  in  1812  and  ended  in  1815,  the 
Indian  tribes  again  became  troublesome, 
particularly  in  Indiana  and  in  the  southeast- 
ern part  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
forming  now  the  State  of  Alabama.  The 
'Creeks,  a  powerful  tribe  of  the  Muskho- 
„gee  race,  then  occupied  that  country,  and 
it  was  not  until  defeated  in  many  battles 
and  skirmishes  that  they  were  reduced 
■to  peace.  In  point  of  fact,  perfect  secu- 
rity from  Indian  hostilities  has  prevailed 
throughout  the  West  only  since  1815; 
since  that  there  have  been  the  insignifi- 
cant war  with  Black  Hawk,  a  Sioux  chief, 
which  took  place  a  few  years  ago,  and  the 
still  more  recent  war  with  the  Seminoles 
in  Florida — exceptions  not  worth  special 
notice,  as  they  in  nowise  affected  the  coun- 
try at  large. 

It  is  now  (1844)  about  sixty  years  since 
the  tide  of  emigration  from  the  Atlantic 
States  set  fairly  into  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  though  no  great  influx 
took  place  in  any  one  year  during  the  first 
thirty-five  of  that  period,  it  has  wonder- 
fully increased  during  the  last  twenty-five. 
When  this  emigration  westward  first  com- 
menced, all  the  necessaries  that  the  emi- 
grants required  to  take  with  them  from  the 
East  had  to  be  carried  on  horseback,  no 
roads  for  wheeled  carriages  having  been 
opened  through  the  mountains.  On  arri- 
ving at  the  last  ridge  overlooking  the 
plains  to  the  west,  a  boundless  forest  lay 
stretched  out  before  those  pioneers  of  civ- 
ilization, like  an  ocean  of  living  green. 
Into  the  depths  of  that  forest  they  had  to 
plunge.  Often  long  years  of  toil  and  suf- 
fering rolled  away  before  they  could  es- 
tablish themselves  in  comfortable  abodes. 
The  climate  and  the  diseases  peculiar  to 
the  different  localities  were  unknown. 
Hence,  fevers  of  a  stubborn  type  cut  many 
of  them  off.  They  were  but  partially  ac- 
quainted with  the  mighty  rivers  of  that 
vast  region,  beyond  knowing  that  their 
common  outlet  was  in  the  possession  of 
foreigners,  who  imposed  vexatious  reg- 
ulations upon  their  infant  trade.  The 
navigation  of  those  rivers  could  be  car- 
ried on  only  in  flat-bottomed  boats,  keels, 
and  barges.  To  descend  them  was  not 
unattended  with  danger,  but  to  ascend  by 
means  of  sweeps  and  oars,  by  poling, 
warping,    bush-whacking,^    and    so    forth, 

*  Or  the  River  Miami  which  flows  into  Lake 
Erie,  and  so  called  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Miami 
that  falls  into  the  Ohio. 

t  The  word  bush-whacking  is  of  Western  origin, 
and  signifies  a  peculiar  mode  of  propelling  a  boat  up 


was  laborious  and  tedious  beyond  concep- 
tion. 

Far  different  are  the  circumstances  of 
those  colonists  now!  The  mountains,  at 
various  points,  are  traversed  by  substan- 
tial highways ;  and,  still  farther  to  aug- 
ment the  facilities  for  intercourse  with  the 
vast  Western  Valley,  canals  and  railroads 
are  in  progress.  It  is  accessible,  also,  from 
the  south,  by  vessels  from  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  as  well  as  from  the  north  by  the 
lakes,  on  whose  waters  from  fifty  to  a  hun- 
dred steamboats  now  pursue  their  foaming 
way.*  As  for  the  navigable  streams  of  the 
Valley  itself,  besides  boats  of  all  kinds  of 
ordinary  construction,  nearly,  if  not  quite, 
four  hundred  steamboats  ply  upon  their 
waters.  And  now,  instead  of  being  a 
boundless  forest  uninhabited  by  civilized 
men,  as  it  was  sixty  years  ago,  the  West 
contains  no  fewer  than  eleven  •  regular- 
ly-constituted states,  and  two  territories 
which  will  soon  be  admitted  as  states  into 
the  Union,  the  population  having,  mean- 
while, advanced  from  ten  or  twenty  thou- 
sand Anglo-American  inhabitants  to  above 
six  millions. t 

Generally  speaking,  the  various  sections 
of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  maybe  said 
to  have  been  colonized  from  the  parts  of 
the  Atlantic  coast  which  correspond  with 
them  as  nearly  as  possible  in  point  of  lati- 
tude. This  is  easily  accounted  for :  emi- 
grants from  the  East  to  the  West  naturally 
wish  to  keep  as  much  as  they  can  within 
the  climate  which  birth  and  early  life  have 


the  Mississippi,  Ohio,  or  any  other  river  in  that  re 
gion,  when  the  water  is  very  high.  It  is  this :  in 
stead  of  keeping  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  the 
boat  is  made  to  go  along  close  to  one  of  the  banks, 
and  the  men  who  guide  it,  by  catching  hold  of  the 
boughs  of  the  trees  which  overhang  the  water,  are 
enabled  to  drag  the  boat  along.  It  is  an  expedient 
resorted  to  more  by  way  of  change  than  anything 
else.  Sometimes  it  is  possible,  at  certain  stages  of 
the  rivers,  to  go  along  for  miles  in  this  way.  Even 
to  this  day  the  greater  portion  of  the  banks  of  the 
rivers  of  the  West  are  covered  with  almost  uninter- 
rupted forests. 

*  There  are  more  than  sixty  on  Lake  Erie  alone. 

i  It  may  be  worth  while  to  give  the  names  of 
these  states  and  territories,  their  extent  in  English 
square  miles,  and  their  population  according  to  the 
census  of  1840.    They  are  as  follows : 

STATES. 

Sq.  miles.  Pop.  in  1840. 

Ohio 40,260  1,519,467 

Indiana 36,500  685,868 

Michigan     ....  59,700  212,267 

Illinois 57,900  476,183 

Kentucky    ....  40,500  779,828 

Tennessee  ....  40,200  829,210 

Missouri      ....  63,800  383,702 

Arkansas     ....  60,700  97,574 

Alabama      ....  52,900  590,756 

Mississippi  ....  47,680  375,651 

Louisiana    ....  49,300  352,411 

TERRITORIES. 

Wisconsin  ....      30,945 

Iowa 43,112 

Total    ....    6,376,972 


Chap.  VI.]    ANGLO-SAXON    QUALIFICATIONS    FOR   COLONIZATION. 


23 


rendered  familiar  and  agreeable,  though  a 
regard  to  their  health  may  compel  some  of 
them  to  seek  a  change  by  passing  to  the 
south  or  north  of  their  original  latitude. 
The  New-England  tide  of  emigration,  in  its 
westward  course,  penetrated  and  settled 
the  northern  and  western  parts  of  the  State 
of  New-York,  and  advancing  still  farther  in 
the  direction  of  the  setting  sun,  entered  the 
northern  parts  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illi- 
nois, extended  over  the  whole  of  Michigan, 
and  is  now  stretching  into  the  Territory 
of  Wisconsin.  That  from  the  southern 
counties  of  New- York,  from  New-Jersey, 
and  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  first  occupied 
Western  Pennsylvania,  and  then  extended 
into  the  central  districts  of  Ohio  and  Indi- 
ana. The  Maryland  and  Virginia  column 
colonized  Western  Virginia  and  Kentucky, 
and  then  dispersed  itself  over  the  southern 
parts  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois  ;  while 
that  from  North  Carolina,  after  having 
colonized  Tennessee,  is  reaching  into 
Missouri  and  Iowa.  The  South  Carolina 
column,  mingling  with  that  of  Georgia, 
after  having  covered  Alabama  and  a  great 
part  of  the  State  of  Mississippi,  is  now  ex- 
tending itself  into  Arkansas. 

This  account  of  the  progress  of  coloni- 
zation westward,  as  a  general  statement,  is 
remarkably  correct,  and  it  furnishes  a  bet- 
ter key  to  the  political,  moral,  and  religious 
character  of  the  West,  than  any  other  that 
could  be  given.  The  West,  in  fact,  may 
be  regarded  as  the  counterpart  of  the  East, 
after  allowing  for  the  exaggeration,  if  I  may 
so  speak,  which  a  life  in  the  wilderness 
tends  to  communicate  for  a  time  to  man- 
ners and  character,  and  even  to  religion, 
but  which  disappears  as  the  population 
increases,  and  the  country  acquires  the 
stamp  of  an  older  civilization.  Strag- 
glers may,  indeed,  be  found  in  all  parts 
of  the  West,  from  almost  all  parts  of  the 
East ;  and  many  emigrants  from  Europe, 
too,  Germans  especially,  enter  by  New- 
Orleans,  and  from  that  city  find  their  way 
by  steamboats  into  Indiana,  Illinois,  Mis- 
souri, Wisconsin,  and  Iowa.  But  all  these 
form  exceptions  that  hardly  invalidate  the 
general  statement. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PECULIAR  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  THE  ANGLO- 
SAXON  RACE  FOR  THE  WORK  OF  COLONIZA- 
TION. 

Apart  altogether  from  considerations  of 
a  moral  and  religious  character,  and  the  in- 
fluence of  external  circumstances,  we  may 
remark,  that  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  possess- 
es qualities  peculiarly  adapted  for  success- 
ful colonization.  The  characteristic  per- 
severance, the  spirit  of  personal  freedom 
and  independence,  that  have  ever  distin- 


guished that  race,  admirably  fit  a  man  for 
the  labour  and  isolation  necessarily  to  be 
endured  before  he  can  be  a  successful 
colonist.  Now,  New-England,  together 
with  the  States  of  New- York,  New-Jersey, 
Delaware,  and  Pennsylvania,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Dutch  and  Swedish  elements, 
which  were  too  inconsiderable  to  affect  the 
general'  result,  were  all  colonized  by  peo- 
ple of  Anglo-Saxon  origin.  And  assuredly 
they  have  displayed  qualities  fitting  them 
for  their  task  such  as  the  world  has  never 
witnessed  before.  No  sooner  have  the 
relations  between  the  colonies  and  the 
Aborigines  permitted  it  to  be  done  with 
safety  (and  sometimes  even  before),  than 
we  find  individuals  and  families  ready  to 
penetrate  the  wilderness,  there  to  choose, 
each  for  himself  or  themselves,  some  fer- 
tile spot  for  a  permanent  settlement.  If 
friends  could  be  found  to  accompany  him 
and  settle  near  him,  so  much  the  better; 
but  if  not,  the  bold  emigrant  would  venture 
alone  far  into  the  trackless  forest,  and  sur- 
mount every  obstacle  single-handed,  like  a 
fisherman  committing  himself  to  the  deep 
and  passing  the  livelong  day  at  a  distance 
from  the  shore.  Such  was  the  experience 
of  many  of  the  first  colonists  of  New-Eng- 
land ;  such  that  of  the  earliest  settlers  in 
New- York,  New-Jersey,  Delaware,  and 
Pennsylvania;  such  in  our  own  day  has 
been  the  case  with  many  of  the  living  oc- 
cupants of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michi- 
gan, Wisconsin,  and  Iowa ;  and  thus  is 
colonization  advancing  in  all  those  states 
and  territories  at  the  present  moment. 

Living  on  the  lands  which  they  cultivate, 
the  agricultural  inhabitants  of  the  New- 
England  and  Middle  States  are  very  much 
dispersed  ;  the  country,  far  and  wide,  is 
dotted  over  with  the  dwellings  of  the  land- 
holders and  those  who  assist  them  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil.  For  almost  every 
landowner  tills  his  property  himself,  as- 
sisted by  his  sons,  by  young  men  hired  for 
that  purpose,  or  by  tenants  who  rent  from 
him  a  cottage  and  a  few  acres.  Field 
work  in  all  those  states  is  performed  by 
men  alone  ;  a  woman  is  never  seen  hand- 
ling the  plough,  the  hoe,  the  axe,  the 
sickle,  or  the  scythe,  unless  in  the  case 
of  foreign  emigrants  who  have  not  yet 
adopted  American  usages  in  this  respect. 

Now  it  is  in  this  isolated  and  independent 
mode  of  life  that  our  men  best  fitted  to 
penetrate  and  settle  in  the  wilderness  are 
trained ;  and  from  this  what  may  be  em- 
phatically called  our  frontier  race  has 
sprung,  and  is  recruited  from  time  to  time. 

Take  the  following  case  as  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  process  that  is  continually  going 
on  in  the  frontier  settlements.  A  man  re- 
moves to  the  West,  he  purchases  a  piece 
of  ground,  builds  a  house,  and  devotes 
himself  to  the  clearing  and  tillage  of  his 
forest  acres.     Ere  lone  he  has  rescued  a 


2-i 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA 


[Book  I. 


farm  from  the  wilderness,  and  has  reared 
a  family  upon  it.  He  then  divides  his  land 
among  his  sons,  if  there  be  enough  for  a 
farm  to  each  of  them  ;  if  not,  each  receives 
money  enough  to  buy  one  as  he  comes  of 
age.  Some  may  settle  on  lands  bestowed 
on  them  by  their  father ;  others,  preferring 
a  change,  may  dispose  of  their  portion  and 
proceed,  most  commonly  unmarried,  to 
"the  new  country,"  as  it  is  called,  that  is, 
to  those  parts  of  the  West  where  the  pub- 
lic lands  are  not  yet  sold.  There  he 
chooses  out  as  much  as  he  can  convenient- 
ly pay  for,  receiving  a  title  to  it  from  the 
District  Land  Office,  and  proceeds  to  make 
for  himself  a  home.  This  is  likely  to  be  in 
the  spring.  Having  selected  a  spot  for  his 
dwelling,  generally  near  some  fountain, 
or  where  water  may  be  had  by  digging  a 
well,  he  goes  round  and  makes  the  acquaint- 
ance of  his  neighbours,  residing  within 
the  distance,  it  may  be,  of  several  miles. 
A  time  is  fixed  for  building  him  a  house, 
upon  which  those  neighbours  come  and 
render  him  such  efficient  help,  that  in  a 
single  day  he  will  find  a  log-house  con- 
structed, and  perhaps  covered  with  clap- 
boards, and  having  apertures  cut  out  for 
the  doors,  windows,  and  chimney.  He 
makes  his  floor  at  once  of  rough  boards 
riven  from  the  abundant  timber  of  the  sur- 
rounding forest,  constructs  his  doors,  and 
erects  a  chimney.  Occupying  himself, 
while  interrupted  in  out-door  work  by 
rainy  weather,  in  completing  his  house,  he 
finds  it  in  a  few  weeks  tolerably  comfort- 
able, and  during  fair  weather  he  clears  the 
underwood  from  some  ten  or  fifteen  acres, 
kills  the  large  trees  by  notching  them 
round  so  as  to  arrest  the  rise  of  the  sap, 
and  plants  the  ground  with  Indian  corn,  or 
maize,  as  it  is  called  in  Europe.  He  can 
easily  make,  buy,  or  hire  a  plough,  a  har- 
row, and  a  hoe  or  two.  If  he  finds  time, 
he  surrounds  his  field  with  a  fence.  At 
length,  after  prolonging  his  stay  until  his 
crop  is  beyond  the  risk  of  serious  injury 
from  squirrels  and  birds,  or  from  the  growth 
of  weeds,  he  shuts  up  his  house,  commits 
it  to  the  care  of  some  neighbour,  living 
perhaps  one  or  two  miles  distant,  and  re- 
turns to  his  paternal  home,  which  may  be 
from  one  to  three  hundred  miles  distant 
from  his  new  settlement.  There  he  stays 
until  the  month  of  September,  then  mar- 
ries, and  with  his  young  wife,  a  wagon 
and  pair  of  horses  to  carry  their  effects,  a 
few  cattle  or  sheep,  or  none,  according  to 
circumstances,  sets  out  to  settle  for  life  in 
the  wilderness.  On  arriving  at  his  farm,  he 
sows  wheat  or  rye  among  his  standing  In- 
dian corn,  then  gathers  in  this  last,  and 
prepares  for  the  winter.  His  wife  shares 
all  the  cares  incident  to  this  humble  begin- 
ning. Accustomed  to  every  kind  of  house- 
hold work,  she  strives  by  the  diligence  of 
her  fingers  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  going 


to  the  merchant,  who  has  opened  his  store 
at  some  village  among  the  trees,  perhaps 
some  miles  off,  and  there  laying  out  the 
little  money  they  may  have  left.  With 
economy  and  health,  they  gradually  be- 
come prosperous.  The  primitive  log-house 
gives  place  to  a  far  better  mansion,  con- 
structed of  hewn  logs,  or  of  boards,  or  of 
brick  or  stone.  Extensive  and  well-fenced 
fields  spread  around,  ample  barns  stored 
with  grain,  stalls  filled  with  horses  and  cat- 
tle, flocks  of  sheep,  and  herds  of  hogs,  all 
attest  the  increasing  wealth  of  the  owners. 
Their  children  grow  up,  perhaps  to  pursue 
the  same  course,  or,  as  their  inclinations 
may  lead,  to  choose  some  other  occupa- 
tion, or  to  enter  one  of  the  learned  profes- 
sions. 

This  sketch  will  give  the  reader  some 
idea  of  the  mode  in  which  colonization 
advances  among  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  of 
the  Middle  and  New-England  States  of 
America.  Less  Anglo-Saxon  in  their  ori- 
gin, and  having  institutions  and  customs 
modified  by  slavery,  the  Southern  States 
exhibit  colonization  advancing  in  a  very 
different  style.  When  an  emigrant  from 
those  states  removes  to  the  "  Far  West," 
he  takes  with  him  his  wagons,  his  cattle, 
his  little  ones,  and  a  troop  of  slaves,  so  as 
to  resemble  Abraham  when  he  moved  from 
place  to  place  in  Canaan.  When  he  set- 
tles in  the  forest  he  clears  and  cultivates 
the  ground  with  the  labour  of  his  slaves. 
Everything  goes  on  heavily.  Slaves  are 
too  stupid  and  improvident  to  make  good 
colonists.  The  country,  under  these  dis- 
advantages, never  assumes  the  garden-like 
appearance  that  it  already  wears  in  the 
New-England  and  Middle  States,  and  which 
is  to  be  seen  in  the  northern  parts  of  the 
great  Central  Valley.  Slavery,  in  fact, 
seems  to  blight  whatever  it  touches. 

Next  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  from  the 
British  shores,  the  Scotch  make  the  best 
settlers  in  the  great  American  forests. 
The  Irish  are  not  so  good  ;  they  know  not 
how  to  use  the  plough,  or  how  to  manage 
the  horse  and  the  ox,  having  had  but  little 
experience  of  either  in  their  native  land. 
None  can  handle  the  spade  better,  nor  are 
they  wanting  in  industry.  But  when  they 
first  arrive  they  are  irresolute,  dread  the 
forest,  and  hang  too  much  about  the  large 
towns,  looking  around  for  such  work  as 
their  previous  mode  of  life  has  not  disquali- 
fied them  for.  Such  of  them  as  have  been 
bred  to  meehanical  trades  might  find  suffi- 
cient employment  if  they  would  let  ardent 
spirits  alone,  but  good  colonists  for  the  for- 
ests they  will  never  be.  Their  children 
may  do  better  in  that  career.  The  few 
Welsh  to  be  found  in  America  are  much 
better  fitted  than  the  Irish  for  the  life  and 
pursuits  of  a  farmer. 

The  perseverance  and  frugality  of  the 
German,  joined   to   other  good  qualities 


Chap.  VII.]    WANT    OF   NATIONAL   CHARACTER   IN   AMERICA. 


25 


which  he  has  in  common  with  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race,  enable  hiin  to  succeed  tolera- 
bly well  even  in  the  forest,  but  he  finds  it 
more  to  his  advantage  to  settle  on  a  farm 
bought  at.  second-hand  and  partially  culti- 
vated. The  Swiss  are  much  the  same  with 
the  Germans.  The  French  and  Italians, 
on  the  other  hand,  are  totally  unfit  for 
planting  colonies  in  the  woods.  Nothing 
could  possibly  be  more  alien  to  the  usual 
habits  of  a  Frenchman.  The  population 
of  France  is  almost  universally  collected 
in  cities,  towns,  villages,  and  hamlets,  and 
thus,  from  early  habit  as  well  as  constitu- 
tional disposition,  Frenchmen  love  socie- 
ty, and  cannot  endure  the  loneliness  and 
isolation  of  the  settlements  we  have  de- 
scribed. When  they  attempt  to  form  colo- 
nies, it  is  by  grouping  together  in  villages, 
as  may  be  seen  along  the  banks  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  of  the  Lower  Mississippi. 
Hence  their  settlements  are  seldom  either 
extensive  or  vigorous.  They  find  them- 
selves happier  in  the  cities  and  large  towns. 
If  resolved  to  establish  themselves  in  the 
country,  they  should  go  to  comparatively 
well-settled  neighbourhoods,  not  to  the  for- 
ests of  the  Far  West. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ON    THE    ALLEGED    WANT    OF    NATIONAL    CHAR- 
ACTER IN  AMERICA. 

Foreigners  who  have  written  about  the 
United  States  have  often  asserted  that  it 
is  a  country  without  a  national  character. 
Were  this  the  mere  statement  of  an  opin- 
ion, it  might  be  suffered  to  pass  unnoticed, 
like  many  other  things  emanating  from 
authors  who  undertake  to  speak  about 
countries  which  they  have  had  only  very 
partial,  and  hence  very  imperfect,  opportu- 
nities of  knowing.  But  as  the  allegation 
has  been  made  with  an  air  of  considerable 
pretension,  it  becomes  necessary  that  we 
should  submit  it  to  the  test  of  truth. 

If  oneness  of  origin  be  essential  to  the 
formation  of  national  character,  it  is  clear 
that  the  people  of  the  United  States  can 
make  no  pretensions  to  it.  No  civilrzed 
nation  was  ever  composed  of  inhabitants 
derived  from  such  a  variety  of  sources  ; 
for  in  the  United  States  we  find  the  de- 
scendants of  English,  Welsh,  Scotch, 
Irish,  Dutch,  Germans,  Norwegians,  Danes, 
Swedes,  Poles,  French,  Italians,  and  Span- 
iards ;  and  there  is  even  a  numerous  and 
distinguished  family  in  which  it  is  admitted, 
with  pride,  that  the  blood  of  an  Indian  prin- 
cess mingles  with  that  of  the  haughty  Nor- 
man or  Norman-Saxon.  Many  other  na- 
tions are  of  mixed  descent,  but  where  shall 
we  find  one  derived  from  so  many  distinct 
races  1 

Neither,  if  national  character  depends 


upon  the  existence  of  but  one  language,, 
can  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  make 
any  claim  to  it ;  for  the  colonists  from 
whom  they  are  descended  brought  with 
them  the  languages  of  the  different  coun- 
tries from  which  they  came,  and  these  are 
retained  in  some  instances  to  the  present 
day.  At  least  eleven  of  the  different  lan- 
guages of  Europe  have  been  spoken  by 
settlers  in  the  United  States. 

But  let  us  examine  these  two  points 
somewhat  more  minutely,  and  we  cannot 
fail  to  be  struck  with  the  facts  which  will 
be  presented  to  our  view. 

And  in  the  first,  never  has  there  been 
witnessed  so  rapid  a  blending  of  people 
from  different  countries,  and  speaking  dif- 
ferent languages,  as  may  be  seen  in  the 
United  States.  Within  the  last  two  hun- 
dred years,  people  have  been  arriving  from 
some  eleven  or  twelve  different  countries, 
and  distinguished  by  as  many  different 
tongues,  yet  so  singular  a  fusion  has  ta- 
ken place,  that  in  many  localities,  where 
population  is  at  all  compact,  it  would  puz- 
zle a  stranger  to  determine  the  national 
origin  of  the  people  from  any  peculiarity 
of  physiognomy  or  dialect,  far  less  of  lan- 
guage. Who  can  distinguish  in  New-York 
the  mass  of  persons  of  Dutch  descent  from 
those  of  Anglo-Saxon  origin,  unless,  per- 
haps, by  their  retaining  Dutch  family 
names  1  W7here  discover,  by  the  indices  of 
language,  features,  or  manners,  the  de- 
scendants of  the  Swedes,  the  Welsh,  with 
a  few  exceptions  the  Poles,  the  Norwe- 
gians, the  Danes,  or  the  great  body  of 
French  Huguenots'?  Almost  the  only  ex- 
ceptions to  this  universal  amalgamation 
and  loss  of  original  languages  are  to  be 
found  in  the  Germans  and  French ;  and  even 
in  regard  to  these,  had  it  not  been  for  com- 
paratively recent  arrivals  of  emigrants 
caused  by  the  French  Revolution,  the  St. 
Domingo  massacres,  and  various  events  in 
Germany,  both  the  French,  and  German 
languages  would  have  been  extinct  ere  now 
in  the  United  States.  The  former  is  spo- 
ken only  by  a  few  thousands  in  the  large 
cities,  and  some  tens  of  thousands  in  Loui 
siana.  In  the  cities,  English  as  well  as- 
French  is  spoken  by  most  of  the  French  ; 
and  in  Louisiana,  the  only  portion  of  the 
Union  which  the  French  language  has  ever 
ventured  to  claim  for  itself,  it  is  fast  giving 
place  to  English.  German,  also,  spoken 
although  it  be  by  many  thousands  of  emi- 
grants arriving  yearly  from  Europe,  is  fast 
disappearing  from  trie  older  settlements. 
The  children  of  these  Germans  almost  uni- 
versally acquire  the  English  tongue  in  their 
infancy,  and  where  located,  as  generally*'' 
happens,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  settlers 
who  speak  English  as  their  mother  tongue, 
learn  to  speak  it  well.  Indeed,  over  nearly 
the  whole  vast  extent  of  the  United  States, 
English  is  spoken  among  the  well-educa- 


26 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  I. 


ted,  with  a  degree  of  purity  to  which  there 
is  no  parallel  in  the  British  realm.  There, 
on  a  space  not  much  larger  than  a  sixth  part 
of  the  United  States  territory,  no  fewer  than 
three  or  four  languages  are  spoken  ;  and  in 
England  alone,  I  know  not  how  many  dia- 
lects are  to  be  found  which  a  person  unac- 
customed to  them  can  hardly  at  all  com- 
prehend, however  familiar  he  may  be  with 
pure  English.  As  for  France,  with  its  Gas- 
con, Breton,  and  I  know  not  how  many 
other  remains  of  the  languages  spoken  by 
the  ancient  races  which  were  once  scat- 
tered over  its  territory,  the  case  is  still 
worse.*  Nor  does  either  Germany  or  Ita- 
ly present  the  uniformity  of  speech  that 
distinguishes  the  millions  of  the  United 
States,  with  the  exception  of  the  newly-ar- 
rived foreigners  ;  a  uniformity  which  ex- 
tends even  to  pronunciation,  and  the  ab- 
sence of  provincial  accent  and  phraseology. 
A  well-educated  American  who  has  seen 
much  of  his  country  may,  indeed,  distin- 
guish the  Southern  from  the  Northern 
modes  of  pronouncing  certain  vowels  ;  he 
may  recognise  by  certain  shades  of  sound, 
if  1  may  so  express  myself,  the  Northern 
or  Southern  origin  of  his  countrymen ;  but 
these  differences  are  too  slight  to  be  read- 
ily perceived  by  a  foreigner. 

Generally  speaking,  the  pronunciation 
of  well-educated  Americans  is  precisely 
that  given  in  the  best  orthoepical  authori- 
ties of  England,  and  our  best  speakers 
adopt  the  w  ell-established  changes  in  pro- 
nunciation that  from  time  to  time  gain 
ground  there.  A  few  words,  however,  are 
universally  pronounced  in  a  manner  differ- 
ent from  what  prevails  in  England.  Either 
and  neither,  for  example,  are  pronounced 
eether  and  neelher,  not  Ither  and  rather,  nor 
will  our  lawyers  probably  ever  learn  to  say 
lien  for  lien.  There  is  a  very  perceptible 
difference  of  accent  between  the  English 
and  Americans,  particularly  those  of  the 
Eastern  or  New-England  States.  There 
is  also  a  difference  of  tone  ;  in  some  of  the 
states  there  is  more  of  a  nasal  inflexion  of 
the  voice  than  one  hears  in  England. 

English  literature  has  an  immense  cir- 
culation in  America  ;  a  circumstance  which 
may  be  an  advantage  in  one  sense,  and  a 
disadvantage  in  another.  We  are  not  want- 
ing, however,  in  authors  of  unquestion- 
able merit  in  almost  every  branch  of  liter- 
ature, art,  and  science.  Still,  if  a  litera- 
ture of  our  own  creation  be  indispensable 
to  the  possession  of  a  national  character, 
we  must  abandon  all  claim  to  it. 

It  may  be  added,  that  we  have  no  fash- 
ions of  our  own.  We  follow  the  modes  of 
Paris.  But  in  this  Germans,  Russians, 
Italians,  and  English,  without  any  abate- 


*  I  have  been  informed  that  there  are  twelve  dis- 
tinct lauguages  and  patois  spoken  in  France,  and 
that  interpreters  are  needed  in  courts  of  justice  with- 
in a  hundred  rrales  of  Paris  ! 


ment  of  their  claims  to  national  character, 
do  the  same. 

Amalgamation  takes  place,  also,  by  in- 
termarriages to  an  extent  quite  unexam- 
pled anywhere  else  ;  for  though  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race  has  an  almost  undisputed  pos- 
session of  the  soil  in  New-England,  peo- 
ple are  everywhere  else  to  be  met  with 
in  whose  veins  flows  the  mingled  blood 
of  English,  Dutch,  Germans,  Irish,  and 
French. 

Nor  has  the  assimilation  of  races  and 
languages  been  greater  than  that  of  man- 
ners, customs,  religion,  and  political  prin- 
ciples. The  manners  of  the  people,  in 
some  places  less,  in  others  more  refined, 
are  essentially  characterized  by  simplicity, 
sincerity,  frankness,  and  kindness.  The 
religion  of  the  overwhelming  majority,  and 
which  may  therefore  be  called  national,  is, 
in  all  essential  points,  what  was  taught  by 
the  great  Protestant  Reformers  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  With  respect  to  politics, 
with  whatever  warmth  we  may  discuss  the 
measures  of  the  government,  but  one  feel- 
ing prevails  with  regard  to  our  political 
institutions  themselves.  We  are  no  prop- 
agandists :  we  hold  it  to  be  our  duty  to 
avoid  meddling  with  the  governments  of 
other  countries  ;  and  though  we  prefer  our 
own  political  forms,  would  by  no  means 
insist  on  others  doing  so  too.  That  gov- 
ernment we  believe  to  be  the  best  for  any 
people  under  which  they  live  most  happi- 
ly, and  are  best  protected  in  their  rights  of 
person,  property,  and  conscience  ;  and  we 
would  have  every  nation  to  judge  for  itself 
what  form  of  government  is  best  suited  to 
secure  for  it  these  great  ends. 

Assuredly  no  country  possesses  a  press 
more  free,  or  where,  notwithstanding,  pub- 
lic opinion  is  more  powerful ;  but  on  these 
points  we  shall  have  more  to  say  in  an- 
other part  of  this  work. 

The  American  people,  taken  as  a  whole, 
are  mainly  characterized  by  perseverance, 
earnestness,  kindness,  hospitality,  and  self- 
reliance,  that  is,  by  a  disposition  to  depend 
upon  their  own  exertions  to  the  utmost, 
rather  than  look  to  the  government  for  as- 
sistance. Hence,  there  is  no  country  where 
the  government  does  less,  or  the  people 
more.  In  a  word,  our  national  character 
is  that  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  which 
still  predominates  among  us  in  conse- 
quence of  its  original  preponderancy  in 
the  colonization  of  the  country,  and  of  the 
energy  which  forms  its  characteristic  dis- 
tinction. 

Has  the  reader  ever  heard  Haydn's  cel- 
ebrated oratorio  of  the  Creation  perform- 
ed by  a  full  orchestra  \  If  so,  he  cannot 
have  forgotten  how  chaos  is  represented 
at  the  commencement,  by  all  the  instru- 
ments being  sounded  together  without  the 
least  attempt  at  concord.  By-and-by,  how- 
ever,  something  like    order  begins,   and 


Chap.  VIII.] 


THE   ROYAL   CHARTERS. 


at  length  the  clear  notes  of  the  clarionet 
are  heard  over  all  the  others,  controlling 
them  into  harmony.  Something  like  this 
has  been  the  influence  in  America  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  lruiguage,  laws,  institutions, 

CHARACTER. 

But  if,  when  it  is  alleged  that  we  have 
no  national  character,  it  be  meant  that  we 
have  not  originated  any  for  ourselves,  it 
may  be  asked,  What  nation  has  ?  All  owe 
much  to  those  from  whom  they  have 
sprung ;  this,  too,  has  been  our  case,  al- 
though what  we  have  inherited  from  our 
remote  ancestors  has  unquestionably  been 
much  modified  by  the  operation  of  politi- 
cal institutions  which  we  have  been  led  to 
adopt  by  new  circumstances,  and  which, 
probably,  were  never  contemplated  by  the 
founders  of  our  country. 


•     CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    ROYAL    CHARTERS. 

Few  points  in  the  colonial  history  of  the 
United  States  are  more  interesting  to  the 
curious  inquirer  than  the  royal  charters, 
under  which  the  settlement  of  the  country 
first  took  place. 

These  charters  were  granted  by  James 
I.,  Charles  I.,  Charles  II.,  James  II.,  Will- 
iam and  Mary,  and  George  I.  They  were 
very  diverse,  both  in  form  and  substance. 
Some  were  granted  to  companies,  some  to 
single  persons,  others  to  the  colonists 
themselves.  Most  of  them  preceded  the 
foundation  of  the  colonies  to  which  they 
referred  ;  but  in  the  cases  of  Rhode  Island 
and  Connecticut,  the  territories  were  set- 
tled first ;  while  Plymouth  colony  had  no 
crown  charter  at  all,  and  not  even  a  grant 
from  the  Plymouth  Company  in  England, 
until  the  year  after  its  foundation. 

The  ordinary  reader  can  be  interested 
only  in  the  charters  granted  by  the  crown 
of  England ;  those  from  proprietary  com- 
panies and  individuals,  to  whom  whole 
provinces  had  first  been  granted  by  the 
crown,  can  interest  those  readers  only 
who  would  study  the  innumerable  lawsuits 
to  which  they  gave  occasion.  Such  in 
those  days  was  the  utter  disregard  for  the 
correct  laying  down  of  boundaries,  that 
the  same  district  of  country  was  often  cov- 
ered with  two  or  more  grants,  made  by  the 
same  proprietors,  to  different  individuals  ; 
thus  furnishing  matter  for  litigations  which 
lasted  in  some  colonies  more  than  a  cen- 
tury, and  sometimes  giving  rise  to  lawsuits 
even  at  the  present  day. 

The  royal  charters  give  us  an  amusing 
idea  of  the  notions  with  respect  to  North 
American  geography  entertained  in  those 
days  by  the  sovereigns  of  England,  or  by 
those  who  acted  for  them.  The  charter 
of  Virginia  not  only  included  those  vast 
regions  now  comprised  in  the  States  of 


Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Michigan,  but 
the  northern  and  southern  bounding  lines, 
if  extended  according  to  the  terms  of  the 
charter,  would  have  terminated,  the  one  in 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  the  other  in  Hud- 
son's Bay  ;  yet  by  the  same  charter,  they 
were  both  to  terminate  at  the  South  Sea, 
as  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  then  called. 

The  North  Carolina  and  Georgia  char- 
ters conveyed  to  the  colonists  provinces 
that  were  to  extend  westward  to  the  South 
Sea. 

The  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut 
charters  made  these  colonies  also  reach 
to  the  South  Sea,  it  never  appearing  to 
have  entered  the  royal  head  that  they  must 
thus  have  interfered  with  the  claims  of 
Virginia.  New- York,  which  they  must  also 
have  traversed,  seems  not  to  have  been 
thought  of,  though  claimed  and  occupied 
at  the  time  by  the  Dutch.  Indeed,  con- 
sidering the  descriptions  contained  in  their 
charters,  it  is  marvellous  that  the  colonies 
ever  ascertained  their  boundaries.  Look- 
ing at  the  charter  of  Massachusetts,  for 
example,  and  comparing  it  with  that  state 
as  laid  down  on  our  maps,  we  are  amazed 
to  think  by  what  possible  ingenuity  it 
should  have  come  to  have  its  existing 
boundaries,  especially  that  on  the  north- 
east. Still  more  confounding  does  it  seem 
that  Massachusetts  should  have  success- 
fully claimed  the  territory  of  Maine,  and 
yet  have  had  to  relinquish  that  of  New- 
Hampshire. 

The  charter  granted  to  William  Penn 
for  Pennsylvania  was  the  clearest  of  all, 
yet  it  was  long  matter  of  dispute  whether 
or  not  it  included  Delaware.  On  the  oth- 
er hand,  Delaware  was  claimed  by  Mary- 
land, and  with  justice,  if  the  charter  of  the 
latter  province  were  to  be  construed  lit- 
erally. Still,  Maryland  did  not  obtain 
Delaware. 

Such  charters,  it  will  be  readily  sup- 
posed, must  have  led  to  serious  and  pro- 
tracted disputes  between  the  colonies 
themselves.  Many  of  these  disputes  were 
still  undetermined  at  the  commencement 
of  the  war  of  the  Revolution ;  several  re- 
mained unadjustified  long  after  the  achieve- 
ment of  the  national  independence  ;  and  it 
was  only  a  few  years  ago  that  the  last  ot 
the  boundary  questions  was  brought  to  a 
final  issue  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States. 

After  the  Revolution,  immense  difficul- 
ties attended  the  settlement  of  the  various 
claims  preferred  by  the  Atlantic  States  to 
those  parts  of  the  West  which  they  be- 
lieved to  have  been  conveyed  to  them  by 
their  old  charters,  and  into  which  the  tide 
of  emigration  was  then  beginning  to  flow. 
Had  Virginia  successfully  asserted  her 
claims,  she  would  have  had  an  empire  in 
the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  sufficient,  at 
some  future  day,  to  counterbalance  almost 


28 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  I. 


all  the  other  states  put  together.  North 
Carolina  and  Georgia  also  laid  claim  to 
territories  of  vast  extent.  The  claims  of 
Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  directly 
conflicted  with  those  of  Virginia.  Hence 
it  required  a  great  deal  of  wisdom  and  pa- 
tience to  settle  all  these  claims,  without 
endangering  the  peace  and  safety  of  the 
confederacy.  All,  at  length,  were  adjusted 
except  that  of  Georgia,  and  it,  too,  was  ar- 
ranged at  a  later  date.  Virginia  magnan- 
imously relinquished  all  her  claims  in  the 
West ;  a  spontaneous  act,  which  immedi- 
ately led  to  the  establishment  of  the  State 
of  Kentucky,  followed  in  due  time  by 
the  foundation  of  those  of  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  and  Michigan,  in  what  was  long 
called  the  Northwestern  Territory.  The 
relinquishment  by  North  Carolina  of  her 
claims  west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains 
led  to  the  creation  of  the  State  of  Tennes- 
see. But  Connecticut  refused  to  abandon 
her  claim  to  the  northeastern  part  of  Ohio, 
often  called  to  this  day  New  Connecticut, 
without  receiving  from  the  General  Gov- 
ernment a  handsome  equivalent  in  money, 
which  has  been  safely  invested,  and  forms 
the  basis  of  a  large  capital,  set  apart  for 
the  support  of  the  common  schools  of  the 
state.*  Georgia  also  ceded  her  claims  in 
the  West  to  the  General  Government,  on 
the  condition  that  it  should  obtain  for  her 
from  the  Indians  a  title  to  their  territory 
lying  to  the  east  of  the  Chattahoochee 
River,  now  the  western  boundary  of  that 
state.  Out  of  the  cession  thus  made  by 
Georgia  have  been  formed  the  States  of 
Alabama  and  Mississippi. 

The  United  States  have  had  to  struggle 
with  still  more  serious  difficulties,  origina- 
ting in  the  old  royal  charters.  Little  re- 
gard was  paid  to  the  prior  claims  of  the 
Indians  in  the  extensive  grants  made  by 
those  charters,  directly  or  indirectly,  to 
the  colonists.  The  pope  had  set  the  ex- 
ample of  giving  away  the  Aborigines  with 
the  lands  they  occupied,  or,  rather,  of  giv- 
ing away  the  land  from  under  them  ;  and 
although  in  all  the  colonies  founded  by 
our  English  ancestors  in  America  there 
was  a  kind  of  feeling  that  the  Indians  had 
some  claims  on  the  ground  of  prior  occu- 
pation, yet  these,  it  was  thought,  ought  to 
give  place  to  the  rights  conferred  by  the 
royal  charters.  The  colonists  were  sub- 
ject to  the  same  blinding  influence  of 
selfishness  that  affects  other  men,  and  to 
this  we  are  to  ascribe  the  importunity  with 
which  they  urged  the  removal  of  the  Indi- 
ans from  the  land  conveyed  by  the  royal 
charters,  and  which  they  had  long  been 
wont  to  consider  and  to  call  their  own. 
In  no  case,  indeed,  did  the  new-comers 
seize  upon  the  lands  of  the  aboriginal  oc- 
cupants without  some  kind  of  purchase ; 


*  Amounting  to  2,040,228  dollars. 


yet  unjustifiable  means  Avere  often  em- 
ployed to  induce  the  latter  to  cede  their 
claims  to  the  former,  such  as  excessive 
importunity,  the  bribery  of  the  chiefs,  and 
sometimes  even  threats.  Thus,  although, 
with  the  exception  of  lands  obtained  by 
right  of  conquest  in  war,  I  do  not  believe 
that  any  whatever  was  obtained  without 
something  being  given  in  exchange  for  it, 
yet  I  fear  that  the  golden  rule  of  "  doing 
to  others  as  we  would  that  they  should  do 
unto  us,"  was  sadly  neglected  in  many  of 
those  transactions.  In  Pennsylvania  and 
New-England,  unquestionably,  greater  fair- 
nes  was  shown  than  in  most,  if  not  all  the 
other  colonies  ;  yet  even  there,  full  justice, 
according  to  the  above  rule,  was  not  always 
practised.  Indeed,  in  many  cases  it  was 
difficult  to  say  what  exact  justice  implied. 
To  savages  roaming  over  vast  tracts  of 
land  which  they  did  not  cultivate,  and 
which,  even  for  the  purposes  of  the  chase, 
were  often  more  extensive  than  necessary, 
to  part  with  hundreds,  or  even  thousands 
of  square  miles,  coulu  not  be  thought  a 
matter  of  much  importance,  and  thus  con- 
science was  quieted.  But  although  our 
forefathers  may  not  have  done  full  justice 
to  the  poor  Indians,  it  is  by  no  means  cer- 
tain that  others  in  the  same  circumstances 
would  have  done  better. 

The  impatience  of  the  colonists  to  ob- 
tain possession  of  lands  which  their  char- 
ters, or  arrangements  consequent  thereon, 
led  them  to  regard  as  their  own,  has  at 
times  thrown  the  General  Government  into 
much  embarrassment  and  difficulty.  Thus, 
in  the  conflict  between  it  and  the  State  of 
Georgia,  a  few  short  years  ago,  Congress 
had  agreed  to  buy  the  claims  of  the  Indi- 
ans still  remaining  within  that  state,  and  to 
provide  for  their  removal  beyond  its  lim- 
its, in  return  for  the  relinquishment  of  its 
claims  in  the  West.  But  this  removal  of 
the  Indians,  it  had  been  expressly  stipula- 
ted, was  to  be  effected  peaceably,  and  with 
their  own  consent.  Time  rolled  on,  the 
population  of  Georgia  increased,  the  set- 
tlements of  the  white  men  had  begun  to 
touch  those  of  the  red  men,  and  the  latter 
were  urged  to  sell  their  lands  and  to  retire 
farther  to  the  west.  But  to  this  they 
would  not  consent.  Thereupon  the  Gen- 
eral Government  was  called  on  to  fulfil  its 
engagement.  It  exerted  itself  to  the  ut- 
most to  persuade  the  Indians  to  sell  their 
lands ;  but  neither  would  it  employ  force 
itself,  nor  allow  Georgia  to  do  so,  though 
much  was  done  by  the  colonists,  and  some- 
thing, too,  by  the  state  indirectly,  to  worry 
the  Indians  into  terms.  The  chiefs,  how- 
ever, long  held  back.  But  at  length  the 
lands  were  sold  at  a  great  price,  and  their 
occupants  received  others  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  have  removed  to  these. 
There,  I  doubt  not,  they  will  do  bettei 
than  in  their  former  abode. 


Chap.IX.]    A   KNOWLEDGE  OF  THE   AMERICAN  PEOPLE,  ETC. 


29 


To  rid  itself  of  such  embarrassments 
created  by  the  old  charters,  the  General 
Government,  at  the  instance  of  great  and 
good  men,  adopted,  some  years  ago,  the  plan 
of  collecting  all  the  tribes  still  to  be  found 
within  the  confines  of  any  of  the  states, 
upon  an  extensive  district  to  the  west  of 
Arkansas  and  Missouri,  claimed  by  no 
state,  and,  therefore,  considered  as  part  of 
the  public  domain.  There  it  has  already 
collected  the  Cherokees,  the  Choctas,  the 
Chickasas,  the  Creeks,  and  several  smaller 
tribes.  Soon  the  territories  of  all  the  states 
will  be  cleared  of  them,  except  in  so  far  as 
they  may  choose  to  remain  and  become 
citizens.  Nor  can  I  avoid  cherishing  the 
hope  that  the  great  Indian  community  now 
forming,  as  I  have  said,  west  of  Missouri 
and  Arkansas,  will  one  day  become  a  state 
itself,  and  have  its  proper  representatives 
in  the  great  council  of  the  nation.  I  may 
conclude  these  remarks  by  observing,  that 
the  late  painful  dispute  between  the  Uni- 
ted States  and  Great  Britain,  now  so  hap- 
pily terminated,  relative  to  the  boundaries 
between  the  State  of  Maine  on  the  one 
hand,  and  Lower  Canada  and  New-Bruns- 
wick on  the  other,  originated  in  the  geo- 
graphical obscurity  of  certain  limits,  de- 
scribed in  one  of  these  old  charters. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HOW  A  CORRECT  KNOWLEDGE  OF  THE  AMER- 
ICAN PEOPLE,  THE  NATURE  OF  THEIR  GOV- 
ERNMENT, AND  OF  THEIR  NATIONAL  CHARAC- 
TER, MAY  BEST  BE  ATTAINED. 

He  who  would  obtain  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  their 
national  character,  the  nature  of  their  gov- 
ernment, and  the  spirit  of  their  laws,  must 
go  back  to  the  earliest  ages  of  the  history 
of  England,  and  study  the  character  of  the 
various  races  that  from  early  times  have 
settled  there.  He  must  carefully  mark 
the  influences  they  exerted  on  each  other, 
and  upon  the  civil  and  political  institutions 
of  that  country.  He  must  study  the  Sax- 
on Conquest,  followed  by  the  introduction 
of  Saxon  institutions,  and  Saxon  laws  and 
usages  ;  the  trial  of  an  accused  person  by 
his  peers  ;  the  subdivision  of  the  country 
into  small  districts,  called  townships  or 
hundreds  ;  the  political  influence  of  that 
arrangement ;  and  the  establishment  of 
seven  or  eight  petty  kingdoms,  in  which 
the  authority  of  the  king  was  shared  by  the 
people,  without  whose  consent  no  laws  of 
importance  could  be  made,  and  who  often 
met  for  legislation  in  the  open  fields,  or 
beneath  the  shade  of  some  wide-spreading 
forest,  as  their  Scandinavian  kinsmen  met, 
at  a  much  later  period,  round  the  Mora 
stone.*     He  must  next  study  the  modifi- 


*  On  the  plains  of  Upsala  in  Sweden.    The  mora 
ttone  signifies  the  stone  on  the  moor. 


cations  afterward  introduced  during  the 
subjugation  of  the  Saxons  by  the  North- 
men or  Danes,  lasting  through  261  years,* 
and  which,  though  both  partial  in  its  ex- 
tent, and  interrupted  in  its  continuance, 
left  not  a  few  monuments  of  its  existence, 
and  gave  a  name  to  one  of  the  orders  of 
the  English  nobility. f 

But,  above  all,  he  must  study  the  influence 
of  the  Norman  Conquest,  which  was  com- 
pleted within  twenty  years  from  the  battle 
of  Hastings,  fought  A.D.  1066.  Without 
extirpating  all  the  Saxon  institutions,  that 
event  reduced  the  Anglo-Saxons  of  Eng- 
land to  the  condition  of  serfs ;  gave  their 
lands  to  sixty  thousand  warriors,  compo- 
sing the  conqueror's  army ;  established  an 
absolute  monarchy,  surrounded  by  a  pow- 
erful landed  aristocracy ;  and  thus  intro- 
duced an  order  of  things  wholly  new  to 
the  country,  and  foreign  to  its  habits. 

He  must  attentively  mark  the  influence 
exercised  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  and  Nor- 
man races  upon  each  other,  during  the  pe- 
riod that  has  since  elapsed,  of  nearly  eight 
hundred  years;  and  he  will  there  find  a 
clew  to  many  transactions  which  appear 
wholly  unintelligible  in  the  common  histo- 
ries of  England.  The  reciprocal  hatred  of 
the  two  races  will  explain  the  quarrel  of 
Becket,  the  first  archbishop  of  the  Saxon 
race  after  the  Conquest,  and  Henry  II., 
the  fifth  of  the  Norman  kings  ;  that  nation- 
al animosity  leading  Becket  to  resist  the 
demands  of  the  king,  as  calculated  to  ex- 
tend the  tyranny  of  a  hated  race  of  con- 
querors, and  the  king  to  humble  the  con- 
quered by  crushing  their  haughty  represent- 
ative. That  this,  and  not  the  diminution 
of  the  power  of  the  pope,  as  is  commonly 
believed,  was  Henry's  object,  may  be  seen 
from  the  fact  of  his  being  no  less  earnest 
in  calling  for  assistance  from  Rome,  than 
Becket  was  in  invoking  her  protection. 

He  will  perceive  this  mutual  animosity 
manifesting  itself  in  innumerable  instances 
and  in  apparently  contradictory  conduct. 
At  one  time  the  Anglo-Saxons  sided  with 
the  nobility  against  the  monarch,  as  in  the 
wars  between  the  barons  and  King  John, 
and  also  Henry  III. ,  not  because  they  loved 
the  barons,  who  were  of  the  same  detest- 
ed Norman  race,  but  because  they  dread- 
ed the  consequences  to  themselves  of  an- 
other conquest,  by  a  king  who  had  invited 
over  the  Poitevins,  the  Aquitains,  and  the 
Provencals,  to  help  him  against  his  own 
subjects  in  England.  At  other  times  they 
sided  with  the  king  against  the  barons, 
when  they  saw  that  the  triumph  of  the  lat- 
ter was  likely  to  augment  their  burdens. 

And  although,  as  M.  Thierry  remarks^ 


*  From  A.D.  787  to  A.D.  1048. 

t  That  of  Earl,  from  the  Danish  and  Norwegian 
Jarl,  who  was  at  once  the  civil  and  military  govern- 
or of  a  province. 

t  "  Conquete  de  PAngleterre,"  vol.  iv.,p.  366-3G8, 
Brussels  edition. 


30 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  I. 


the  bitter  hostility  which  had  lasted  for  four 
centuries  seemed  to  become  extinct  in  the 
fifteenth,  when  the  wars  between  the  Hous- 
es of  York  and  Lancaster  ranged  the  two 
races  promiscuously  on  each  side,  yet  tra- 
ces of  their  distinct  existence  are  to  be 
found  at  this  day,  in  the  language,  in  the 
customs,  and  in  the  institutions  of  England. 
Although  the  monarch  no  longer  employs 
the  ancient  formula,  as  it  occurs  in  royal 
ordinances  and  proclamations  for  four  hun- 
dred years  after  the  Conquest,  such  as 
"  Henry  V.,  Henry  VII.  of  that  name  since 
the  conquest,"*  yet  to  this  day  a  Norman 
phraseology  is  sometimes  employed  by  the 
monarch,  as,  for  instance,  le  roy  le  veult ;  le 
roy  s'advisera' ;  le  roy  mercie  ses  loyaux  su- 
jets.\  To  this  day  the  nobility  of  England, 
though  recruited  from  time  to  time  from  the 
rich,  the  talented,  and  the  ambitious  com- 
moners of  Saxon  blood,  remains  essential- 
ly Norman  in  spirit  and  in  character.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  the  gentry,  or  propri- 
etors of  landed  estates  :  whereas  the  great 
bulk  of  the  remaining  population  is  of  An- 
glo-Saxon origin. t  In  Wales,  and  in  Ire- 
land, the  races  of  the  conquerors  and  the 
conquered  appear  still  more  distinct,  and 
in  the  latter  mutual  antipathy  is  far  from 
having  ceased.  In  Scotland,  there  is  com- 
paratively little  Norman  blood,  the  Nor- 
mans never  having  conquered  that  coun- 
try.^ 

To  the  resistance  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race  in  England  to  the  domination  of  the 
Norman  aristocracy  that  kingdom  was  ul- 
timately indebted  for  the  free  institutions 
it  now  enjoys.  The  oppressions  of  the 
nobility  and  of  the  crown  were  checked 
by  the  cities  and  boroughs,  in  which  the 
Anglo-Saxon  commons  became  more  and 
more  concentrated,  with  the  advance  of 
civilization  and  population.  The  nobles 
themselves,  on  occasions  when  they,  too, 
had  to  contend  for  their  rights  and  privi- 
leges against  the  sovereign,  gave  a  help- 
ing hand  to  the  people  ;  and  in  later  times 
especially,  after  the  people  had  established 
the  power  of  their  Commons,  or  third  es- 
tate, on  an  immovable  foundation,  aided 
the   sovereign  against  alleged  encroach- 


*  Henry  VIII.  was  the  last  monarch  who  used  this 
formula  in  his  proclamations,  and  styled  himself  Hen- 
ry, Eighth  of  the  name  since  the  Conquest. 

f  "  The  king  wills ;"  "  the  king  will  take  coun- 
sel ;"  "  the  king  thanks  his  loyal  subjects." 

%  Even  in  our  day,  the  language  of  the  Chronicle 
of  Robert  of  Gloucester  holds  true  in  no  inconsiderable 
degree  in  regard  to  the  population  of  England : 
"  The  folk  of  Normandie 
Among  us  woneth  yet,  and  shalleth  evermore. 
Of  Normans  beth  these  high  men  that  beth  in  this  land, 
And  the  low  men  of  Saxons." 

§  In  fact,  there  is  not  a  little  Norman  blood  in 
Scotland;  but  what  of  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  aris- 
tocracy came  by  intermarriages,  or  by  Normans  who 
recommended  themselves  by  their  talents  and  cour- 
age to  the  favour  of  the  Scottish  monarchs,  not  by 
conquest. 


ments  on  the  part  of  the  people.  Thus 
the  cause  of  liberty  gained  ground  both 
among  the  nobility  and  the  commonalty. 

With  the  progress  of  the  Reformation, 
the  strife  between  the  two  races  became 
exasperated ;  the  nobility  and  gentry  de- 
siring little  more  than  the  abatement  or 
rejection  of  the  papal  usurpation  ;  the  Sax- 
on race,  led  by  men  whose  hearts  were 
more  deeply  interested  in  the  subject,  de- 
siring to  see  the  Church  rid  of  error  and 
superstition  of  every  form.  From  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  rights  of  conscience,  the 
latter  went  on  to  examine  the  nature  and 
foundations  of  civil  government,  and  being 
met  with  violent  opposition,  they  proceed- 
ed to  lengths  they  never  dreamed  of  when 
they  first  set  out.  In  the  fearful  struggle 
that  followed,  both  the  National  Church 
and  the  monarchy  were  for  a  time  com- 
pletely overthrown. 

It  was  just  as  this  grand  opposition  of 
sentiment  was  drawing  on  to  a  direct  col- 
lision, and  when  men's  minds  were  en- 
grossed with  the  important  questions  that 
it  pressed  upon  them,  that  the  two  colo- 
nies destined  to  exercise  a  predominant 
influence  in  America  left  the  British  shore. 
The  first  of  the  two  in  point  of  date  sought 
the  coasts  of  Southern,  the  second  sailed 
to  those  of  Northern  Virginia,  as  the  whole 
Atlantic  slope  was  then  called.  The  one 
settled  on  James  River,  in  the  present 
state  of  Virginia,  and  became,  in  a  sense, 
the  ruling  colony  of  the  South ;  the  other 
established  itself  in  New-England,  there 
to  become  the  mother  of  the  six  Northern 
States.  Both,  however,  have  long  since 
made  their  influence  to  be  felt  far  beyond 
the  coasts  of  the  Atlantic,  and  are  contin- 
uing to  extend  it  towards  the  Pacific,  in 
parallel  and  cleary-defined  lines  ;  and  both 
retain  to  this  day  the  characteristic  fea- 
tures that  marked  their  founders  when  they 
left  their  native  land. 

If  not  purely  Norman  in  blood,  the  South- 
ern colony  was  entirely  Norman  in  spirit ; 
whereas  the  Northern  was  Anglo-Saxon 
in  character  and  in  the  institutions  which 
it  took  to  the  New  World.  Both  loved 
freedom  and  free  institutions,  but  they  dif- 
fered as  to  the  extent  to  which  the  people 
slKnild  enjoy  them.  The  one  had  sprung 
from  the  ranks  of  those  in  England  who 
pleaded  for  the  prerogatives  of  the  crown 
and  the  privileges  of  the  nobility ;  the  oth- 
er, from  the  great  party  that  was  contend- 
ing for  popular  rights.  The  one  origina- 
ted with  the  friends  of  the  Church  as  left 
by  Queen  Elizabeth  :  the  other,  with  those 
who  desired  to  see  it  purified  from  what 
they  deemed  the  corruptions  of  antiquity, 
and  shorn  of  the  exorbitant  pretensions  of 
its  hierarchy.  The  one,  composed  of  a 
company  of  gentlemen,  attended  by  a  few 
mechanics  or  labourers,  contemplated  an 
extensive  traffic  with  the  natives ;  the  oth- 


Chap.X.]        RELIGIOUS  INSTITUTIONS  AND  CHARACTER. 


31 


er,  composed,  with  a  few  exceptions,  of 
substantial  farmers  of  moderate  means  and 
industrious  artisans,  contemplated  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  ground,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  a  state  of  society  in  which  they 
might  serve  God  according  to  his  Word. 
The  one  had  no  popular  government  for 
some  years  after  its  foundation  ;  the  other 
was  self-organized  and  self-governed  be- 
fore it  disembarked  upon  the  shores  that 
were  to  be  the  scene  of  its  future  prosperi- 
ty.   Finally,  the  religion  of  the  one,  though 
doubtless  sincere,  and,  so  far  as  it  went, 
beneficial  in  its  influence,  was  a  religion 
that  clung  to  forms,  and  to  an  imposing 
ritual ;  the  religion  of  the  other  was  at  the 
farthest  possible  remove  from  the  Church 
of  Rome,  both  in  form  and  spirit,  and  pro- 
fessed to  be  guided  by  the  Scriptures  alone. 
Such  was  American  colonization  in  its 
grand  origin.      But  widely  different  has 
been  the    subsequent  histories   of  those 
English  colonies  from  that  of  England  her- 
self.    The  former  carried  out  to  their  le- 
gitimate extent  the  great  principles  of  civ- 
il and  religious  liberty,  which  they  had 
learned  in  England,  in  the  school  of  op- 
pression and  of  long  and  fierce  discussion. 
The  latter,  after  rushing  on  for  a  time  in 
the  same  career,  carried  those  principles 
to  such  a  length  as  to  subvert  the  govern- 
ment, and  plunge  the  country  into  all  the 
horrors  of  revolution  and  misrule,  ending, 
at  last,  in  the  despotism  of  a  military  chief. 
The  former  went  on  gradually  improving 
the  forms  of  popular  government  which 
they  had  originally  adopted,  in  the  face  of 
all  the  efforts  of  the  crown  of  England  to 
destroy  them.     The  latter  provoked,  by 
the  wildest  excesses,  a   revulsion,  from 
which,  even  after  the  lapse  of  two  cen- 
turies, she  is  still  suffering.     The  former, 
although  never  were  there  subjects  more 
loyal  to  a  crown,  or  a  people  more  sin- 
cerely attached  to  their  fatherland,  were 
compelled,  as  they  believed,  by  the  unkind 
and  almost  unnatural  course  pursued  by 
that  fatherland,  to  sever  the  bonds  that 
bound  them  to  it,  and  to  establish  an  inde- 
pendent government  of  their  own.     The 
latter  has  had  to  fight  the  battles  of  liberty 
over  and  over  again,  and  has  not  even  yet 
obtained  for  the  people  all  the  rights  which 
are  considered,  in  America,  their  proper 
inheritance  from  the  hand  of  their  Cre- 
ator. 

I  speak  not  here  of  the  form  of  govern- 
ment. The  founders  of  the  American  col- 
onies, and  their  descendants  for  several 
generations,  were  monarchists,  as  they 
would  doubtless  have  been  to  this  day, 
had  they  not  been  compelled,  while  strug- 
gling against  injustice  and  oppression,  to 
dissolve  their  political  connexion  with  the 
mother-country.  In  all  essential  points, 
colonial  freedom  differed  not  from  that 
which  an  independent  existence  has  given 


them  ;  and  the  people  of  the  United  States- 
enjoy  little  more  liberty  at  present  than 
what  the  fathers  of  the  Revolution  main- 
tained that  they  ought  to  have  enjoyed 
under  the  British  Constitution  and  crown. 


CHAPTER  X. 

HOW  TO  OBTAIN  A  CORRECT  VIEW  OF  THE 
SPIRIT  AND  CHARACTER  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS- 
INSTITUTIONS    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

Thus,  too,  if  we  would  have  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  spirit  and  character  of 
the  Religion  of  the  United  States,  we  must 
study  the  history  of  religion  in  England 
first,  and  then  in  those  other  countries 
whose  religious  institutions  must  have  con- 
siderably influenced  those  of  America,  in 
consequence  of  the  numerous  emigrants 
from  them  that  have  settled  there.  In- 
deed, it  is  very  certain  that  the  religious 
institutions  of  America  have  been  hardly 
less  affected  than  the  political,  by  colonists 
from  Holland,  France,  and  other  parts  of 
the  Continent  of  Europe,  as  well  as  from 
Scotland  and  Ireland. 

Men  of  speculative  habits  may  indulge 
many  plausible  a  priori  reasonings  on  the 
kind  of  religion  likely  to  find  favour  with  a 
people  of  Democratic  feelings  and  institu- 
tions, but  their  conclusions  will  probably 
be  found  very  much  at  variance  with  facts. 
M.  de  Tocqueville  presents  a  striking  in- 
stance of  this  in  the  first  few  chapters  of 
his  second  work  on  Democracy  in  Ameri- 
ca.* A  purely  abstract  argument,  or,  rath- 
er, a  mere  fanciful  conjecture,  might,  in 
this  case,  interest  by  its  ingenuity,  and 
even  be  believed  as  true,  in  the  absence 
of  facts.  But  when  he  proceeds  to  estab- 
lish an  hypothesis  by  an  appeal  to  facts,  it 
is  hard  to  say  whether  he  is  oftener  right 
or  wrong.  Take  one  or  two  paragraphs. 
"  In  the  United  States,"  says  he,  "  the  ma- 
jority undertakes   to  furnish  individuals 

*  Both  of  M.  de  Tocqueville's  works,  entitled  "  De- 
mocracy in  America,"  unquestionably  possess  great 
merit;  the  earlier  publication,  however,  is  much  su- 
perior to  the  later.  But  the  author's  great  fault  is, 
that  he  puts  his  theory  uniformly  before  his  facts,  in- 
stead of  deducing,  according  to  the  principles  of  ths 
Baconian  philosophy,  his  theory  from  his  facts.  The 
consequence  of  this  fatal  mistake  is,  that,  having  ad- 
vanced a  theory,  and  shown  by  argument  its  plausi- 
bility, he  immediately  goes  to  work  to  support  it  by 
facts,  and,  in  doing  so,  often  distorts  them  sadly. 
For  the  object  for  which  he  wrote,  that  of  arresting 
the  progress  of  Democracy  in  Europe,  by  reading 
lectures  from  American  Democracy  as  from  a  text- 
book, his  works  certainly  correspond  to  his  purpose. 
But,  however  able  they  may  be,  it  is  absurd  to  say 
that  his  volumes  give  a  just  view  of  American  insti- 
tutions on  all  points.  On  many  subjects  he  has  said 
some  excellent  things ;  and,  indeed,  no  other  foreign- 
er has  come  so  near  to  comprehending  the  spirit  of 
our  institutions.  But  no  man  ever  will,  no  man  ever 
can,  understand  them  perfectly,  unless  he  has  imbi- 
bed their  spirit,  as  it  were,  with  his  mother's  milk. 


32 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  I. 


with  a  multitude  of  ready-made  opinions, 
and  thus  to  relieve  them  of  the  necessity 
of  forming  their  own.  There  are  many 
theories  in  philosophy,  morals,  and  poli- 
tics, which  every  one  there  adopts  with- 
out examination,  upon  the  faith  of  public 
opinion  ;  and,  upon  a  closer  inspection,  it 
will  be  found  that  religion  itself  reigns 
there  much  less  as  a  doctrine  of  revelation 
than  as  a  commonly-admitted  opinion."* 

Now,  Democratic  as  America  may  be,  it 
would  be  impossible  to  find  a  country  in 
which  the  last  assertion  in  the  above  para- 
graph is  less  true,  for  nowhere  do  people 
demand  reasons  for  everything  more  fre- 
quently or  more  universally ;  nowhere  are 
the  preachers  of  the  Gospel  more  called 
upon  to  set  forth,  in  all  their  variety  and 
force,  the  arguments  by  which  the  Divine 
revelation  of  Christianity  is  established. 

Again,  he  says,  "  In  the  United  States 
the  Christian  sects  are  infinitely  various, 
and  incessantly  undergoing  modifications  : 
but  Christianity  itself  is  an  established  and 
irresistible  fact,  Avhich  no  one  undertakes 
either  to  attack  or  to  defend." 

Again  :  "  The  Americans,  having  ad- 
mitted without  examination  the  main  dog- 
mas of  the  Christian  religion,  are  obliged, 
in  like  manner,  to  receive  a  great  num- 
ber of  truths  flowing  from  and  having  rela- 
tion to  it."f 

Now  hardly  any  assertions  concerning 
his  country  could  surprise  a  well-inform- 
ed American  more  than  those  contained  in 
these  paragraphs,  nor  could  M.  de  Tocque- 
ville  have  made  them,  had  he  not  been 
carried  away  by  certain  theories  with  re- 
spect to  the  influence  of  Democratic  insti- 
tutions upon  religion. 

M.  de  Tocqueville  does  not  forget  that 
religion  gave  birth  to  Anglo-American  so- 
ciety, but  he  does  forget  for  the  moment 
what  sort  of  religion  it  was  ;  that  it  was  not 
a  religion  that  repels  investigation,  or  that 
would  have  men  receive  anything  as  Truth, 
where  such  momentous  concerns  are  in- 
volved, upon  mere  trust  in  public  opinion. 

*  "  Aux  Etats-Unis,  la  majorite  se  charge  de  four- 
nir  aux  individus  une  foule  d'opinions  toutes  faites, 
et  les  soulage  ainsi  de  l'obligation  de  s'en  former  qui 
leur  soient  propres.  II  y  a  un  grand  nombre  de  the- 
ories en  matiere  de  philosophie,  de  morale,  ou  de  po- 
litique que  chacun  y  adopte  ainsi  sans  examen,  sur 
la  foi  du  public  ;  et  si  Ton  regarde  de  tres-pres  on 
verra  que  la  religion  elle  meme  y  regne  bien  moins 
comme  doctrine  revelee  que  comme  opinion  com- 
mune."— Dimocratie  en  Amerique,  Seconde  Partie, 
tome  i.,  chapitre  ii. 

t  "  Aux  Etats-Unis,  les  sectes  chretiennes  vari- 
ent  a  l'mrim  et  se  modifient  sans  cesse ;  mais  le 
Christianisme  lui-meme  est  un  fait  etabli  et  irresisti- 
ble qu'on  n'entreprend  point  d'attaquer  ni  de  defen- 
dre." 

"Les  Americains,  ayant  admis  sans  examen  les 
principaux  dogmes  de  la  religion  chretienne,  sont 
obliges  de  recevoir  de  la  meme  maniere  un  grand 
nombre  deveritesqui  endecoulent  et  qui  y  tiennent." 
— Dimocratie  en  Amerique,  Seconde  Partie,  tome  i., 
chapitre  i. 


Such  has  never  been  the  character  of  Prot- 
estantism, rightly  so  called,  in  any  age. 

Nor  is  this  distinguished  author  nearer 
the  truth  when,  giving  way  to  the  same 
speculative  tendency,  he  asserts  that  "  the 
human  mind  in  Democratic  countries  must 
tend  to  pantheism."*  But  enough :  all 
that  I  have  wished  to  show  in  referring  to 
M.  de  Tocqueville's  work,  in  many  respects 
an  admirable  one,  is,  that  the  religious 
phenomena  of  the  United  States  are  not  to 
be  explained  by  reasonings  a  priori,  how- 
ever plausible  and  ingenious. 

No :  we  must  go  back  to  the  times  when, 
and  the  influences  under  which,  the  reli- 
gious character  of  the  first  colonists  from 
England  was  formed,  and  then  trace  their 
effects  upon  the  institutions  that  were  es- 
tablished bv  those  colonists  in  the  New 
World. 

It  is  interesting  to  investigate  the  histo- 
ry of  Christianity  in  England  from  the 
earliest  ages ;  its  propagation  by  mission- 
aries from  Asia  Minor;  its  reception  by 
the  Celtic  races ;  the  resistance  made  by 
the  British  Christians,N  in  common  with 
those  of  Ireland  and  France,  to  the  claims 
of  Rome  ;  the  conquest  of  England  by  the 
Saxons,  and  the  advantage  taken  of  that 
event,  by  Rome,  to  subdue  the  native 
Christians,  whom  it  accused  of  heresy ; 
the  conversion  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  to 
Christianity,  and  their  subsequent  dissatis- 
faction with  the  Romish  hierarchy ;  the 
Norman  Conquest,  and  the  efforts  of  the 
popes  to  take  advantage  of  that  also,  in 
seeking  to  establish  a  complete  ascendency 
over  the  British  and  Irish  Christians ;  the 
witnesses  to  the  Truth  raised  up  by  God 
from  the  ancient  Anglo-Saxon  churches  ; 
the  influence  of  Wicliffe  and  other  oppo- 
nents of  Rome  ;  and,  finally,  the  dawn  of 
the  Reformation.  That  event,  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  was  connected,  in  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  with  the  long-continued  and 
faithful  resistance  of  the  ancient  churches 
of  England  to  Error.  Some  remains  of 
Truth  had  doubtless  lain  concealed,  like 
unextinguished  embers  beneath  the  ashes, 
but  the  clearing  away  of  the  accumulated 
rubbish  of  ages,  and  the  contact  of  God's 
Word,  sufficed  to  revive  and  make  it  spread 
anew  throughout  the  nation. 

But  the  grand  means  employed  by  God 
in  preparing  a  people  who  should  lay  the 
foundation  of  a  Christian  empire  in  the 
New  World  was  the  Reformation.  To 
their  religion  the  New-England  colonists, 
owed  all  their  best  qualities.  Even  their 
political  freedom  they  owed  to  the  contest 
they  had  waged  in  England  for  religious 
liberty,  and  in  which,  long  and  painful  as 
it  was,  nothing  but  their  Faith  could  have 
sustained  them.    Religion  led  them  to  aban- 


*  "  Democratic  en  Amerique,"  Seconde  Partie 
tome  i.,  chapitre  vii. 


Chap.  XL] 


THE   FORM   OF   GOVERNMENT. 


33 


don  their  country,  rather  than  submit  to  a 
tyranny  that  threatened  to  enslave  their  im- 
mortal minds,  and  made  them  seek  in  the 
New  World  the  freedom  of  conscience 
that  was  denied  to  them  in  the  Old. 

They  have  been  justly  accused,  indeed, 
of  not  immediately  carrying  out  their  prin- 
ciples to  their  legitimate  results,  and  of  be- 
ing intolerant  to  each  other.  Still,  be  it 
remembered  to  their  honour,  that  both  in 
theory  and  in  practice,  they  were  in  these 
respects  far  in  advance  of  all  their  con- 
temporaries ;  still  more,  that  their  descend- 
ants have  maintained  this  advanced  posi- 
tion ;  so  that  the  people  of  the  United 
States  of  America  now  enjoy  liberty  of 
conscience  to  an  extent  unknown  in  any 
other  country.  Persecution  led  the  Puri- 
tan colonists  to  examine  the  great  subject 
of  human  rights,  the  nature  and  just  extent 
of  civil  government,  and  the  boundaries 
at  which  obedience  ceases  to  be  a  duty. 
What  Sir  James  Mackintosh  has  said  of 
John  Bunyan  might  be  applied  to  them  : 
"  The  severities  to  which  he  had  been  sub- 
jected had  led  him  to  revolve  in  his  own 
mind  the  principles  of  religious  freedom, 
until  he  had  acquired  the  ability  of  baf- 
fling, in  the  conflict  of  argument," the  most 
acute  and  learned  among  his  persecutors." 
The  clear  convictions  of  their  own  minds 
on  this  subject  they  transmitted  to  their 
posterity,  nor  was  the  inheritance  neglect- 
ed or  forgotten. 

The  political  institutions  of  the  Puritan 
colonies  of  New-England  are  to  be  traced 
to  their  religion,  not  their  religion  to  their 
political  institutions,  and  this  remark  ap- 
plies to  other  colonies  also.  Now,  if  the 
reader  would  know  what  the  religious 
character  of  those  Puritans  was,  let  him 
peruse  the  following  eloquent  eulogy  upon 
them,  from  a  source  which  will  not  be  sus- 
pected of  partiality  to  their  religion,  what- 
ever opinions  may  be  attributed  to  it  in  re- 
lation to  their  political  principles. 

"  The  Puritans  were  men  whose  minds 
had  derived  a  peculiar  character  from  the 
daily  contemplation  of  superior  beings  and 
eternal  interests.  Not  content  with  ac- 
knowledging in  general  terms  an  overru- 
ling Providence,  they  habitually  ascribed 
every  event  to  the  will  of  the  Great  Being 
for  whose  power  nothing  was  too  vast,  for 
whose  inspection  nothing  was  too  minute. 
To  know  Him,  to  serve  Him,  to  enjoy  Him, 
was  with  them  the  great  end  of  existence. 
They  rejected  with  contempt  the  ceremo- 
nious homage  which  other  sects  substitu- 
ted for  the  pure  worship  of  the  soul.  In- 
stead of  catching  occasional  glimpses  of 
the  Deity  through  an  obscuring  veil,  they 
aspired  to  gaze  full  on  the  intolerable 
brightness,  and  to  commune  with  Him  face 
to  face.  Hence  originated  their  contempt 
of  earthly  distinctions.  The  difference 
between  the  greatest  and  meanest  of  man- 
C 


kind  seemed  to  vanish,  when  compared 
with  the  boundless  interval  which  separa- 
ted the  whole  race  from  Him  on  whom 
their  own  eyes  were  constantly  fixed. 
They  recognised  no  title  to  superiority  but 
His  favour ;  and,  confident  of  that,  they 
despised  all  the  accomplishments  and  ail 
the  dignities  of  the  world.  If  their  names 
were  not  found  in  the  registers  of  heralds, 
they  felt  assured  that  they  were  recorded 
in  the  Book  of  Life.  If  their  steps  were 
not  accompanied  by  a  splendid  train  of 
menials,  legions  of  ministering  angels  had 
charge  over  them.  Their  palaces  were 
houses  not  made  with  hands ;  their  dia- 
dems, crowns  of  glory  which  should  never 
fade  away.  Qn  the  rich  and  the  eloquent, 
on  nobles  and  priests,  they  looked  down 
with  contempt;  for  they  esteemed  them- 
selves rich  in  a  more  precious  treasure, 
and  eloquent  in  a  more  sublime  language  ; 
nobles  by  the  right  of  an  earlier  creation, 
and  priests  by  the  imposition  of  a  mightier 
hand.  The  very  meanest  of  them  was  a 
being  to  whose  fate  a  mysterious  and 
terrible  importance  belonged ;  on  whose 
slightest  action  the  spirits  of  light  and 
darkness  looked  with  anxious  interest ; 
who  had  been  destined,  before  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  were  created,  to  enjoy  a  fe- 
licity which  should  continue  when  heaven 
and  earth  should  have  passed  away. 
Events,  which  short-sighted  politicians 
ascribed  to  earthly  causes,  had  been  or- 
dained on  his  account.  For  his  sake  em- 
pires had  risen,  and  flourished,  and  decay- 
ed. For  his  sake  the  Almighty  had  pro- 
claimed his  will,  by  the  pen  of  the  evange- 
list, and  the  harp  of  the  prophet.  He  had 
been  rescued  by  no  common  Deliverer 
from  the  grasp  of  no  common  foe.  He 
had  been  ransomed  by  the  sweat  of  no 
vulgar  agony,  by  the  blood  of  no  earthly 
sacrifice.  It  was  for  him  that  the  sun  had 
been  darkened,  that  the  rocks  had  been 
rent,  that  the  dead  had  arisen,  that  all  na- 
ture had  shuddered  at  the  sufferings  of  her 
expiring  God."* 


CHAPTER  XI. 

A    BRIEF    NOTICE    OF    THE    FORM   OF    GOVERN- 
MENT   IN    AMERICA. 

Some  knowledge  of  the  civil  and  politi- 
cal structure  of  the  government  is  almost 
indispensable  to  a  correct  investigation  of 
the  religious  economy  of  the  United  States ; 
for  although  there  is  no  longer  a  union 
there  between  Church  and  State,  still  the 
interests  of  religion  come  into  contact,  in 
many  ways,  with  the  political  organizations 
of  the  General  and  State  Governments. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States 
must  appear  extremely  complicated  to  a 

*  Edinburgh  Review,  vol.  xlii.,  339. 


34 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  i. 


foreigner  accustomed  to  the  unity  that 
distinguishes  most  monarchical  polities, 
and  complicated  it  is  in  fact.  We  will  en- 
deavour to  describe  its  leading  features  as 
briefly  as  possible. 

The  whole  country,  then,  is  subject  to 
what  is  called  the  National  or  General 
Government,  composed  of  three  branches  : 
I.  The  Executive ;  II.  The  Legislative  ; 
III.  The  Judicial. 

The  executive  power  is  lodged  in  one 
man,  the  President ;  who  is  appointed  for 
four  years,  by  electors  chosen  for  that 
purpose,  each  state  being  allowed  as  many 
as  it  has  members  of  Congress.  These 
are  chosen  differently  in  different  states, 
but  generally  by  districts,  each  district 
choosing  one  elector,  and  that  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  electing  the  President  and  Vice- 
President.  The  latter  presides  over  the 
Senate,  but  his  office  is  almost  nominal  : 
should  the  President  die,  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent immediately  steps  into  his  place. 

The  President  appoints  the  secretaries 
of  state,  or  ministers  of  the  various  depart- 
ments of  the  administration,  such  as  the 
treasury,  navy,  war  office,  &c,  and,  direct- 
ly or  indirectly,  he  appoints  to  all  offices 
in  the  National  or  General  Government ; 
in  the  case  of  the  more  important  ones, 
however,  only  with  the  consent  and  appro- 
bation of  the  Senate. 

The  legislation  of  the  National  Govern- 
ment is  committed  to  the  Congress,  and 
that  has  two  branches,  the  Senate  and  the 
House  of  Representatives.  The  Senate  is 
composed  of  two  persons  from  each  state 
in  the  Union,  chosen  by  the  legislatures 
of  the  states  respectively,  and  for  the 
period  of  six  years.  The  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives is  chosen  by  the  people  of  the 
states,  generally  by  districts,  and  for  the 
period  of  two  years.*  Their  number  is, 
from  time  to  time,  determined  by  law.  The 
House  of  Representatives  represents  the 
people ;  the  Senate  represents  the  states. 
No  act  of  Congress  has  the  force  of  law 
without  the  President's  signature,  unless 
when  two  thirds  of  each  House  has  voted 
in  favour  of  an  act  which  he  refuses  to 
sign.  All  matters  falling  within  the  legis- 
lative jurisdiction  of  the  Congress  are  spe- 
cified in  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States :  such  as  are  not  specifically  men- 
tioned there,  are  reserved  for  the  legisla- 
tion of  the  individual  states. 

The  judicial  power  is  vested  in  a  Su- 
preme Court,  consisting  at  present  of  nine 
judges,  appointed  by  the  President,  with 
the  consent  of  the  Senate.  They  can  be 
removed  only  by  impeachment  before  the 
Senate,  and  hold  a  yearly  winter  session 
at  Washington,  the  capital  of  the  United 
States.     When  not  thus  united  there,  they 

*  By  a  recent  law,  the  members  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  are  hereafter  to  be  chosen  by  dis- 
tricts. 


hold  circuit  courts  in  different  parts  of  the 
country.  The  whole  country  is  divided, 
also,  into  districts,  each  having  a  judge  ap- 
pointed by  the  President,  for  the  decision 
of  causes  that  fall  within  the  cognizance 
of  the  United  States'  courts,  and  from 
whose  decisions  an  appeal  lies  to  the  Su- 
preme Court.  That  court  decides  how 
far  the  laws  passed  by  the  National  Con- 
gress, or  by  the  legislatures  of  the  differ- 
ent states,  are  consistent  with  the  Consti- 
tution ;  also,  all  questions  between  indi- 
vidual states,  or  between  the  United  States 
and  an  individual  state,  and  questions  ari- 
sing between  a  foreigner  and  either  the 
United  States  or  any  one  state. 

The  government  of  the  states  individu- 
ally, closely  resembles  that  of  the  Confed- 
eration, the  jurisdiction  of  each  being  con- 
fined, of  course,  to  its  own  territory.  Each 
has  its  own  governor  and  its  own  Legisla- 
ture ;  the  latter,  in  all  cases  but  one,*  con- 
sists of  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives, besides  a  supreme  law  court,  with 
subordinate  district  and  county  courts. 
The  Legislature  of  each  state  embraces  a 
vast  variety  of  subjects,  falling  within  the 
compass  of  its  own  internal  interests.  The 
different  states  vary  materially  on  several 
points,  such  as  the  term  during  which  the 
governor  holds  office,  and  the  extent  of  his 
power ;  the  terms  for  which  the  senators 
and  representatives  are  elected,  and  for 
which  the  judges  are  appointed ;  the  sala- 
ries of  those  functionaries,  and  so  forth. 

With  the  exception  of  South  Corolina 
and  Louisiana,  in  which  the  territorial  di- 
visions are  called  districts,  all  the  states 
are  subdivided  into  counties,  having  courts 
of  justice  attached  to  each,  and  officers, 
likewise,  for  a  great  many  local  objects, 
such  as  maintaining  the  roads,  providing 
for  the  poor,  &c,  &c.  These  counties  are 
subdivided  into  what  are  called  townships, 
averaging  six  or  eight  miles  square,  in  New- 
England,  New-York,  New-Jersey,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  most  of  the  states  in  the  Valley 
of  the  Mississippi ;  in  Delaware  they  are 
called  Hundreds,  and  in  Louisiana  Parish- 
es, while  in  Maryland,  Virginia,!  tne  tw0) 
Carolinas,  Georgia,  Kentucky,  and  Ten- 
nessee, the  counties  form  the  smallest  terri- 
torial divisions.  In  the  Territories,  the  sub- 
division into  townships  has  been  adopted. 

These  townships  form  important  politi- 
cal and  civil  districts  and  corporations  ;  the 
inhabitants  meet  once  a  year,  or  oftener, 
for  local  purposes,  and  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  local  officers  and  committees.  At 
these  primary  assemblies  the  people  ac- 
quire habits  of  transacting  public  business, 
which  are  of  the  greatest  importance  in  fit- 


*  Vermont  has  but  one  House  in  its  Legislature. 

t  In  the  eastern  part  of  Virginia,  and  a  great  part 
of  Maryland,  the  parochial  subdivisions  that  existed 
previous  to  the  Revolution  are  still  retained  for  many 
local  purposes,  and  are  even  recognised  by  the  law. 


Chap.  XII.]    GEOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF  THE  UNITED   STATES. 


35 


ting-  them  for  legislation  and  government 
both  in  national  and  local  affairs.  As  for 
the  larger  towns,  they  are  incorporated  as 
cities  and  boroughs,  and  have  municipal 
governments  of  a  threefold  kind  :  legisla- 
tive, executive,  and  judicial. 

The  separation  of  the  colonies  from  Great 
Britain,  and  the  reorganization  of  their  re- 
spective governments,  produced  changes 
less  essential  than  at  first  view  might  be  sup- 
posed. The  King,  Parliament,  and  Justicia- 
ry of  England  were  superseded  by  the  Pres- 
ident, Congress,  and  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  the  nature  of  the  government 
remaining  essentially  the  same.  For  a  he- 
reditary sovereign,  we  have  a  President, 
chosen  once  in  four  years  ;  for  a  hereditary 
House  of  Peers,  a  Senate,  the  members  of 
which  are  chosen  for  six  years  ;  the  powers 
of  the  President  and  Senate  being  almost 
identical  in  most  things  with  those  of  the 
corresponding  branches  of  the  British  Con- 
stitution. As  for  the  several  colonies, 
these  the  Revolution  transformed  into 
states,  and  the  old  royal  charters  were  su- 
perseded by  constitutions.  Beyond  this 
there  was  no  essential  change,  and  but  lit- 
tle alteration  even  in  forms.  Instead  of 
being  appointed  by  the  British  crown,  or  by 
proprietary  companies  or  individuals,  the 
governors  are  chosen  by  the  people  them- 
selves. The  legislative  and  judicial  branch- 
es underwent  very  little  modification. 

There  are  now  in  the  American  Union 
twenty-six  organized  states,  three  territo- 
ries, and  one  district.  The  territories  are 
under  the  government  of  the  President  and 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  but  will  be- 
come states  as  soon  as  the  amount  of 
their  population  entitles  them,  in  the  opin- 
ion of  Congress,  to  be  represented  in  the 
National  Legislature.  They  have  a  Legis- 
lature of  their  own,  but  their  governors  are 
appointed  by  the  President.  Two,  namely, 
Wisconsin  and  Iowa,  will  soon  have  a  suf- 
ficient population  to  entitle  them  to  a  place 
among  the  states.  And  when  these  are  ad- 
mitted, Florida  will  probably  be  so  too. 

Under  the  impression  that  the  National 
Government  should  be  removed  from  the 
immediate  influence  of  any  one  state,  the 
District  of  Columbia,  ten  miles  square,  was 
taken  from  Virginia  and  Maryland,  and  set 
apart  as  the  seat  of  the  National  Govern- 
ment, and  to  it,  that  is,  to  the  President, 
Congress,  and  Supreme  Court,  it  is  imme- 
diately subject.  Experience  has  hardly 
approved  of  this  measure  as  either  wise  or 
necessary.  No  part  of  the  country  is  worse 
governed,  Congress  being  too  much  occu- 
pied with  other  matters  to  pay  much  atten- 
tion to  so  insignificant  a  territory. 

The  preceding-outline  will  suffice  to  give 
the  reader  some  idea  of  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  and  prepare  him  for 
understanding  many  things  which  might 
otherwise  be  obscure  in  the  farther  course 
of  this  work. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


A  BRIEF  GEOGRAPHICAL  NOTICE  OF  THE  UN1TEB 
STATES. 

In  like  manner,  a  short  account  of  the 
physical  character  and  resources  of  the 
United  States  will  be  found  useful  to  the 
reader. 

The  United  States  lie  between  the  par- 
allels of  24°  27'  and  54°  40'  north  latitude, 
and  G6°  50'  and  125°  west  longitude  from 
Greenwich,  and  are  bounded  as  follows  : 
On  the  east,  by  the  Atlantic  and  the  Brit- 
ish Province  of  New-Brunswick  ;  on  tPie 
south,  by  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  Texas,  and 
the  Republic  of  Mexico ;  on  the  west,  by 
the  Pacific  Ocean ;  and  on  the  north,  by 
the  British  possessions,  from  which  they 
are  separated  partly  by  the  River  St.  Law- 
rence and  the  great  chain  of  lakes  that  flow 
into,  or,  rather,  that  form  a  series  of  ex- 
pansions of  that  river,  and  partly  by  a  con- 
ventional line  west  of  the  Oregon  Mount- 
ains, which  line  has  not  been  determined. 
The  United  States'  government  claims  up 
to  latitude  54°  40',  but  this  is  resisted  by 
England.  The  49°  degree  of  north  latitude 
will  most  probably  be  agreed  to,  that  being- 
the  latitude  of  the  boundary  eastward  of 
those  mountains  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods, 
after  which  it  pursues  a  southeast  direction 
through  some  small  lakes,  and  across  an  in- 
tervening portage  to  Lake  Superior,  which. 
is  the  uppermost  of  the  chain  of  lakes 
through  which  the  St.  Lawrence  flows. 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  this 
vast  territory  consists  of  three  grand  sec- 
tions, the  Atlantic  slope,  the  Pacific  slope, 
and  the  intermediate  Valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. The  whole  is  computed  by  Mr.  Tan- 
ner, a  distinguished  American  geographer, 
to  contain  2,037,165  square  miles. 

The  outlines  of  the  entire  territory  may 
be  given  as  follows  : 

BIHes, 

On  the  north,   from  the  mouth  of  the  St. 

Croix  River  to  the  Oregon  Mountains  .  .  300© 
From  the  Oregon  Mountains  to  the  Pacific 

Ocean 600 

Along  the  Pacific,  from  lat.  54°  40'  to  lat.  42°      806. 
Along    the  Mexican  and  Texan  territories, 

from  the  Pacific  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sabine 

River 2300) 

Along  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  Florida  Point    .     110O 

Along  the  Atlantic  Ocean 1800 

Making  a  total  outline  of    .    .    96G5> 

Of  the  2,037,165  square  miles,  constitu- 
ting, according  to  Mr.  Tanner,  the  area 
of  the  United  States,  about  400,000  are 
found  on  the  Atlantic  slope,  including  East 
Florida;  1,341,649  in  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi,*  and  295,516  on  the  Pacific 
slope.  Hence  it  appears  that  nearly  two 
thirds  of  the  whole  territory  of  the  United! 
States  lie  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
a  fact  which  shows  the  vast  relative  impor- 
tance of  that  section  of  the  country. 


*  According  to  Mr.  Darby's  estimate,  the  Valley  of 
the  Mississippi  contains  1,341,649. 


36 


RELIGION  IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  I. 


Upon  a  survey  of  the  whole  of  this  ter- 
ritory, it  will  be  found  to  possess  physical 
advantages  such  as  few  other  countries 
enjoy.  While,  with  the  exception  of  Flor- 
ida, all  parts  of  it  comprise  a  large  pro- 
portion of  excellent  soil,  many  exhibit  the 
most  astonishing  fertility.  It  abounds  in 
the  most  valuable  minerals.  Iron  is  found 
in  several  states  in  great  abundance.  At 
various  points,  but  particularly  in  the  Mid- 
dle States,  there  are  vast  deposites  of  coal, 
which  is  easily  conveyed  by  water  carriage 
to  other  parts  of  the  country.  Even  gold 
is  found  in  considerable  quantities  in  the 
western  parts  of  North  Carolina,  and  the 
adjacent  parts  of  South  Carolina  and  Geor- 
gia, and  some  in  Virginia  and  Tennessee. 
The  almost  boundless  forests  of  the  inte- 
rior furnish  timber  suited  to  all  purposes. 
Navigable  rivers  everywhere  present  fa- 
cilities for  trade.  On  the  Atlantic  slope, 
beginning  from  the  east  and  advancing 
southwest,  we  find  in  succession  the  Pe- 
nobscot, the  Kennebec,  the  Merrimac,  the 
Connecticut,  the  Hudson,  the  Delaware, 
the  Susquehanna,  the  Potomac,  the  Rap- 
pahannock, the  James  River,  the  Roanoke, 
the  Neuse,  the  Fear,  the  Pedee,  the  San- 
tee,  the  Savannah,  the  Altamaha,  and  the 
St.  John's,  without  reckoning  many  small- 
er but  important  streams,  navigable  by 
common  boats  and  small  steamers.  Many 
of  these  rivers,  such  as  the  Delaware,  the 
Potomac,  the  Rappahannock,  the  James, 
and  the  Roanoke,  expand  into  noble  estua- 
ries before  they  fall  into  the  ocean ;  and 
the  coast  is  indented,  also,  with  many  bays, 
unrivalled  in  point  of  extent  and  beauty. 
Beginning  from  the  east,  we  have  Portland 
or  Casco  Bay,  Portsmouth  Bay,  Newbury  - 
port  Bay,  Massachusetts  Bay,  Buzzard's 
Bay,  Narragansett  Bay,  New- York  Bay, 
Amboy  Bay,  Delaware  Bay,  Chesapeake 
Bay,  into  which  twelve  wide-mouthed  riv- 
ers fall,  Wilmington  Bay,  Charleston  Bay, 
&c,  &c. 

With  the  exception  of  part  of  the  eastern 
coast  of  Connecticut,  a  chain  of  islands, 
some  inhabited,  many  not,  runs  parallel  to 
the  shore,  beginning  at  Passamaquoddy 
Bay,  and  extending  to  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  Florida,  and  thence  round  into 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  along  its  coast,  to 
beyond  the  western  limit  of  the  United 
States.  Thus  are  formed  some  of  the  finest 
channels  for  an  extensive  coasting  trade, 
such  as  Long  Island  Sound,  Albemarle 
Sound,  Pamlico  Sound,  and  many  others. 
To  increase  these  facilities,  canals  and  rail- 
roads have  been  extended  along  the  coast 
from  Portland  in  Maine,  to  Charleston  in 
South  Carolina,  and  even  farther. 

Immediately  on  the  seacoast  of  the  west- 
ern part  of  New-Jersey,  there  commences  a 
belt  of  sand,  which  extends  along  the  whole 
margin  of  the  Southern  States,  covered  with 
an  almost  uninterrupted  forest  of  pines, 


and  enlarging,  as  it  advances  southward, 
from  twenty  to  nearly  a  hundred  miles 
broad,  the  latter  being  its  width  in  the  state 
of  North  Carolina.  Between  this  sandy 
tract  and  the  Alleghany  Mountains  the  land 
is  generally  fertile,  and  produces  various 
crops,  according  to  the  climate,  such  as  fine 
wheat  and  the  other  cereal  grains  in  New- 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Vir- 
gia  ;  in  which  last  two  states  tobacco  is 
also  largely  cultivated,  cotton  in  the  Caro- 
linas  and  in  Georgia ;  and  on  the  rich  bot- 
tom lands  along  the  bays  and  streams  of 
the  sandy  tract,  rice  and  indigo. 

As  we  advance  northward  along  this 
fertile  tract  intervening  between  the  sand 
and  the  mountains,  we  gradually  leave  the 
region  of  transition  and  secondary  rocks, 
and  enter  on  that  of  granite,  so  that  before 
reaching  the  State  of  Maine,  primitive 
rocks  abound  everywhere,  even  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground. 

But  in  point  of  fertility  the  Atlantic  slope 
bears  no  comparison  with  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  embracing  a  territory  about  six 
times  as  large  as  that  of  France,  and  likely, 
ere  long,  to  be  the  abode  of  many  millions 
of  the  human  race.  Fifty  years  ago  it  con- 
tained little  more  than  a  hundred  thousand 
inhabitants ;  the  population  of  the  settled 
part  of  it  amounted,  as  we  have  seen,  in 
1840,*  to  above  six  millions,  and  this,  it  is 
calculated  from  the  data  supplied  in  the 
last  forty  years,  will  have  increased,  in 
thirty-five  years  hence,  to  not  much  under 
thirty  millions.  By  the  end  of  the  present 
century  it  will  probably  be  not  less  than 
fifty  or  sixty  millions. 

The  tabular  view  on  page  22  shows  the 
immense  size  of  the  eleven  states  and  two 
territories  already  organized  in  this  vast 
valley  ;  let  us  now  look  for  a  moment  to 
their  natural  resources. 

Ohio,  lying  between  the  beautiful  river 
of  that  name  and  Lake  Erie,  comprises 
40,260  square  miles,  and  a  population  of 
above  a  million  and  a  half.  As  England 
and  Wales  have  57,929  square  miles,  and 
15,906,829  inhabitants,  Ohio,  at  the  same 
ratio,  would  have  11,055,066.  With  the 
exception  of  a  part  of  it  in  the  southeast, 
on  the  Hockhocking  River,  there  is  little 
poor  land  in  the  state.  Vast  forests  cover 
the  greater  part  of  it  to  this  day.  Lake 
Erie  on  the  north,  the  River  Ohio  on  the 
south,  and  several  navigable  streams  flow- 
ing from  the  interior,  both  to  the  north  and 
south,  give  it  great  natural  advantages  for 
commerce ;  in  addition  to  which,  two  im- 
portant artificial  lines  of  communication, 
made  at  great  expense,  traverse  it  from 


*  The  exact  population  of  the  eleven  states  and 
two  territories  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  was, 
without  including  Western  Virginia,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Flordia,  in  1840,  6,376,972;  in  1830  it  was 
3,342,630;  in  1820  it  was  2,237,454;  in  1810  it  was 
1,099,180 ;  in  1800  it  was  385.647 ;  in  1790  it  was 
only  109,888. 


Chap.  XIII] 


THE    VOLUNTARY    SYSTEM. 


37 


Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio.  Cincinnati,  its 
commercial  capital,  has  a  population  of  not 
less  than  fifty  thousand  inhabitants. 

Indiana  and  Illinois  are  scarcely,  if  at 
all,  inferior  to  Ohio  in  natural  advantages  ; 
and  considering  its  proportion  of  first-rate 
land,  Michigan  is,  perhaps,  the  best  state 
in  the  Union.  Kentucky  and  Tennessee 
abound  both  in  good  land  and  in  mineral 
resources. 

Missouri,  one  of  the  largest  states  in  the 
Union,  possesses  a  vast  extent  of  excellent 
land,  besides  rich  mines  of  iron  and  of  lead. 
The  two  territories,  Iowa  and  Wisconsin, 
lying  northward  of  Missouri  and  Illinois, 
the  former  on  the  west,  and  the  latter  oh 
the  east  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  are  large 
and  fertile  districts  of  country,  abounding 
also  in  lead  mines.  Both  are  evidently 
destined  to  become  great  states.  Arkan- 
sas having  a  great  deal  of  inferior,  as  well 
as  of  fertile  land,  is  considered  one  of  the 
poorest  states  on  the  Mississippi.  The 
large  State  of  Alabama,  with  the  exception 
of  a  small  part  in  the  south,  about  Mobile, 
and  another  part  in  the  north,  near  the  Ten- 
nessee River,  was.  in  1815.  in  the  occupan- 
cy of  the  Creek,  Chocta,  and  Chickasa  In- 
dians, chiefly  the  first  of  those  tribes,  but 
is  now  rapidly  increasing  in  population. 
The  State  of  Mississippi  has  also  much 
land  of  the  very  best  quality,  and  although 
its  financial  affairs  are  at  present  in  a  de- 
plorable condition,  from  bad  legislation,  it 
may  be  expected,  in  a  few  years,  to  emerge 
from  its  embarrassments.  Humanly  speak- 
ing, it  must  be  so,  for  its  natural  resources 
are  great.  And  as  for  Louisiana,  the  rich 
alluvial  soil  of  the  banks  of  its  rivers,  and 
its  advantages  for  commerce,  derived  from 
its  position  in  the  lowest  part  of  the  great 
Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  must  eventually 
make  it  a  rich  and  powerful  state.  But  it 
would  require  the  perseverance  shown  in 
similar  circumstances  by  the  people  of 
Holland,  to  defend  with  dikes  the  south- 
ern portion  of  the  Delta  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  to  make  the  whole  the  valuable  coun- 
try into  which  it  might  be  converted. 

An  immense  tract  of  almost  unexplored 
country  lies  to  the  northwest  of  the  State 
of  Missouri  and  the  Territories  of  Iowa  and 
Wisconsin,  much  of  which  is  believed  to 
be  fertile.  What  new  states  may  yet  be 
formed  there,  time  alone  will  show. 

Nearly  the  whole  of  this  vast  valley  is 
drained  by  one  great  river  and  its  branch- 
es, of  which  no  fewer  than  fifty-seven  are 
navigable  for  steamboats.  Indeed,  the 
Missouri,  the  Arkansas,  the  Red  River, 
and  the  White  River,  flowing  from  the 
west,  and  the  Illinois,  the  Ohio,  the  Cum- 
berland, and  the  Tennessee,  from  the  north 
and  east,  are  themselves  great  rivers.  On 
the  north  the  great  lakes,  and  on  the  south 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  form  openings  into 
this  vast  region  for  the  commerce  of  the 


world.  But  besides  these  two  great  inlets 
from  the  north  and  south,  communication 
with  the  Atlantic  slope  has  been  opened 
up  at  various  points  of  the  Alleghany  chain, 
by  means  of  substantial  roads  of  the  ordi- 
nary construction,  and  also  by  canals  and 
railways.  Thus  a  railway,  above  six  hun- 
dred miles  in  length,  unites  the  town  of 
Buffalo  on  Lake  Erie  with  Boston ;  a  ca- 
nal unites  it  with  Albany,  and  from  that 
point  the  Hudson  River  connects  it  with 
New- York.  Buffalo  communicates,  again, 
with  all  the  northern  parts  of  Ohio,  Indi- 
ana, Michigan,  and  Illinois,  and  with  the 
eastern  side  of  the  Wisconsin  Territory, 
by  fifty  steamboats  which  ply  between  it 
and  the  ports  of  those  regions.  To  all 
these  advantages  we  must  ascribe  the  rap- 
id appearance  of  so  many  large  cities  in 
this  great  Western  Valley,  such  as  New- 
Orleans,  St.  Louis,  Louisville,  Cincinnati, 
and  Pittsburgh,  to  say  nothing  of  smaller 
towns  on  spots  which,  with  the  exception 
of  New-Orleans,  may  be  said  to  have  been 
covered  by  the  forest  only  fifty  years  ago. 
I  conclude  this  chapter  by  remarking 
for  a  moment  on  the  kind  and  wise  Provi- 
dence which  kept  the  great  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi  from  the  possession,  and  al- 
most from  the  knowledge  of  the  colonists 
of  the  United  States,  for  more  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years.  By  that  time, 
they  had  so  far  occupied  and  reduced  to 
cultivation  the  less  fertile  hills  of  the  At- 
lantic slope,  and  there  had  acquired  that 
hardy,  industrious,  and  virtuous  character, 
which  better  fitted  them  to  carry  civiliza- 
tion and  religion  into  the  vast  plains  of  the 
West.  So  that,  at  this  day,  the  New-Eng- 
land and  other  Atlantic  States,  while  in- 
creasing in  population  themselves,  serve, 
at  the  same  time,  as  nurseries  from  which 
the  West  derives  many  of  the  best  plants 
that  are  transferred  to  its  noble  soil. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

OBSTACLES  WHICH  THE  VOLUNTARY  SYSTEM 
IN  SUPPORTING  RELIGION  HAS  HAD  TO  EN- 
COUNTER IN  AMERICA:  1.  FROM  THE  ERRO- 
NEOUS OPINIONS  ON  THE  SUBJECT  OF  RE- 
LIGIOUS ECONOMY  WHICH  THE  COLONISTS 
BROUGHT    WITH    THEM. 

Some  persons  in  Europe  entertain  the 
idea,  that  if  the  "  American  plan"  of  sup- 
porting religion,  by  relying,  under  God's 
blessing,  upon  the  efforts  of  the  people, 
rather  than  upon  the  help  of  the  govern- 
ment, has  succeeded  in  that  country,  it  has 
been  owing,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  fact 
that  the  country  presented  an  open  field 
for  the  experiment ;  that  everything  was 
new  there  ;  that  no  old  establishments  had 
to  be  pulled  down ;  no  deep-rooted  preju- 
dices to  be  eradicated ;  no  time-honoured 


38 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  I. 


institutions  to  be  modified  ;  but  that  all  was 
favourable  for  attempting  something  new 
under  the  sun.  Now  it  is  hardly  possible 
to  entertain  an  idea  more  remote  from  the 
truth  than  this. 

What  follows  will  demonstrate  that,  so 
far  from  committing  religion  to  the  spon- 
taneous support  of  persons  cordially  inter- 
ested in  its  progress,  the  opposite  course 
was  pursued  from  the  first  almost,  in  all 
the  colonies.  In  the  greater  number  of  the 
colonies,  in  fact,  men  looked  to  the  civil 
government  for  the  support  of  the  Chris- 
tian ministry  and  worship.  Now  what  we 
have  here  to  consider  is  not  the  question 
whether  they  were  right  or  wrong  in  doing 
so,  but  the  simple  fact  that  they  actually 
did  so  ;  and,  accordingly,  that,  so  far  from 
what  has  been  called  the  Voluntary  Prin- 
ciple having  had  an  open  field  in  America, 
in  those  very  parts  of  the  country  which 
now,  perhaps,  best  illustrate  its  efficiency, 
it  had  long  to  struggle  with  establishments 
founded  on  the  opposite  system,  and  with 
strong  prepossessions  in  their  favour. 

In  all  such  parts  of  the  country  many 
obstacles  were  opposed  to  the  abandon- 
ment of  the  old  system.  Good  and  great 
men  made  no  secret  of  their  fears  that  the 
cause  of  religion  would  thus  be  ruined  ; 
that  the  churches  would  be  forsaken  by  the 
people,  whose  unaided  efforts  would  prove 
unequal  to  the  expense  of  maintaining 
them,  and  that  they  could  never  be  induced 
to  attempt  it.  In  fact,  as  they  had  never 
been  accustomed  to  rely  upon  their  own 
exertions  in  that  matter,  and  were  not 
aware  how  much  they  could  do,  they  were 
at  first  timid  and  discouraged.  Another 
obstacle  lay  in  the  unwillingness  of  those 
who  had  enjoyed  the  influence  and  ascend- 
ency conferred  by  the  old  system,  to  sur- 
render those  advantages.  Such  persons 
were  prone  to  believe,  and  naturally  sought 
to  impress  others  with  the  conviction,  no 
doubt  very  sincerely,  that  their  resistance 
to  the  proposed  change  was  the  legitimate 
fruit  of  their  zeal  for  the  cause  of  God, 
and  of  their  dread  lest  that  cause  should 
suffer. 

Other  obstacles,  and  those  not  inconsid- 
erable, had  to  be  encountered,  all  resulting 
directly  or  indirectly  from  the  old  system. 
It  will  be  shown,  in  due  time,  that  some  of 
the  worst  heresies  in  the  United  States 
were  originated  and  propagated  by  meas- 
ures arising  out  of  the  old  system.  What 
I  mean  to  say  is,  that  Truth  has  there  en- 
countered powerful  obstacles,  Avhich  we 
have  every  reason  to  believe  would  not 
have  existed  but  for  that  union.  Other 
evils  there  might  have  been  in  the  absence 
of  any  such  union ;  but,  be  that  as  it  may, 
with  the  obstacles  to  which  I  refer,  it  could 
not  be  said  that  the  field  was  entirely  new, 
far  less  that  it  was  open. 

Still  more :  some  of  the  greatest  obsta- 


cles which  the  "  American  plan"  of  sup- 
porting religion  had  to  overcome  arose 
from  the  erroneous  views  of  the  colonists 
on  the  subject  of  religious  liberty.  The 
voluntary  system  rests  on  the  grand  basis 
of  perfect  religious  freedom.  I  mean  a 
freedom  of  conscience  for  all ;  for  those 
who  believe  Christianity  to  be  true,  and 
for  those  who  do  not ;  for  those  who  prefer 
one  form  of  worship,  and  for  those  who 
prefer  another.  This  is  all  implied,  or, 
rather,  it  is  fully  avowed,  at  the  first  step 
in  supporting  religion  upon  this  plan. 

Now  it  so  happened — nor  ought  we  to 
wonder  at  it,  for  it  would  have  been  a 
miracle  had  it  been  otherwise — that  very 
many  of  the  best  colonists  who  settled  in 
America  had  not  yet  attained  to  correct 
ideas  on  the  subject  of  religious  toleration 
and  the  rights  of  conscience.  It  required 
persecution,  and  that  thorough  discussion 
of  the  subject  which  persecution  brought 
in  its  train,  both  in  the  colonies  and  in 
England  and  other  European  countries,  to 
make  them  understand  the  subject.  And, 
in  point  of  fact,  those  who  first  understood 
it  had  learned  it  in  the  school  of  persecution. 
Such  was  Roger  Williams  ;  such  were  Lord 
Baltimore  and  the  Roman  Catholics  who 
settled  in  Maryland;  such  was  William 
Penn.  Accordingly,  the  three  colonies 
that  they  founded,  Rhode  Island,  Maryland, 
and  Pennsylvania,  including  Delaware, 
were  the  first  communities,  either  in  the 
New  or  the  Old  World,  that  enjoyed  reli- 
gious liberty  in  the  fullest  extent. 

I  am  sure,  indeed,  that,  as  I  have  already 
said,  the  founders  of  the  first  American  col- 
onies, and  those  of  New-England  in  par- 
ticular, did  as  much  for  freedom  of  con- 
science as  could  have  been  expected,  and 
were  in  that  respect  in  advance  of  the  age 
in  which  they  lived.  If  they  were  intol- 
erant, so  were  others.  If  they  would  not 
allow  Roman  Catholics  to  live  among  them, 
the  most  dreadful  examples,  be  it  remem- 
bered, of  Roman  Catholic  intolerance  were 
forced  upon  their  attention,  and  that  their 
policy  was  merciful  in  the  extreme  com- 
pared with  that  of  Roman  Catholic  coun- 
tries in  those  days.  They  merely  refused 
to  receive  them  or  to  allow  them  to  remain 
among  them,  whereas  the  poor  Huguenots 
of  France  were  not  permitted  so  much  as 
to  retire  from  amid  their  enemies.  If,  in 
some  of  the  colonies,  Quakers  Avere  treat- 
ed with  great  harshness  and  shocking  in- 
justice, what  treatment  did  the  members  of 
that  sect  receive  at  the  same  period  in 
England  ?  If  the  colonists  burned  witches, 
was  not  that  done  also  in  Scotland,  Eng- 
land, and  other  countries  1 

I  may  therefore  repeat,  that  the  colonists 
were  in  advance  of  their  contemporaries 
in  their  views  of  almost  all  questions  rela- 
ting to  human  rights,  and  that  they  main- 
tained this  advance  is  attested  by  the  insti- 


€hap.  XIV.] 


THE    VOLUNTARY   SYSTEM. 


39 


tutions  that  arose  among  them.  But  the 
intolerance  with  which  these  were  charge- 
able at  first,  may  be  traced  to  their  opin- 
ions with  regard  to  the  relations  which  the 
Church  ought  to  sustain  towards  the  State. 
And  their  erroneous  views  on  that  subject 
created  obstacles  which  were  with  difficul- 
ty overcome  by  the  principle  of  leaving  re- 
ligion, not  to  the  support  as  well  as  protec- 
tion of  the  State,  but  to  the  hearts  and  hands 
of  persons  who  have  truly  received,  and 
are  willing  to  sustain  it.  These  remarks 
will  suffice  to  show  that  the  field  was  not 
so  open  to  that  principle  in  America  as 
some  have  thought. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

OBSTACLES  WHICH  THE  VOLUNTARY  SYSTEM 
HAS  HAD  TO  ENCOUNTER  IN  AMERICA  .  2. 
FROM  THE  NEWNESS  OF  THE  COUNTRY,  THE 
THINNESS  OF  THE  POPULATION,  AND  THE  UN- 
SETTLED STATE   OF  SOCIETY. 

A  second  class  of  obstacles  which  the 
voluntary  system,  or,  I  should  rather  say, 
which  religion  in  general  has  had  to  en- 
counter in  America,  comprehends  such  as 
are  inseparable  from  its  condition  as  a  new 
country. 

From  its  very  nature,  the  life  of  a  colo- 
nist presents  manifold  temptations  to  neg- 
lect the  interests  of  the  soul.  There  is  the 
separation  of  himself  and  his  family,  if  he 
has  one,  from  old  associations  and  influ- 
ences ;  and  the  removal,  if  not  from  abun- 
dant means  of  grace,  at  least  from  the  force 
of  that  public  opinion  which  often  power- 
fully restrains  from  the  commission  of 
open  sin.  Now  though  many  of  the  Amer- 
ican colonists  fled  from  persecution  and 
from  abounding  iniquity,  such  was  not  the 
case  with  all.  Then,  there  is  the  entering 
into  new  and  untried  situations ;  the  forming 
of  new  acquaintances,  not  always  of  the 
best  kind  ;  and  even  that  engrossment  with 
the  cares  and  labours  attending  a  man's  re- 
moval into  a  new  country,  especially  in 
the  case  of  the  many  who  have  to  earn  their 
bread  by  their  own  strenuous  exertions. 
All  these  things  hinder  the  growth  of  pie- 
ty in  the  soul,  and  form  real  obstacles  to 
its  promotion  in  a  community. 

And  if  such  hinderances  had  a  baneful 
effect  at  the  outset,  they  have  never  ceased 
to  operate  injuriously  down  to  this  day. 
To  say  nothing  of  the  foreigners  who 
come,  year  after  year,  to  the  American 
shores  on  their  way  to  the  Far  West,  thou- 
sands of  the  natives  of  the  Atlantic  slope 
annually  leave  their  houses  to  settle  amid 
the  forests  of  that  vast  Western  region. 
In  their  case  there  is  peculiar  exposure  to 
evil ;  their  removal  almost  always  with- 
draws them  from  the  powerful  influence 
of   neighbourhoods    where    true    religion 


more  or  less  flourishes.  Such  of  them  as 
are  not  decidedly  religious  in  heart  and 
life,  greatly  risk  losing  any  good  impres- 
sions they  may  have  brought  with  them, 
amid  the  engrossing  cares  and  manifold 
temptations  of  their  new  circumstances  ; 
circumstances  in  which  even  the  estab- 
lished Christian  will  find  much  need  of  re- 
doubled vigilance  and  prayer. 

The  comparative  thinness,  also,  of  the 
population  in  the  United  States  now  is, 
and  must  long  continue  to  be,  a  great  ob- 
stacle to  the  progress  of  religion  in  that 
country.  I  have  already  stated,  that  the 
area  of  all  the  territory  claimed  by  its  gov- 
ernment is  somewhat  more  than  2,000,000 
of  square  miles.  Now,  leaving  out  of  view 
the  vast  region  on  the  Upper  Missouri  and 
Mississippi  rivers,  west  and  north  of  Iowa 
and  Wisconsin,  and  reaching  to  the  Ore- 
gon Mountains  ;  leaving  out  of  view  also 
the  Pacific  slope,  and  looking  only  to  the 
twenty-six  states,  three  territories,  and 
one  district,  we  have  a  country  of  some- 
what more  than  1,000,000  of  square  miles, 
over  which  the  Anglo-American  race  has 
more  or  less  diffused  itself.  But  the  whole 
population,  including  the  African  race 
among  us,  in  1840,  was  just  17,068,666. 
That  is,  upon  an  average,  about  seventeen 
souls  to  the  square  mile.  If  this  population 
were  equally  diffused  over  the  entire  sur- 
face of  the  organized  states  and  territories, 
even  then  it  would  be  difficult  enough  to 
establish  and  maintain  churches  and  other 
religious  institutions  among  so  sparse  a 
population.  Still,  perhaps,  it  could  be  done. 
A  parish  of  thirty-six  square  miles,  which 
would  be  large  enough  in  point  of  extent, 
would  contain  612  souls.  One  twice  as 
large  would  contain  1224  souls.  But  al- 
though a  country  would  be  considered  well 
supplied  if  it  had  a  pastor  for  every  1224 
souls,  still  the  dispersion  of  these  over 
seventy-two  square  miles  would  necessa- 
rily very  much  curtail  the  pastor's  oppor- 
tunity for  doing  good,  and  prevent  the  souls 
under  his  charge  from  enjoying  the  full 
influence  of  the  Gospel.  But  the  popula- 
tion of  the  United  States  is  far  from  being 
thus  equally  distributed.  Some  of  the  old- 
er states  are  pretty  densely  settled ;  not 
more,  however,  than  is  necessary  for  the 
easy  maintenance  of  churches,  and  of  a 
regular  and  settled  ministry.  Massachu- 
setts, the  most  densely  settled  of  them  all, 
has  102  souls  to  the  square  mile ;  some 
others,  such  as  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Isl- 
and, have  from  seventy  to  eighty ;  oth- 
ers, such  as  New-Jersey,  Delaware,  Mary- 
land, and  New- York,  will  average  from 
forty  to  fifty.  Taking  the  whole  Atlantic 
slope,  with  the  exception  of  Florida,  which 
is  but  little  inhabited,  the  average  is  twen- 
ty-eight, while  in  the  eleven  states  and  two 
territories  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
it  is  less  than  ten  souls  to  the  square  mile. 


40 


RELIGION   IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  I. 


It  is  manifest,  therefore,  that  while  the 
population  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  At- 
lantic States,  and  of  parts  of  the  older  ones 
in  the  West,  is  hardly  dense  enough  to 
render  the  support  of  Gospel  ordinances 
easy,  the  difficulty  of  effecting  this  is  im- 
mensely increased  in  many  quarters,  but 
especially  in  the  West,  by  the  inhabitants 
being  much  more  widely  scattered.  I  shall 
show  in  another  place  how  this  difficulty  is, 
in  a  good  measure,  at  least,  overcome ;  here 
it  is  enough  that  I  point  to  its  existence. 

Personal  experience  alone  can  give  any 
one  a  correct  idea  of  the  difficulties  attend- 
ing the  planting  and  supporting  of  church- 
es and  pastors  in  that  vast  frontier  coun- 
try in  the  West,  where  the  population, 
treading  on  the  heels  of  the  Indians,  is, 
year  after  year,  advancing  into  the  forests. 
A  few  scattered  families,  at  wide  intervals, 
are  engaged  in  cutting  down  the  huge 
trees,  and  clearing  what  at  first  are  but 
little  patches  of  ground.  In  a  year  or  two 
the  number  is  doubled.  In  five  or  six 
years  the  country  begins  to  have  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  inhabited  by  civilized 
men.  But  years  more  must  roll  away  be- 
fore the  population  will  be  dense  enough 
to  support  churches  at  convenient  distan- 
ces from  each  other,  and  to  have  ministers 
of  the  Gospel  to  preach  in  them  every  Sab- 
bath. Yet  this  work  must  be  done,  and  it 
is  doing  to  an  extent  which  will  surprise 
many  into  whose  hands  this  book  may  fall. 

But  if  the  thinness  of  the  population  be 
an  obstacle,  how  great  must  be  that  of  its 
rapid  increase  in  the  aggregate  1  I  say  in 
the  aggregate,  for  it  is  manifest  that  its  in- 
crease in  the  thinly-settled  districts  must 
so  far  be  an  advantage.  But  with  this  in- 
crease diffusing  itself  into  new  settlements. 
we  have  a  double  difficulty  to  contend 
with — the  increase  itself  demanding  a  great 
augmentation  of  churches  and  ministers, 
and  its  continued  dispersion  rendering  it 
difficult  to  build  the  one  and  support  the 
other,  even  were  a  sufficiency  of  pastors 
to  be  found.  This  difficulty  would  be  quite 
appalling,  if  long  contemplated  apart  from 
the  vast  efforts  made  to  meet  and  overcome 
it.  The  population  of  the  United  States 
was,  in  1790,3,929,8-27  ;  in  1800,  5,305,925  ; 
in  1810,  7,239,814  ;  in  1820,  9,638,131  ;  in 
1830,  12,866,920 ;  and  in  1840,  17,068,666.* 
The  reader  may  calculate  for  himself  the 
average  annual  increase  during  each  of  the 
five  decades  which  have  elapsed  since  1790. 
But  it  is  not  so  easy  to  ascertain  the  pre- 
cise yearly  increase.  From  1830  to  1840 
it  was  4,201,746,  being  at  the  average  rate 
of  420,174  souls  per  annum.  During  the 
decade  from  1840  to  1850,  it  will  unques- 

*  Including  seamen  in  the  government  service,  not 
included  in  the  enumerations  commonly  published. 
Hence  the  difference  between  the  statements  in  the 
text  and  those  the  reader  may  meet  with  elsewhere. 
But  the  difference  is  only  6100. 


tionably  much  exceed  an  average  of 
500,000  per  annum,  unless  checked  by 
some  great  calamity,  of  which  there  is  no 
prospect. 

Now  to  provide  churches  and  pastors 
for  such  an  increase  as  this  is  no  very  easy 
matter,  yet  it  must  either  be  done,  or, 
sooner  or  later,  the  great  bulk  of  the  na- 
tion, as  some  have  predicted,  will  sink  into 
heathenism.  How  far  this  is  likely,  judg- 
ing from  what  has  been  done  and  is  now 
doing,  we  shall  see  in  another  place.  Here 
I  simply  state  the  magnitude  of  the  diffi- 
culty. 

Finally,  the  constant  emigration  from  the 
old  states  to  the  new,  and  even  from  the 
older  to  the  newer  settlements  in  the  lat- 
ter, is  a  great  obstacle  to  the  progress  of 
religion  in  all  places  from  which  a  part  of 
the  population  is  thus  withdrawn.  It  occa- 
sionally happens  in  one  or  other  of  the  At- 
lantic States,  that  a  church  is  almost  broken 
up  by  the  departure,  for  the  Western 
States,  of  families  on  whom  it  mainly  de- 
pended for  support.  Most  commonly, 
however,  this  emigration  is  so  gradual,  that 
the  church  has  time  to  recruit  itself  from 
other  families,  who  arrive  and  take  the 
place  of  those  who  have  gone  away.  Thus, 
unless  where  a  church  loses  persons  of 
great  influence,  the  loss  is  soon  repaired. 
In  the  cities  of  the  East,  and  their  suburban 
quarters  especially,  from  the  population 
being  of  so  floating  a  character,  this  evil 
is  felt  quite  as  much  as  in  the  country. 

But  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  that  what 
is  an  evil  in  the  East,  by  withdrawing  val- 
uable support  from  the  churches  there, 
proves  a  great  blessing  to  the  West,  by 
transferring  thither  Christian  families,  to 
originate  and  support  new  churches  in 
that  quarter. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

OBSTACLES  WHICH  THE  VOLUNTARY  SYSTEM 
HAS  HAD  TO  ENCOUNTER  IN  AMERICA  :  3.  FROM 
SLAVERY. 

That  the  coexistence  in  one  country 
of  two  such  different  races  as  the  Caucas- 
ian and  the  African,  standing  to  each  other 
in  the  relation  of  masters  and  slaves, 
should  retard  the  progress  of  true  religion 
there,  it  requires  but  little  knowledge  of 
human  nature  to  believe. 

Slavery  has  been  a  curse  in  all  past 
time,  and  by  no  possibility  can  it  be  other- 
wise. It  fosters  a  proud,  arrogant,  and  un- 
feeling spirit  in  the  master,  and  naturally 
leads  to  servility  and  meanness,  to  deceit- 
fulness  and  dishonesty,  in  the  slave.  Either 
way  it  is  disastrous  to  true  religion. 

But  I  have  no  intention  to  speak  here 
of  the  nature  of  slavery,  its  past  history, 
present  condition,  or  future  prospects  in. 


Chap.  XV.] 


THE    VOLUNTARY    SYSTEM. 


■11 


the  United  States.  My  object  is  simply  to 
show  how  it  operates  as  one  of  the  great- 
est obstacles  to  the  promotion  of  religion; 
and,  as  such,  militates  against  the  success 
of  the  voluntary  system  there.  Slavery, 
indeed,  may  easily  be  shown  to  be  pecu- 
liarly an  obstacle  to  that  system. 

I  might  mention,  that  the  reluctance  of 
slaves  to  worship  in  the  same  congregation 
with  their  masters  is  unfavourable  to  the 
interests  of  true  piety.  That  there  is  such 
a  reluctance,  every  one  knows  who  has 
had  much  to  do  with  the  institution  of  sla- 
very. It  often  shows  itself  in  the  hesita- 
tion of  slaves  to  come  to  the  family  altar, 
even  in  families  which  are  known  to  treat 
them  with  kindness. 

This  fact  is  easily  accounted  for.  Hu- 
man nature,  however  degraded,  and  whether 
wearing  a  black  or  a  white  skin,  has  still 
some  remains  of  pride,  or,  rather,  some 
consciousness  of  what  is  due  to  itself,  and  it 
is'  not  wonderful  that  it  avoids  as  much  as 
possible  coming  into  contact  with  persons, 
however  worthy  and  kind  they  may  be, 
to  whom  it  feels  itself  placed  in  ignoble 
subjection.  Therefore  it  is  that  the  negro 
of  our  Southern  States  prefers  going  to  a 
church  composed  of  people  of  his  own 
colour,  and  where  no  whites  appear. 
Slaves,  also,  sometimes  prefer  places  of 
worship  where  greater  latitude  is  allowed 
for  noisy  excitement,  to  whatever  denom- 
ination of  Christians  they  may  belong,  than 
would  be  tolerated  in  the  religious  assem- 
blies of  white  people. 

I  am  not  aware  that  I  have  exaggerated, 
as  some  may  think,  the  repugnance  of  the 
slaves  to  join  in  religious  worship  with 
their  masters.  One  thing  is  certain :  that, 
whether  from  such  repugnance,  or  some 
other  cause,  the  slaves  like  better  to  meet 
by  themselves,  wherever  allowed  to  do  so. 

That  the  separation  of  the  two  classes 
thus  occasioned  is  injurious  to  the  spiritual 
interests  of  both,  must  be  evident  from  a 
moment's  consideration.  So  long  as  sla- 
very exists  in  the  world,  the  Gospel  enjoins 
their  appropriate  duties  upon  both  masters 
and  slaves,  and  they  should  be  made  to  hear 
of  those  duties  in  each  other's  presence. 
This  should  be  done  kindly,  but  also  faith- 
fully. And  no  Christian  master  can  excuse 
himself  from  doing  the  duty  which  he  owes 
to  his  slave,  in  relation  to  his  spiritual  and 
immortal  interests,  by  saying  that  he  per- 
mits him  to  go  he  hardly  knows  whither, 
and  to  be  taught  those  things  which  con- 
cern his  highest  happiness  by  he  knows  not 
whom.  Where,  indeed,  the  master  him- 
self is  wholly  indifferent  to  the  subject  of 
religion,  as,  alas  !  is  too  often  the  case,  it  is 
well  that  the  slave  is  allowed  and  disposed 
to  seek  religious  instruction  anywhere. 

But  one  of  the  greatest  evils  of  slavery, 
as  respects  the  maintenance  of  Christian 
institutions,  is,  that  it  creates  a  state  of 


society  extremely  unfavourable  to  the  pro- 
viding of  a  sufficient  number  of  churches 
and  pastors  for  the  spiritual  wants  of  all 
classes — rich  and  poor,  slaves  and  free. 
This  holds  especially  in  the  case  of  large 
landed  estates,  with  many  hundred  slaves 
in  the  possession  of  a  small  number  of  rich 
proprietors.  In  such  circumstances,  a 
church  capable  of  containing  one  or  two 
hundred  persons  might,  perhaps,  accom- 
modate all  the  masters  and  their  families 
within  the  compass  of  a  very  large  parish, 
whereas  an  immense  edifice  would  be  re- 
quired for  the  accommodation  of  all  their 
slaves.  Now,  where  this  is  the  state  of 
things,  there  is  danger  that  the  landowners, 
being  few  in  number,  may  grudge  the  ex- 
pense of  maintaining  a  church  and  pastor 
at  all,  however  well  able  to  do  so  ;  or  that, 
with  horses  and.  carriages  at  their  com- 
mand, all  the  rich  within  one  vast  district 
will  join  in  having  public  worship  at  some 
central  point,  where  few,  comparatively, 
of  the  slaves  and  labouring  white  popula- 
tion will  find  it  possible  to  attend.  Where 
even  a  few  of  the  rich  proprietors  are  re- 
ligious men,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  having 
the  Gospel  brought,  not  only  to  their  own 
doors,  but  also  to  those  of  their  slaves  and 
other  dependants.  But  where  they  are  in- 
different, or  opposed  to  religion,  then  not 
only  does  the  Gospel  not  reach  them,  but 
if  it  reaches  their  slaves,  it  must  be  with 
great  difficulty,  and  often  very  irregularly. 
For,  be  it  remembered,  that  a  slave  popu- 
lation is  generally  too  poor  to  contribute 
anything  worth  mentioning  for  the  support 
of  the  Gospel.  Blessed  be  God,  there  is  a 
way,  as  I  shall  show  hereafter,  by  which 
some  of  the  evils  here  spoken  of  may  be 
mitigated ;  and  that  is  by  the  system  of 
itinerant  preaching  employed  in  the  United 
States,  so  extensively,  and  so  usefully,  by 
the  Methodists. 

Contemplating  these  difficulties,  we  shall 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  if,  in  any  part 
of  the  United  States,  the  support  of  the 
Gospel  by  taxation  enforced  by  law  is  bet- 
ter adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  the 
people  than  the  voluntary  plan,  it  is  in  the 
seaboard  counties  of  Maryland,  Virginia, 
the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia.  Still,  it  will 
be  found  that  even  there  the  voluntary 
system  has  not  been  wholly  inefficient, 
but  that,  through  the  ministry  either  of  fixed 
or  itinerant  preachers  of  righteousness,  it 
has  carried  the  Gospel  to  the  inhabitants 
of  all  classes,  to  an  extent  which,  under 
such  adverse  circumstances,  might  seem 
impracticable. 

It  must  be  noted,  that  while  such  are  the 
difficulties  that  oppose  the  maintenance  of  * 
a  Christian  ministry  in  the  slaveholding 
states,  there  is  a  special  necessity  for  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  there.  It  is  em- 
phatically by  the  "  hearing"  of  the  Word 
that  the  slaves  can  be  expected  to  come  to 


42 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  I. 


the  knowledge  of  salvation.  A  most  un- 
wise and  iniquitous  legislation  has,  in  most 
of  those  states,  forbidden  the  teaching  of 
the  slaves  to  read !  And  although,  doubt- 
less, this  law  is  not  universally  obeyed,  and 
here  and  there  a  good  many  slaves  do 
both  read  and  teach  others  to  do  so  pri- 
vately, yet  it  is  from  the  voice  of  the  living 
teacher  that  the  great  bulk  of  that  class  in 
the  United  States  must  receive  instruction 
in  divine  things.  Thanks  be  to  God!  no 
Legislature  in  any  state  has  forbidden  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  to  those  who  are 
in  the  bonds  of  slavery ;  and  many  thou- 
sands of  them,  it  is  believed,  have  not 
heard  it  in  vain. 

I  conclude  by  stating  that  slavery  exists 
in  thirteen  states — those  which  form  the 
southern  half  of  the  Union — and  in  one 
territory,  that  of  Florida.  It  does  not 
exist  in  the  other  thirteen,  nor  in  the  two 
important  Territories  of  Wisconsin  and 
Iowa.  The  states  in  which  it  exists  are 
Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Car- 
olina, South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Kentucky, 
Tennessee,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Louisiana, 
Mississippi,  and  Alabama. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

OBSTACLES  WHICH  THE  VOLUNTARY  SYSTEM 
HAS  HAD  TO  ENCOUNTER  IN  AMERICA  :  4. 
FROM  THE  VAST  IMMIGRATION  FROM  FOR- 
EIGN   COUNTRIES. 

It  is  superfluous  to  say  that  the  immigra- 
tion from  Europe  of  such  excellent  persons 
as  many  of  those  were  who  founded  the 
American  colonies,  or  who  joined  them  in 
the  days  of  their  infancy,  could  not  fail  to  be 
a  blessing  to  the  country.  But  the  emigra- 
tion to  the  United  States  at  the  present  day 
is  of  a  very  different  character.  Whatever 
violent  persecution  there  may  have  been 
in  Europe  during  the  last  seventy  years  has 
been  limited  in  extent,  and  of  short  duration, 
so  that  the  emigration  from  the  Old  World 
-to  America,  during  that  period,  must  be  re- 
ferred to  worldly  considerations,  not  to  the 
force  of  religious  convictions  leading  men 
•to  seek  for  the  enjoyment  of  religious  lib- 
erty. In  fact,  to  improve  their  worldly 
condition,  to  provide  a  home  for  their  chil- 
dren in  a  thriving  country,  to  rejoin  friends 
who  had  gone  before  them,  or  to  escape 
from  what  they  deemed  civil  oppression  in 
Europe — such,  generally,  have  been  the 
motives  that  have  prompted  the  recent 
emigrations  to  America.  To  these  we  must 
add  a  different  class — that  of  men  who 
have  left  their  country,  as  has  been  said, 
"  for  their  country's  good ;"  nor  is  the 
number  of  such  inconsiderable. 

It  is  difficult  to  discover  to  what  extent 
emigrants  have  poured  into  the  United 
.States  since  the  Revolution,  and  especially 


since  the  close  of  the  second  war  with 
Great  Britain,  in  1815.  Our  custom-house 
books  do  not  sufficiently  distinguish  be- 
tween emigrants  properly  so  called,  and 
American  citizens  returning  from  abroad. 
Again,  many  of  the  emigrants  enter  the 
United  States  by  way  of  Canada,  those  es- 
pecially who  come  from  the  British  isl- 
ands, and  no  exact  enumeration  of  these, 
it  is  believed,  is  kept  on  the  frontier.  Sixty 
thousand  foreigners,  it  has  been  supposed, 
have  annually  entered  the  United  States 
for  several  years  past  with  the  view  of 
settling  there.  According  to  the  report 
of  the  Secretary  of  State,  70,509  foreigners 
arrived  in  1839,  of  whom  34,213  were  from 
Great  Britain,  and  30,014  from  the  Conti- 
nent of  Europe  ;  the  remainder  were  from 
South  America,  Texas,  the  West  Indies, 
&c.  This  is  probably  too  low  an  estimate. 
From  tables  published  in  England,  it  ap- 
pears that  from  1825  to  1837  inclusive,  no 
fewer  than  300,259  left  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland  for  the  United  States,  and  also 
that  the  number  had  increased  every  year 
until  1836,  when  it  reached  37,774.  In 
1837  the  number  was  36,770. 

It  is  quite  certain,  I  think,  that  the  emi- 
grants from  the  Continent  of  Europe,  con- 
sisting almost  entirely  of  Germans,  from 
Germany  proper  and  Alsace,  Swiss,  and 
French,  are  nearly  if  not  quite  as  numer- 
ous as  those  from  the  British  islands  ;  and 
if  so,  the  total  number  of  emigrants  to  the 
United  States,  from  all  quarters,  must  be 
nearer  70,000  than  60,000. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that 
all  the  foreigners  who  come  to  the  United 
States  are  emigrants.  Many  come  only 
to  make  a  longer  or  shorter  stay,  as  mer- 
chants and  traders,  and  some,  after  having 
arrived  with  the  intention  of  remaining, 
become  dissatisfied,  and  return  to  their  na- 
tive country.  In  short,  it  is  impossible  to 
discover,  with  any  degree  of  accuracy,  the 
real  yearly  augmentation  of  the  population 
of  the  United  States  arising  from  immigra- 
tion. I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  it  is 
sometimes  greatly  overrated,  and  that  it 
does  not  much  exceed  60,000,  or,  at  most, 
70,000. 

Now,  although  among  these  emigrants 
there  are  many  respectable  people,  and 
some  who  bring  with  them  no  inconsider- 
able amount  of  property,  duty  compels  me 
to  say,  that  very  many  of  them  are  not 
only  very  poor,  but  ignorant,  also,  and  de- 
praved. Of  those  from  Ireland,  very  many 
are  intemperate,  and  ill  qualified  to  succeed 
in  a  new  country.  Should  the  Temperance 
cause,  indeed,  continue  to  prosper  in  Ire- 
land as  it  has  done  for  some  years  past 
under  Father  Matthew's  efforts,  we  may 
hope  for  an  improvement  in  the  "  Irish  im- 
portation." Of  the  Germans,  likewise,  a 
great  many  are  poor,  and  some  are  of  im- 
provident and  depraved  habits  ;  although, 


€hap.  XVI.] 


THE    VOLUNTARY    SYSTEM. 


in  the  mass,  they  are  much  superior  to  the 
Irish  in  point  of  frugality  and  sobriety. 
Many  of  the  Germans  have  of  late  years 
brought  with  them  considerable  sums  of 
money,  and  though  a  good  many  are  Ro- 
man Catholics,  yet  the  majority  are  Prot- 
estants. A  large  proportion  of  them  now 
come  from  the  kingdoms  of  Wurtemberg 
and  Bavaria,  and  from  the  Duchy  of  Baden  ; 
whereas,  in  former  times,  they  came  chief- 
ly from  the  eastern  and  northern  parts  of 
Germany. 

Now,  although,  no  doubt,  the  mortality 
among  these  emigrants  from  Europe,  caus- 
ed by  exposure,  anxiety,  fatigue,  and  dis- 
eases incident  to  a  strange  climate,  is  far 
greater  than  among  native  Americans,  yet 
the  yearly  accession  of  so  many  people, 
ignorant  in  a  degree  of  the  nature  of  our 
institutions,  about  half  of  them  unable  to 
speak  English,  and  nearly  half  of  them,  also, 
Roman  Catholics,  must  impose  a  heavy 
responsibility,  and  a  great  amount  of  la- 
bour upon  the  churches  in  order  to  provide 
them  with  the  means  of  grace.  Everything 
possible  must  be  done  for  the  adults  among 
them,  but  hope  can  be  entertained  chiefly 
for  the  young.  These  grow  up  speaking 
the  language  and  breathing  the  spirit  of 
their  adopted  country,  and  thus  the  process 
of  assimilation  goes  steadily  on.  In  a 
thousand  ways  the  emigrants  who  are,  as 
it  were,  cast  upon  our  shores,  are  brought 
into  contact  with  a  better  religious  influ- 
ence than  that  to  which  many  of  them 
have  been  accustomed  in  the  Old  World. 
Every  year  some  of  them  are  gathered 
into  our  churches,  while,  as  I  have  said, 
their  children  grow  up  Americans  in  their 
feelings  and  habits.  All  this  is  especially 
true  of  the  emigrants  who,  meaning  to 
make  the  country  their  home,  strive  to 
identify  themselves  with  it.  There  are 
others,  however,  and  particularly  those 
who,  having  come  to  make  their  fortunes 
as  merchants  and  traders,  calculate  upon 
returning  to  Europe,  that  never  become 
American  in  feeling  and  spirit.  From  such 
no  aid  is  to  be  expected  in  the  benevolent 
efforts  made  by  Christians  to  promote  good 
objects  among  us. 

I  have  been  struck  with  the  fact  that, 
generally  speaking,  our  religious  societies 
receive  their  most  steady  support  from  our 
Anglo-American  citizens.  The  emigrants 
from  the  British  realm,  English,  Welsh, 
Scotch,  and  Irish,  rank  next  in  the  interest 
they  take  in  our  benevolent  enterprises, 
and  in  readiness  to  contribute  to  their  sup- 
port. The  Germans  rank  next,  the  Swiss 
next,  and  the  French  last.  There  is  most 
infidelity  among  the  French,  yet  it  prevails 
also,  to  a  considerable  degree,  among  the 
Swiss  and  Germans,  among  the  better-in- 
formed classes  of  whom  it  is,  alas  !  too  oft- 
en to  be  found.  There  is  no  want  of  infi- 
delity and  indifference  to  religion  among 


emigrants  from  the  British  islands,  but  they 
are  chiefly  to  be  found  among  the  lowest 
class  of  them. 

Thus,  as  I  remarked  before,  while  the 
emigration  from  Europe  to  the  United 
States  brings  us  no  inconsiderable  number 
of  worthy  people,  it  introduces  also  a  large 
amount  of  ignorance,  poverty,  and  vice. 
Besides  this,  it  is  difficult  to  supply  with 
religious  institutions,  and  it  takes  long  to 
Americanise,  if  I  may  use  the  expression, 
in  feeling,  conduct,  and  language,  those 
multitudes  from  the  Continent  of  Europe 
who  cannot  understand  or  speak  English. 
Many  of  the  Germans,  in  particular,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  impossibility  of  finding  a 
sufficient  number  of  fit  men  to  preach  in 
German,  were  at  one  time  sadly  destitute  of 
the  means  of  grace  in  their  dispersion  over 
the  country.  But  within  the  last  fifteen 
years  a  brighter  prospect  has  opened  upon 
that  part  of  our  population,  as  I  shall  have 
to  show  in  its  place. 

I  have  not  charged  upon  the  ordinary 
emigration  to  the  shores  of  America  the 
great  amount  of  crime  in  the  United  States, 
which  may  be  traced  to  the  escape  thither 
of  criminals  from  Europe  ;  for  these  can- 
not, with  propriety,  be  regarded  as  consti- 
tuting a  part  of  that  emigration.  Never- 
theless, it  is  the  case  that  much  of  the 
crime  committed  in  America,  from  that  of 
the  honourable  merchant  who  scruples  not 
to  defraud  the  custom-house,  if  he  can, 
down  to  the  outrages  of  the  man  who  dis- 
turbs the  streets  with  his  riots,  is  the  work 
of  foreigners. 

It  maybe  said,  I  am  sure,  with  the  strict- 
est truth,  that  in  no  country  is  a  foreigner 
who  deserves  well  treated  with  more  re- 
spect and  kindness  than  in  America;  in  no 
country  will  he  find  less  difference  be- 
tween the  native  and  the  adopted  citizen  ; 
in  no  country  do  men  become  more  readily 
assimilated  in  principle  and  feeling  to  the 
great  body  of  the  people,  or  more  fully  re- 
alize the  fact  that  they  form  a  constituent 
part  of  the  nation. 

I  have  now  finished  the  notice  which  I 
intended  to  take  of  some  of  the  obstacles 
which  the  voluntary  system  has  had  to  en- 
counter in  the  United  States.  I  might  men- 
tion others  were  it  necessary ;  but  I  have 
said  enough  to  show  that  it  is  a  mistake  to 
suppose  that  it  has  had  an  open  field  and 
an  easy  course  there.  I  am  far  from  say- 
ing that  if  the  experiment  were  to  be  made 
in  an  old  country,  where  the  population  is 
established  and  almost  stationary — where 
it  is  homogeneous  and  indigenous — there 
would  not  be  other  obstacles  to  encounter, 
greater,  perhaps,  than  those  to  be  found 
among  us,  and  in  some  respects  peculiar 
to  America.  I  only  wish  these  difficul- 
ties not  to  be  lost  sight  of  as  we  advance 
in  this  work,  and  that  they  should  be  ap- 
preciated  at    their  just  value   when    we 


u 


RELIGION   IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


come  to  speak  of  subjects  upon  which  they 
bear. 

Such  are  some  of  the  topics  which  I 
thought  it  of  consequence  to  treat  before- 
hand, that  the  reader  might  be  prepared  for 


a  better  comprehension  of  the  grand  sub- 
ject of  this  work.  Upon  the  direct  consid- 
eration of  that  subject  we  are  now  ready- 
to  enter. 


BOOK    II. 

THE    COLONIAL    ERA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

RELIGIOUS    CHARACTER    OF    THE    EARLY    COLO- 
NISTS.  FOUNDERS    OF    NEW-ENGLAND. 

I  have  already  remarked,  that  if  we  would 
understand  the  civil  and  political  institu- 
tions of  the  United  States  of  America,  we 
must  trace  them  from  their  earliest  origin 
in  Anglo-Saxon  times,  through  their  vari- 
ous developments  in  succeeding  ages,  until 
they  reached  their  present  condition  in  our 
own  days. 

In  like  manner,  if  we  would  thoroughly 
understand  the  religious  condition  and 
economy  of  the  United  States,  we  must 
begin  with  an  attentive  survey  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  early  colonists,  and  of  the 
causes  which  brought  them  to  America. 

Besides,  as  has  been  well  observed,*  a 
striking  analogy  may  be  traced  between 
natural  bodies  and  bodies  politic.  Both  re- 
tain in  manhood  and  old  age  more  or  less 
of  the  characteristic  traits  of  their  infancy 
and  youth.  All  nations  bear  some  marks 
of  their  origin,  the  circumstances  amid 
which  they  were  born,  and  which  favoured 
their  early  development,  and  left  an  im- 
pression that  stamps  their  whole  future 
existence. 

We  begin  our  inquiry,  therefore,  into  the 
religious  history  and  condition  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  by  portraying,  as  briefly  as 
possible,  the  religious  character  of  the  first 
colonists,  who  may  be  regarded  as  the 
founders  of  that  commonwealth.  In  doing 
this,  we  shall  follow  neither  the  chronolo- 
gical nor  the  geographical  order,  but  shall 
first  speak  of  the  colonists  of  New-England ; 
next,  of  those  of  the  South ;  and,  finally,  of 
those  of  the  Middle  States.  This  gives  us 
the  advantage  at  once  of  grouping  and  of 
contrast. 

How  wonderful  are  the  events  that  some- 
times flow  from  causes  apparently  the  most 
inadequate,  and  even  insignificant  !  The 
conquest  of  Constantinople  by  the  Turks, 
in  1453,  seemed  to  be  only  one  of  the  ordi- 
nary events  of  war,  and  yet  it  led  to  the 
revival  of  letters  among  the  higher  classes 
of  society  throughout  Europe.     The  inven- 


*  See  M.  de  Tocqueville,  "  Democratic  en  Ame- 
rique,"  Premiere  Partie,  tome  i.,  chap.  i.  Also 
Lang's  "  Religion  and  Education  in  America,"  chap. 
i.,  page  11. 


tion  of  the  art  of  printing  by  an  obscure 
German,  two  years  later,  gave  immense 
facilities  for  the  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  all  classes  of  people.  The  discov- 
ery of  America  by  a  Genoese  adventurer, 
towards  the  close  of  the  same  century 
(A.D.  1492),  produced  a  revolution  in  the 
commerce  of  the  world.  A  poor  monk  in 
Germany,  preaching  (A.D.  1517)  against 
indulgences,  emancipated  whole  nations 
from  the  domination  of  Rome.  And  the 
fortuitous  arrival  of  a  young  French  law- 
yer who  had  embraced  the  Faith  of  the 
Reformation  at  an  inconsiderable  city  in 
Switzerland,  situated  on  the  banks  of  the 
Rhone,  followed  by  his  settling  there,  and 
organizing  its  ecclesiastical  and  civil  insti- 
tutions, was  connected,  in  the  mysterious 
providence  of  Him  who  knows  the  end 
from  the  beginning,  and  who  employs  all 
events  to  advance  His  mighty  purposes, 
with  the  establishment  of  free  institutions 
in  England,  their  diffusion  in  America,  and 
their  triumph  in  other  lands. 

The  way  had  long  been  preparing  for  the 
Reformation  in  England  by  the  opinions 
avowed  by  Wicliffe  and  his  followers,  and 
by  the  resistance  of  the  government  to  the 
claims  and  encroachments  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical authorities.  The  light,  too,  which 
had  begun  to  appear  in  Germany,  cast  its 
rays  across  the  North  Sea,  and  men  were 
ere  long  to  be  found  in  Britain  secretly 
cherishing  the  doctrines  maintained  by  Lu- 
ther. At  length  an  energetic,  but  corrupt 
and  tyrannical  prince,  after  having  been 
rewarded  for  writing  against  Luther,  by 
receiving  from  the  pope  the  title  of  "  De- 
fender of  the  Faith,"  thought  fit  to  revenge 
the  refusal  of  a  divorce  from  his  first  wife 
by  abolishing  the  papal  supremacy  in  his 
kingdom,  and  transferring  the  headship  of 
the  Church,  as  well  as  of  the  State,  to  him- 
self. But  Henry  VIII.  desired  to  have  no 
reformation  either  in  the  doctrines  or  the 
worship  of  the  Church  ;  and  in  his  last 
years  he  revoked  the  general  permission 
which  he  had  granted  for  the  reading  of  the 
Scriptures,  being  all  that  he  had  ever  done 
in  favour  of  the  Reformation  among  the 
people,  and  confined  that  privilege  to  the 
nobles  and  merchants.  A  tyrant  at  once 
in  spiritual  and  temporal  matters,  he  pun- 
ished every  deviation   from  the    ancient 


Chap.  I.] 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  EARLY  COLONISTS. 


45 


usages  of  the  Church,  and  every  act  of 
non-compliance  with  his  own  arbitrary 
ordinances. 

The  reign  of  Edward  VI.  (1547-1553) 
forms  a  most  important  era  in  the  histo- 
ry of  England.  Partly  through  the  influ- 
ence of  the  writings  of  Calvin,  which  had 
been  circulated  to  a  considerable  extent  in 
that  country ;  partly  through  that  of  his 
public  instructions,  which  had  been  fre- 
quented at  Geneva  by  many  young  English 
students  of  divinity ;  but  still  more  by  the 
lectures  of  those  two  eminent  Continental 
divines,  Peter  Martyr  and  Martin  Bucer, 
who  had  been  invited  to  England,  and  made 
professors  of  theology  at  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge, many  persons  had  been  prepared 
for  that  reformation  in  the  Church  which 
then  actually  took  place  under  the  auspi- 
ces of  Cranmer,  and  was  carried  to  the 
length,  in  all  essential  points,  at  which  it 
is  now  established  by  law.  Hooper,  and 
many  other  excellent  men,  were  appointed 
to  the  most  influential  offices  in  the  Church, 
and  much  progress  was  made  in  resuscita- 
ting true  piety  among  both  the  clergy  and 
the  people. 

But  the  Protestants  of  England  soon  be- 
came divided  into  two  parties.  One,  head- 
ed by  Cranmer,  then  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, consisted  of  such  as  were  op- 
posed to  great  changes  in  the  discipline 
and  government  of  the  Church,  and  wished 
to  retain,  to  a  certain  degree,  the  ancient 
forms  and  ceremonies,  hoping  thereby  to 
conciliate  the  people  to  the  Protestant  faith. 
To  all  the  forms  of  the  Romish  Church  the 
other  party  bore  an  implacable  hatred,  and 
insisted  upon  the  rejection  of  even  a  cere- 
mony or  a  vestment  that  was  not  clearly 
enjoined  by  the  Word  of  God.  Wishing  to 
see  the  Church  purified  from  every  human 
invention,  they  were  therefore  called  Puri- 
tans, a  name  given  in  reproach,  but  by 
which,  in  course  of  time,  they  were  not 
averse  to  being  distinguished.  With  them 
the  Bible  was  the  sole  standard,  alike  for 
doctrines  and  for  ceremonies,  and  with  it 
they  would  allow  no  decision  of  the  hierar- 
chy, or  ordinance  of  the  king,  or  law  of  Par- 
liament, to  interfere.  On  that  great  found- 
ation they  planted  their  feet,  and  were  en- 
couraged in  so  doing  by  Bucer,  Peter  Mar- 
tyr, and  Calvin  himself.*  The  Church- 
men, as  their  opponents  were  called,  de- 
sired, on  the  other  hand,  to  differ  as  little 
as  possible  from  the  ancient  forms,  and 
readily  adopted  things  indifferent ;  but  the 
Puritans  could  never  sever  themselves  too 
widely  from  every  usage  of  the  Romish 
Church.  For  them  the  surplice  and  the 
square  cap  were  things  of  importance,  for 
they  were  the  livery  of  superstition,  and 
tokens  of  the  triumph  of  prescription  over 


*  Strype's  Memorials,  vol.  ii.,  chap,  xxviii.  Hal- 
lam's  Constitutional  History  of  England,  vol.  i.,  p. 
140 


the  Word  of  God — of  human  over  divine 
authority ;  and  though  then  but  a  small  mi- 
nority, even  thus  early  there  was  evidently 
a  growing  attachment  to  their  doctrines  in 
the  popular  mind.* 

During  the  bloody  reign  of  Edward  VI. 's 
successor,  Mary,  that  is,  from  1553  to  1558, 
both  parties  of  Protestants  were  exposed 
to  danger,  but  especially  the  Puritans. 
Thousands  fled  to  the  Continent,  and  found 
refuge  chiefly  in  Frankfort-on-the-Maine, 
Emden,  Wesel,  Basel,  Marburg,  Strasburg, 
and  Geneva.  At  Frankfort  the  dispute  be- 
tween the  two  parties  was  renewed  with 
great  keenness ;  even  Calvin  in  vain  at- 
tempted to  allay  it.  In  the  end,  most  of 
the  Puritans  left  that  city  and  retired  to 
Geneva,  where  they  found  the  doctrine, 
worship,  and  discipline  of  the  Church  to  ac- 
cord with  their  sentiments.  While  resi- 
ding there,  they  adopted  for  their  own  use 
a  liturgy  upon  the  plan  suggested  by  the 
great  Genevese  reformer,  and  there  also 
they  translated  the  Bible  into  English. f 
Persecution,  meanwhile,  prevailed  in  Eng- 
land. Cranmer,  to  whom  the  queen  in 
her  early  years  had  owed  her  life,  Hooper, 
Rogers,  and  other  distinguished  servants 
of  Christ,  suffered  death.  Many  of  the 
clergy  again  submitted  to  the  Roman  See. 

On  the  death  of  Queen  Mary,  many  of 
the  exiled  Puritans  returned,  with  their 
hatred  to  the  ceremonies  and  vestments 
inflamed  by  associating  them  with  the  cru- 
elties freshly  committed  at  home,  and  by 
what  they  had  seen  of  the  simple  worship 
of  the  Reformed  Churches  abroad.  But 
they  struggled  in  vain  to  effect  any  sub- 
stantial change.  Elizabeth,  who  succeed- 
ed her  sister  Mary  in  1558,  would  hear  of 
no  modifications  of  any  importance  in  doc- 
trine, discipline,  or  worship,  so  that  in  all 
points  the  Church  was  almost  identically 
the  same  as  it  had  been  under  Edward  VI. 
While  Elizabeth  desired  to  conciliate  the 
Romanists,  the  Puritans  denounced  all  con- 
cessions to  them,  even  in  things  indifferent. 

*  The  Puritans  have  been  often  and  severely 
blamed  for  what  some  have  been  pleased  to  call  their 
obstinacy  in  regard  to  things  comparatively  indiffer- 
ent. But  it  has  been  well  remarked  by  President 
Quincy,  in  his  Centennial  Address  at  Boston,  that 
"  the  wisdom  of  zeal  for  any  object  is  not  to  be 
measured  by  the  particular  nature  of  that  object,  but 
by  the  nature  of  the  principle,  which  the  circumstan- 
ces of  the  times,  or  of  society,  have  identified  with 
such  object." 

t  This  version  was  first  published  in  1560.  So 
highly  was  it  esteemed,  particularly  on  account  of 
its  notes,  that  it  passed  through  thirty  editions.  To 
both  the  translation  and  notes  King  James  had  a 
special  dislike,  alleging  that  the  latter  were  full  of 
il  traitorous  conceits."  In  the  conference  at  Hampton 
Court,  "he  professed  that  he  could  never  yet  see  a 
Bible  well  translated  in  English,  but  worst  of  all  his 
majesty  thought  the  Geneva  to  be.  "  This  version 
was  the  one  chiefly  used  by  the  first  emigrants  to 
New-England,  for  that  of  King  James,  published  in 
1611,  had  not  then  passed  into  general  use. — 
Strype's  Annals.  Barlow's  Sum  and  Substance  of  the 
Conference  at  Hampton  Court. 


46 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


Though  by  profession  a  Protestant,  she 
was  much  attached  to  many  of  the  distin- 
guishing doctrines  and  practices  of  the  pa- 
pacy, and  she  bore  a  special  hatred  to  the 
Puritans,  not  only  because  of  their  differ- 
ing so  much  from  her  in  their  religious 
views,  but  also  because  of  the  sentiments 
they  hesitated  not  to  avow  on  the  subject 
of  civil  liberty.  The  oppression  of  the 
government  was  driving  them,  in  fact,  to 
scrutinize  the  nature  and  limits  of  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  authority,  and  to  ques- 
tion the  right  of  carrying  it  to  the  extent 
to  which  the  queen  and  the  bishops  were 
determined  to  push  it.  The  popular  voice 
was  becoming  decidedly  opposed  to  a  rig- 
orous exaction  of  conformity  with  the  roy- 
al ordinances  respecting  the  ceremonies. 
Parliament  itself  became  imbued  with  the 
same  spirit,  and  showed  an  evident  dis- 
position to  befriend  the  Puritans,  whose 
cause  began  to  be  associated  with  that  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty.  The  bishops, 
however,  and  most  of  the  other  dignified 
clergy,  supported  the  views  of  the  queen. 
Whitgift,  in  particular,  who  was  made 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  in  1583,  vigor- 
ously enforced  conformity.  The  Court  of 
High  Commission  compelled  many  of  the 
best  ministers  of  the  Established  Church 
to  relinquish  their  benefices,  and  to  hold 
private  meetings  for  worship  as  they  best 
could,  very  inferior  and  worthless  men  be- 
ing generally  put  into  their  places. 

Still;  the  suppression  of  the  Puritans  was 
found  a  vain  attempt.  During  Elizabeth's 
long  reign  their  numbers  steadily  increas- 
ed. The  services  they  rendered  to  the 
country  may  be  estimated  by  the  verdict 
of  an  historian  who  has  been  justly  char- 
ged with  lying  in  wait,  through  the  whole 
course  of  his  history,  for  an  opportunity  of 
throwing  discredit  upon  the  cause  of  both 
religion  and  liberty,  and  who  bore  to  the 
Puritans  a  special  dislike.  Mr.  Hume  says, 
"  The  precious  spark  of  liberty  had  been 
kindled  and  was  preserved  by  the  Puritans 
alone."* 

As  a  body,  the  Puritans  studiously  avoid- 
ed separation  from  the  Established  Church. 
What  they  desired  was  reform,  not  schism. 
But  towards  the  middle  of  Elizabeth's  reign, 
a  party  arose  among  them  that  went  to 
an  extreme  in  their  opposition  to  the 
"  Churchmen,"  and  refused  to  hold  com- 
munion with  a  Church  whose  ceremonies 
and  government  they  condemned.  These 
were  the  Independents,  or  Brownists,  as 
they  were  long  improperly  called,  from 
the  name  of  one  who  was  a  leading  person 
among  them  for  a  time,  but  who  afterward 
left  them  and  ended  his  days  in  the  Estab- 
lished Church.  The  congregation  which 
Brown  had  gathered,  after  sharing  his  ex- 
ile, was  broken  up  and  utterly  dispersed. 


Hume's  History  of  England,  vol.  iii.,  p.  76. 


But  the  principles  which,  for  a  time,  he 
had  boldly  advocated,  were  destined  to  sur- 
vive his  abandonment  of  them  in  England, 
as  well  as  to  flourish  in  a  far-distant  re- 
gion, at  that  time  almost  unknown. 

From  that  time  forward  the  Puritans  be- 
came permanently  divided  into  two  bodies 
— the  Nonconformists,  constituting  a  large 
majority  of  the  body,  and  the  Separatists. 
The  former  saw  evils  in  the  Established 
Church,  and  refused  to  comply  with  them, 
but,  at  the  same  time,  acknowledged  its 
merits,  and  desired  its  reform ;  the  latter 
denounced  it  as  an  idolatrous  institution, 
false  to  Truth  and  to  Christianity,  and,  as 
such,  fit  only  to  be  destroyed.  Eventually 
the  two  parties  became  bitterly  opposed 
to  each  other ;  the  former  reproached  the 
latter  with  precipitancy  ;  the  latter  retorted 
the  charge  of  a  base  want  of  courage. 

The  accession  of  King  James  gave  new 
hopes  to  the  Puritans,  but  these  were  soon 
completely  disappointed.  That  monarch, 
though  brought  up  in  Presbyterian  princi- 
ples in  Scotland,  no  sooner  crossed  the 
border  than  he  became  an  admirer  of  the 
prelacy,  and,  although  a  professed  Calvin- 
ist,  allowed  himself  to  become  the  easy 
tool  of  the  latitudinarian  sycophants  who 
surrounded  him.  Having  deceived  the  Pu- 
ritans, he  soon  learned  to  hate  both  them 
and  their  doctrines.  His  pedantry  having 
sought  a  conference  with  their  leaders  at 
Hampton  Court,  scenes  took  place  there 
which  were  as  amusing  for  their  display 
of  the  dialectics  of  the  monarch  as  they 
were  unsatisfactory  to  the  Puritans  in  their 
results.  "  I  will  have  none  of  that  liberty 
as  to  ceremonies ;  I  will  have  one  doc- 
trine, one  discipline,  one  religion  in  sub- 
stance and  in  ceremony.  Never  speak 
more  on  that  point,  how  far  you  are  bound 
to  obey."*  And  verily  it  was  a  point  on 
which  such  a  monarch  as  James  I.  did  not 
wish  to  hear  anything  said.  The  confer- 
ence lasted  three  days.  The  king  would 
bear  no  contradiction.  He  spoke  much, 
and  was  greatly  applauded  by  his  flatter- 
ers. The  aged  Whitgift  said,  "  Your  maj- 
esty speaks  by  the  special  assistance  of 
God's  Spirit."  And  Bishop  Bancroft  ex- 
claimed, on  his  knees,  that  his  heart  melt- 
ed for  joy  "  because  God  had  given  Eng- 
land such  a  king  as,  since  Christ's  time, 
has  not  been."f 

The  Parliament  was  becoming  more  and 
more  favourable  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Pu- 
ritans ;  but  the  hierarchy  maintained  its 
own   views,  and  was  subservient  to  the 


*  In  the  second  day's  conference  his  majesty  spoke 
of  the  Puritans  with  little  ceremony.  "1  will  make 
them  conform,  or  I  will  harry  them  out  of  the  land, 
or  else  worse."  "  Only  burn  them,  that's  all." — 
Barlow's  Sam  and  Substance  of  the  Conference  at 
Hampton  Court,  p.  71,  83. 

f  Barlow's  Sum  and  Substance  of  the  Conference 
at  Hampton  Court,  p.  93,  94.  Lingard,  ix.,  p.  32. 
Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans,  iii.,  p.  45. 


Chap.  II.] 


CHARACTER   OF   THE    EARLY   COLONISTS. 


47 


wishes  of  the  monarch.  Conformity  was 
rigidly  enforced  by  Whitgift's  successor, 
Bancroft.  In  1604,  three  hundred  Puritan 
ministers  are  said  to  have  been  silenced, 
imprisoned,  or  exiled.  But  nothing  could 
check  the  growth  of  their  principles.  The 
Puritan  clergy  and  the  people  became  ar- 
rayed against  the  Established  Church  and 
the  King.  The  latter  triumphed  during 
that  reign,  but  very  different  was  to  be  the 
issue  in  the  following.  So  hateful  to  the 
court  were  the  people  called  Brownists, 
Separatists,  or  Independents,  that  efforts 
were  made,  with  great  success,  to  root 
them  out  of  the  country.  Some  remains 
of  them,  however,  outlived  for  years  the 
persecutions  by  which  they  were  assault- 
ed. 

In  the  latter  years  of  Elizabeth,  a  scat- 
tered flock  of  these  Separatists  began  to 
be  formed  in  some  towns  and  villages  of 
Nottinghamshire,  Lincolnshire,  and  the  ad- 
jacent borders  of  Yorkshire,  under  the  pas- 
toral care  of  John  Robinson,  a  man  who 
has  left  behind  him  a  name  admitted,  even 
by  his  bitterest  enemies,  to  be  without  re- 
proach. This  little  church  was  watched 
and  beset  day  and  night  by  the  agents  of 
the  court,  and  could  with  difficulty  find  op- 
portunities of  meeting  in  safety.  They 
met  here  or  there,  as  they  best  could,  on 
the  Sabbath,  and  thus  strove  to  keep  alive 
the  spirit  of  piety  which  united  them. 
They  had  become  "  enlightened  in  the 
Word  of  God,"  and  were  led  to  see,  not 
only  that  "  the  beggarly  ceremonies  were 
monuments  of  idolatry,"  but  also  "  that 
the  lordly  power  of  the  prelates  ought  not 
to  be  submitted  to."  Such  being  their  sen- 
timents, no  efforts,  of  course,  would  be 
spared  to  make  their  lives  miserable,  and, 
if  possible,  to  extirpate  them. 

At  last,  seeing  no  prospect  of  peace  in 
their  native  land,  they  resolved  to  pass 
over  to  Holland,  a  country  which,  after 
having  successfully  struggled  for  its  own 
independence  and  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  Protestant  faith,  now  presented  an 
asylum  for  persons  of  all  nations  when 
persecuted  on  account  of  their  religion. 
After  many  difficulties  and  delays,  a  pain- 
fully interesting  account  of  which  may  be 
found  in  their  annals,  they  reached  Am- 
sterdam in  1608.  There  they  found  many 
of  their  brethren  who  had  left  England  for 
the  same  cause  with  themselves.  The 
oldest  part  of  these  exiled  Independents 
was  the  church  under  the  pastoral  care  of 
Francis  Johnson.  It  had  emigrated  from 
London  about  the  year  1592.  There  was 
also  a  fresh  accession  composed  of  a  Mr. 
Smith's  people.  Risk  of  collision  with 
these  induced  Mr.  Robinson  and  his  flock 
to  retire  to  Leyden,  and  there  they  estab- 
lished themselves. 


CHAPTER  II. 


RELIGIOUS    CHARACTER    OF    THE     FOUNDERS    OF 
NEW-ENGLAND. PLYMOUTH  COLONY. 

The  arrival  of  Mr.  Robinson's  flock  in 
Holland  was  destined  to  be  the  beginning 
Only  of  their  wanderings.  "  They  knew 
that  they  were  pilgrims,  and  looked  not 
much  on  those  things,  but  lifted  up  their 
eyes  to  heaven  their  dearest  country,  and 
quieted  their  spirits."*  "  They  saw  many 
goodly  and  fortified  cities,  strongly  walled 
and  guarded  with  troops  and  armed  men. 
Also,  they  heard  a  strange  and  uncouth 
language,  and  beheld  the  different  man- 
ners and  customs  of  the  people,  with 
strange  fashions  and  attires ;  all  so  far 
differing  from  that  of  their  plain  country 
villages,  wherein  they  were  bred  and  born, 
and  had  so  long  lived,  as  it  seemed  they 
were  come  into  a  new  world.  But  those 
were  not  the  things  they  much  looked  on, 
or  that  long  took  up  their  thoughts  ;  for 
they  had  other  work  in  hand,"  and  "  saw 
before  long  poverty  coming  on  them  like 
an  armed  man,  with  whom  they  must 
buckle  and  encounter,  and  from  whom 
they  could  not  fly.  But  they  were  armed 
with  faith  and  patience  against  him  and  all 
his  encounters ;  though  they  were  some- 
times foiled,  yet  by  God's  assistance  they 
prevailed  and  got  the  victory." 

On  their  removal  to  Leyden,  as  they  had 
no  opportunity  of  pursuing  the  agricultu- 
ral life  they  had  led  in  England,  they  were 
compelled  to  learn  such  trades  as  they 
could  best  earn  a  livelihood  by  for  them- 
selves and  their  families.  Brewster,  a 
man  of  some  distinction,  who  had  been 
chosen  their  ruling  elder,  became  a  print- 
er. Bradford,  afterward  their  governor 
in  America,  and  their  historian,  acquired 
the  art  of  dying  silk.  All  had  to  learn 
some  handicraft  or  other.  But,  notwith- 
standing these  difficulties,  after  two  or 
three  years  of  embarrassment  and  toil, 
they  "  at  length  came  to  raise  a  compe- 
tent and  comfortable  living,  and  continued 
many  years  in  a  comfortable  condition,  en- 
joying much  sweet  and  delightful  society, 
and  spiritual  comfort  together  in  the  ways 
of  God,  under  the  able  ministry  and  pru- 
dent government  of  Mr.  John  Robinson 
and  Mr.  William  Brewster,  who  was  an  as- 
sistant unto  him  in  the  place  of  an  elder, 
unto  which  he  was  now  called  and  chosen 
by  the  church  ;  so  that  they  grew  in  knowl- 
edge, and  other  gifts  and  graces  of  the  Spir- 
it of  God ;  and  lived  together  in  peace,  and 
love,  and  holiness.  And  many  came  unto 
them  from  divers  parts  of  England,  so  as 
they  grew  a  great  congregation."!    As  for 

*  See  Governor  Bradford's  History  of  Plymouth 
Colony. 

t  Governor  Bradford's  History  of  New-England. 
It  has  been  calculated  from  data  to  be  found  in  oth- 
er histories  of.  that  colony,  that  so  much  had  Mr. 


48 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


Mr.  Robinson,  we  are  told  that  the  people 
had  a  great  affection  for  him,  and  that  "  his 
love  was  great  towards  them,  and  his  care 
was  always  bent  for  their  best  good,  both 
for  soul  and  body.  For,  besides  his  singu- 
lar abilities  in  divine  things,  wherein  he 
excelled,  he  was  able  also  to  give  direc- 
tion in  civil  affairs,  and  to  foresee  dangers 
and  inconveniences ;  by  which  means  he 
was  every  way  as  a  common  father  unto 
them."  Not  only  so  ;  besides  writing  sev- 
eral books  and  preachiug  thrice  a  week  to 
his  own  flock,  Mr.  Robinson  entered  warm- 
ly into  the  Arminian  controversy,  which 
was  raging  during  his  residence  at  Leyden, 
and  disputed  often  with  Episcopius  and  oth- 
er champions  of  the  Arminian  side.* 

Although  they  had  begun  to  enjoy  some 
degree  of  comfort  in  Holland,  still  they 
did  not  feel  themselves  at  home  there. 
Accordingly,  they  began  to  agitate  the 
question  of  removing  to  some  part  of 
America.  Their  reasons  for  thinking  of 
such  a  step,  as  stated  in  the  words  of 
their  own  historian,  gives  us  new  proof 
of  the  extraordinary  character  of  this  sim- 
ple-hearted and  excellent  flock. 

I.  "  And,  first,  they  found,  and  saw  by 
experience,  the  hardness  of  the  place  and 
country  to  be  such,  as  few  in  comparison 
would  come  to  them,  and  fewer  that  would 
bide  it  out  and  continue  with  them.  For 
many  that  came  to  them  could  not  endure 
the  great  labour  and  hard  fare,  with  other 
inconveniences  which  they  underwent  and 
were  contented  with.  But  though  they 
loved  their  persons,  and  approved  their 
cause,  and  honoured  their  sufferings,  yet 
they  left  them,  as  it  were,  weeping,  as  Or- 
pah  did  her  mother-in-law  Naomi ;  or  as 
those  Romans  did  Cato  in  Utica,  who  de- 
sired to  be  excused  and  borne  with,  though 
they  could  not  all  be  Catos.f  For  many, 
though  they  desired  to  enjoy  the  ordinan- 
ces of  God  in  their  purity,  and  the  liberty 
of  the  Gospel  with  them,  yet,  alas  !  they 
admitted  of  bondage  with  danger  of  con- 
science, rather  than  endure  those  hard- 
ships ;  yea,  some  preferred  and  chose  pris- 
ons in  England  rather  than  liberty  in  Hol- 
land, with  those  afflictions.  But  it  was 
thought  that  if  a  better  and  easier  place  of 
living  could  be  had,  it  would  draw  many, 
and  take  away  these  discouragements ; 
yea,  their  pastor  would  often  say  that 
many  of  those  that  both  writ  and  preach- 
ed against  them,  if  they  were  in  a  place 

Robinson's  church  increased,  that  it  had  three  hun- 
dred "  communicants"  before  any  of  them  embarked 
for  America. 

*  Besides  the  testimony  of  Winslow  in  his  "  Brief 
Narrative,"  which  might  be  suspected  of  being  par- 
tial, we  have  that  of  the  celebrated  Professor  Horn- 
beck,  in  his  "  Summa  Controversiarum  Religionis," 
respecting  Mr.  Robinson,  whom  he  calls  "  Vir  ille 
(Johannes  Robinsonus),  gratus  nostris,  dum  vixit, 
fuit,  ettheologis  Leidensibusfamiliarisethonoratus." 

t  See  Plutarch's  Life  of  Cato  the  Younger. 


where  they  might  have  liberty  and  live 
comfortably,  they  would  then  practise  as 
as  they  did. 

If.  "  They  saw  that,  although  the  people 
generally  bore  all  their  difficulties  very 
cheerfully  and  with  a  resolute  courage,  be- 
ing in  the  best  of  their  strength,  yet  old 
age  began  to  come  on  some  of  them  ;  and 
their  great  and  continual  labours,  with 
other  crosses  and  sorrows,  hastened  it  be- 
fore the  time  ;  so  as  it  was  not  only  prob- 
ably thought,  but  apparently  seen,  that 
within  a  few  years  more  they  were  in  dan- 
ger to  scatter  by  necessity  pressing  them, 
or  sink  under  their  burdens,  or  both ;  and, 
therefore,  according  to  the  divine  proverb, 
that  '  a  wise  man  seeth  the  plague  when  it 
cometh,  and  hideth  himself,'*  so  they,  like 
skilful  and  beaten  soldiers,  were  fearful  ei- 
ther to  be  entrapped  or  surrounded  by  their 
enemies,  so  as  they  should  neither  be  able 
to  fight  nor  fly  ;  and,  therefore,  thought  it 
better  to  dislodge  betimes  to  some  place 
of  better  advantage  and  less  danger,  if  any 
could  be  found. 

III.  "As  necessity  was  a  taskmaster 
over  them,  so  they  were  forced  to  be  such 
not  only  to  their  servants,  but,  in  a  sort,  to 
their  dearest  children  ;  the  which,  as  it  did 
a  little  wound  the  tender  hearts  of  many  a 
loving  father  and  mother,  so  it  produced, 
also,  many  sad  and  sorrowful  effects.  For 
many  of  their  children,  that  were  of  best 
dispositions  and  gracious  inclinations,  hav- 
ing learned  to  bear  the  yoke  in  their  youth, 
and  willing  to  bear  part  of  their  parents' 
burden,  were  oftentimes  so  oppressed  with 
their  heavy  labours,  that  although  their 
minds  were  free  and  willing,ryet  their  bod- 
ies bowTed  under  the  weight  of  the  same, 
and  became  decrepit  in  their  early  youth  ; 
the  vigour  of  nature  being  consumed  in  the 
very  bud,  as  it  were.  But  that  which  was 
more  lamentable,  and  of  all  sorrows  most 
heavy  to  be  borne,  was,  that  many  of  their 
children,  by  these  occasions,  and  the  great 
licentiousness  of  the  youth  in  the  country, 
and  the  manifold  temptations  of  the  place, 
were  drawn  away  by  evil  examples  into  ex- 
travagant and  dangerous  courses,  getting 
the  reins  on  their  necks,  and  departing  from 
their  parents.  Some  became  soldiers,  oth- 
ers took  them  upon  far  voyages  by  sea, 
and  others  some  worse  courses,  tending  to 
dissoluteness  and  the  danger  of  their  souls, 
to  the  great  grief  of  their  parents  and  dis- 
honour of  God;  so  that  they  saw  their 
posterity  would  be  in  danger  to  degenerate 
and  be  corrupted. 

IV.  "Lastly  (and  which  was  not  the 
least),  a  great  hope  and  inward  zeal  they 
had  of  laying  some  good  foundation,  or  at 
least  to  make  some  way  thereunto,  for  the 
propagating  and  advancing  the  Gospel  of 
the  kingdom  of  Christ  in   these   remote 

*  Quoted  from  the  Geneva  version. 


Chap.  II.] 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    EARLY    COLONISTS. 


49 


parts  of  the  world  ;  yea,  though  they  should 
be  but  as  stepping-stones  unto  others  for 
performing  of  so  great  a  work." 

Besides  these  reasons,  mentioned  by 
Governor  Bradford  in  his  History  of  Plym- 
outh Colony,  the  three  following  are  ad- 
duced by  Edward  Winslow,  who  also  was 
one  of  its  founders  :  1.  Their  desire  to  live, 
under  the  protection  of  England,  and  to 
retain  the  language  and  the  name  of  Eng- 
lishmen. 2.  Their  inability  to  give  their 
children  such  an  education  as  they  had 
themselves  received.  And,  3.  Their  grief 
at  the  profanation  of  the  Sabbath  in  Hol- 
land. 

Such  were  the  considerations  that  indu- 
ced the  Pilgrims  to  send  over  to  England 
a  deputation,  with  the  view  of  ascertaining 
what  kind  of  reception  their  project  might 
meet  with  from  the  king,  and  whether  the 
London  Company,  or,  as  it  was  most  com- 
monly called,  the  Virginia  Company,  would 
sanction  their  settling  as  a  colony  on  any 
part  of  its  possessions  in  America.  With 
all  his  detestation  of  the  Independents,  the 
king  felt  rather  gratified  than  otherwise  at 
the  prospect  of  extending  colonization, 
that  being  an  object  in  which  he  had  long 
felt  an  interest.  Many  years  before  this 
he  had  encouraged  colonization  in  the 
Highlands  and  Western  Islands  of  Scot- 
land, and  the  North  of  Ireland  has  long 
been  indebted  for  a  prosperity  and  securi- 
ty, such  as  no  other  part  of  that  island  has 
enjoyed,  to  the  English  and  Scotch  planta- 
tions which  he  had  been  at  great  pains  to 
form  on  lands  laid  waste  during  the  deso- 
lating warfare  of  his  predecessor,  Eliza- 
beth, with  certain  Irish  chieftains  in  those 
parts.*  To  extend  the  dominions  of  Eng- 
land he  allowed  to  be  "  a  good  and  honest 
motion."  On  his  inquiring  what  trade 
they  expected  to  find  in  the  northern  part  of 
Virginia,!  being  that  in  which  they  thought 
of  settling,  they  answered,  "  Fishing ;"  to 
which  the  monarch  replied,  with  his  usual 
asseveration,  "  So  God  have  my  soul,  'tis 
an  honest  trade ;  'twas  the  apostles'  own 
calling.''^  But  as  the  king  wished  to  con- 
sult the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  the 
Bishop  of  London,  the  delegates  were  rec- 
ommended not  to  press  the  matter,  but  to 
trust  to  his  connivance  rather  than  to  look 
for  his  formal  consent.  This  they  resolv- 
ed to  do,  rightly  concluding  that,  "  should 
there  be  a  purpose  to  wrong  us,  though 
we  had  a  seal  as  broad  as  the  house-floor, 
there  would  be  found  means  enough  to 
recall  it." 

The  Virginia  Company  showed  the  most 
favourable  dispositions.  They  said  "the 
thing  was  of  God,"  and  granted  a  large 
patent,  which,  however,  proved  of  no  use. 


*  See  Robertson's  History  of  Scotland,  chap.  viii. 
|  The  reader  will  remember  that  the  whole  Atlan- 
tic i.oast  was  then  called  Virginia  by  the  English. 
±  Edward  Winslow's  Brief  Narrative. 
D 


One  of  them,  to  help  the  undertaking,  lent 
the  sum  of  .£300,  without  interest,  for  three 
years,  and  this  was  afterward  repaid. 
This  advance  must  have  been  a  seasonable 
encouragement,  for  a  hard  bargain  had  to 
be  struck  with  some  London  merchants,  or 
"  adventurers,"  as  they  are  called  by  the 
colonial  historians,  in  order  to  raise  what 
farther  money  was  required.  At  length 
two  ships,  the  Speedwell  of  sixty,  and  the 
Mayflower  of  a  hundred  and  eighty  tons, 
were  engaged,  and  everything  else  arran- 
ged for  the  departure  of  as  many  as  the 
ships  could  accommodate.  Those  went 
who  first  offered  themselves,  and  Brewster, 
the  ruling  elder,  was  chosen  their  spiritual 
guide.  The  other  leading  men  were  John 
Carver,  William  Bradford,  Miles  Standish, 
and  Edward  Winslow.  •  Mr.  Robinson  stay- 
ed behind,  along  with  the  greater  part  of 
the  flock,  with  the  intention  of  joining 
those  who  first  went  at  some  future  time, 
should  such  be  the  will  of  God.  A  solemn 
fast  was  observed.  Their  beloved  pastor 
afterward  delivered  a  farewell  charge, 
which  must  be  regarded  as  a  remarkable 
production  for  those  times.* 


*  This  charge  is  related  in  Edward  Winslow's 
"  Brief  Narrative."  It  is  here  subjoined  in  the  lan- 
guage in  which  it  is  given  by  that  author,  from 
whom  alone  it  became  known  to  the  world : 

"  We  are  now  ere  long  to  part  asunder,  and  the 
Lord  knoweth  whether  ever  he  should  live  to  see 
our  faces  again.  But  whether  the  Lord  had  appoint- 
ed it  or  not,  he  charged  us  before  God  and  his  bless- 
ed angels  to  follow  him  no  farther  than  he  followed 
Christ ;  and  if  God  should  reveal  anything  to  us  by 
any  other  instrument  of  His,  to  be  as  ready  to  receive 
it  as  ever  we  were  to  receive  any  truth  by  his  min- 
istry ;  for  he  was  very  confident  the  Lord  had  more 
truth  and  light  yet  to  break  forth  out  of  his  holy  Word. 
He  took  occasion,  also,  miserably  to  bewail  the  state 
and  condition  of  the  Reformed  Churches,  who  were 
come  to  a  period  in  religion,  and  would  no  farther  go 
than  the  instruments  of  their  reformation.  As,  for 
example,  the  Lutherans,  they  could  not  be  drawn  to 
go  beyond  what  Luther  saw ;  for  whatever  part  of 
God's  will  He  had  farther  imparted  and  revealed 
unto  Calvin,  they  will  rather  die  than  embrace  it. 
And  so  also,  saith  he,  you  see  the  Calvinists,  they 
stick  where  he  left  them,  a  misery  much  to  be  la- 
mented ;  for  though  they  were  precious  shining  lights 
in  their  times,  yet  God  hath  not  revealed  his  whole 
will  to  them ;  and  were  they  now  living,  saith  he, 
they  would  be  as  ready  and  willing  to  embrace  far- 
ther light  as  that  they  had  received.  Here,  also,  he 
put  us  in  mind  of  our  church  covenant,  at  least  that 
part  of  it  whereby  we  promise  and  covenant  with 
God  and  one  another,  to  receive  whatsoever  light 
or  truth  shall  be  made  known  to  us  from  his  written 
Word ;  but,  withal,  exhorted  us  to  take  heed  what  we 
received  for  truth,  and  well  to  examine  and  compare 
it,  and  weigh  it  with  other  scriptures  of  truth  before 
we  received  it.  For  saith  he,  it  is  not  possible  the 
Christian  world  should  come  so  lately  out  of  such 
thick  antichristian  darkness,  and  that  full  perfection 
of  knowledge  should  break  forth  at  once. 

"  Another  thing  he  commended  to  us  was,  that  we 
should  use  all  means  to  avoid  and  shake  off  the  name 
of  Brownist,  being  a  mere  nickname  and  brand  to 
make  religion  odious,  and  the  professors  of  it,  to  the 
Christian  world.  And  to  that  end,  said  he,  I  should 
be  glad  if  some  godly  minister  would  go  over  with 
you  before  my  coming ;  for,  said  he,  there  will  be  no 
difference  between  the  unconformable  [nonconform- 


50 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  IL 


All  things  being  now  ready,  the  emigrants, 
after  being  "  feasted  at  the  pastor's  house. 
for  it  was  large,"  by  those  who  were  to 
remain  behind,  and  having  been  "  refreshed 
after  their  tears  by  the  singing  of  psalms," 
set  out  for  Delft-haven,  where  the  ships 
then  lay.  There  they  were  again  "  feast- 
ed," and  prayer  having  been  made,  they 
were  accompanied  on  board  by  their 
friends,  but  "  were  not  able  to  speak  to  one 
another  for  the  abundance  of  sorrow  to 
part."  The  wind  being  favourable,  they 
were  soon  on  their  way. 

They  left  Holland  on  the  22d  of  July, 
1620,  followed  by  the  respect  of  the  peo- 
ple among  whom  they  had  lived.  Wins- 
low  tells  us  that  the  Dutch,  on  learning 
that  they  were  about  to  leave  their  coun- 
try, urged  them  much  to  settle  in  Zealand, 
or,  if  they  preferred  America,  to  seek  a 
home  for  themselves  on  the  Hudson,  with- 
in the  territory  discovered  by  the  naviga- 
tor who  gave  his  name  to  that  river  while 
in  their  service,  and  which  they  therefore 
claimed,  and  had  resolved  to  colonize.  But 
the  liberal  inducements  then  offered  to  the 
emigrants  could  not  alter  their  purpose  of 
settling  in  a  country  which  should  be  un- 
der the  government  of  their  native  land. 

A  few  days  brought  them  safely  to  South- 
ampton, in  England.  On  learning  that  the 
captain  of  the  smaller  of  the  two  vessels 
was  unwilling  to  prosecute  so  long  a  voy- 
age in  her,  after  having  put  back,  first  to 
Dartmouth  and  then  to  Plymouth,  they 
were  compelled  to  send  the  Speedwell, 
with  part  of  the  company,  to  London,  and 
it  was  not  until  the  6th  of  September  that 
the  Mayflower  finally  sailed  with  a  hun- 
dred passengers.  The  voyage  proved  long 
and  boisterous.  One  person  died  and  a 
child  was  born,  so  that  the  original  num- 
ber reached  the  coast  of  America.  On  the 
11th  of  November  they  entered  the  har- 
bour of  Cape  Cod,  and  after  having  spent 
fully  a  month  in  looking  about  for  a  place 
that  seemed  suitable  for  a  settlement,  they 


ing,  but  who  had  not  actually  separated  from  the 
Church]  ministers  and  you,  when  they  come  to  the 
practice  of  the  ordinances  out  of  the  kingdom.  And 
so  advised  us  by  all  means  to  endeavour  to  close  with 
the  godly  party  of  the  kingdom  of  England,  and  rath- 
er to  study  union  than  division,  viz.,  how  near  we 
might  possibly,  without  sin,  close  with  them,  than  in 
the  least  measure  to  effect  division  or  separation  from 
them.  And  be  not  loath  to  take  another  pastor  or 
teacher,  saith  he ;  for  that  flock  that  hath  two  shep- 
herds is  not  endangered,  but  secured  by  it.  " 

Such  is  the  remarkable  farewell  address,  as  report- 
ed by  Winslow.  "  Words,"  says  Prince  in  his  "  An- 
nals," speaking  of  it,  "almost astonishing  in  that  are 
of  low  and  universal  bigotry  which  then  prevailed  in 
the  English  nation ;  wherein  this  truly  great  and 
learned  man  seemed  to  be  the  only  divine  who  was 
capable  of  rising  into  a  noble  freedom  of  thinking 
and  practising  in  religious  matters,  and  even  of  ur- 
ging such  an  equal  liberty  on  his  own  people.  He 
labours  to  take  them  off  from  their  attachment  to 
him,  that  they  might  be  more  entirely  free  to  search 
and  follow  the  Scriptures." 


fixed,  at  last,  on  the  spot  now  bearing  the 
name  of  the  town  where  they  had  received 
the  last  hospitalities  of  England.  There 
they  landed  on  the  11th  of  December,  old 
style,  or  the  22d  of  December,  according 
to  the  new ;  and  to  this  day  the  very  rock 
on  which  they  first  planted  their  feet  at 
landing  is  shown  to  the  passing  stranger 
as  a  cherished  memorial  of  that  interesting 
event.  On  that  rock  commenced  the  col- 
onization of  New-England. 

On  the  day  of  the  arrival  of  the  May- 
flower in  Cape  Cod  harbour,  the  following 
document  was  signed  by  all  the  male  heads 
of  families,  and  unmarried  men  not  attach- 
ed to  families  represented  by  their  respect- 
ive heads. 

"  In  the  name  of  God,  Amen.  We, 
whose  names  are  underwritten,  the  loyal 
subjects  of  our  dread  sovereign  lord,  King 
James,  by  the  grace  of  God,  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, France,  and  Ireland,  king,  defender  of 
the  faith,  &c,  having  undertaken,  for  the 
glory  of  God,  and  advancement  of  the 
Christian  faith,  and  honour  of  our  king 
and  country,  a  voyage  to  plant  the  first 
colony  in  the  northern  parts  of  Virginia, 
do,  by  these  presents,  solemnly  and  mutu- 
ally, in  the  presence  of  God,  and  one  of 
another,  covenant  and  combine,  ourselves 
together  into  a  civil  body  politic,  for  our 
better  ordering  and  preservation,  and  fur- 
therance of  the  ends  aforesaid,  and  by  vir- 
tue hereof  to  enact,  constitute,  and  frame 
such  just  and  equal  laws,  ordinances,  acts, 
constitutions,  and  offices,  from  time  to 
time,  as  shall  be  thought  most  meet  and 
convenient  for  the  general  good  of  the  col- 
ony ;  unto  which  we  promise  all  due  sub- 
mission and  obedience.  In  witness  where- 
of, we  have  hereunder  subscribed  our 
names,  at  Cape  Cod,  the  11th  of  Novem- 
ber, in  the  year  of  the  reign  of  our  sover- 
eign lord,  King  James,  of  England,  France, 
and  Ireland  the  eighteenth,  and  of  Scot- 
land the  fifty-fourth,  Anno  Domini  1620." 

Here  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  first 
attempt  made  by  an  American  colony  to 
frame  a  constitution  or  fundamental  law — 
the  seminal  principle,  as  it  were,  of  all 
that  wonderful  series  of  efforts  which  have 
been  put  forth  in  the  New  World  towards 
fixing  the  foundations  of  independent,  vol- 
untary self-government.  John  Carver  was 
chosen  governor  of  the  colony,  and  to  as- 
sist him  in  administering  its  affairs,  a  coun- 
cil of  five,  afterward  increased  to  seven 
members,  was  appointed. 

After  selecting  what  they  considered  to 
be  the  best  spot  for  a  settlement,  as  the 
ship's  boat  could  not  come  close  to  the 
water's  edge,  they  suffered  much  in  their 
health  by  having  to  wade  ashore.  The 
few  intervals  of  good  weather  they  could 
catch,  between  snow  and  rain,  they  spent 
in  erecting  houses ;  but  before  the  first  sum- 
mer came  round,  nearly  half  their  number 


Chap.  III.] 


CHARACTER    OF   THE    EARLY   COLONISTS. 


51 


had  fallen  victims  to  consumptions  and  fe- 
vers, the  natural  effects  of  the  hardships 
to  which  they  had  been  exposed.  What 
must  have  been  the  distress  they  suffered 
during  that  long  winter,  passed  beneath 
unknown  skies,  with  a  gloomy,  unbroken 
forest  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  dreary 
ocean  on  the  other ! 

But  with  the  return  of  spring  came 
health,  and  hope,  and  courage.  The  colo- 
ny took  root.  The  ground  it  occupied  had 
been  cleared  for  it  by  the  previous  destruc- 
tion, by  pestilence,  of  the  tribe  of  Indians 
which  had  occupied  it.  Of  course,  the  col- 
onists could  not  buy  land  which  there  was 
nobody  to  sell.  They  soon  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  the  neighbouring  tribes,  ac- 
quired their  friendship,  and  entered  into 
treaty  with  them.  Their  numbers  were  in 
course  of  time  increased  by  successive  ar- 
rivals of  emigrants,  until,  in  1630.  they  ex- 
ceeded 300.  After  the  second  year  they 
raised  grain  not  only  to  supply  all  their  own 
wants,  but  with  a  surplus  for  exportation.* 
They  soon  had  a  number  of  vessels  em- 
ployed at  the  fisheries.  They  even  planted 
a  colony  on  the  Kennebec,  in  Maine,  and 
extended  their  trade  to  the  Connecticut 
River,  before  the  close  of  the  first  ten  years 
of  their  settlement,  and  before  any  other 
English  colony  had  been  formed  on  the 
coast  of  Northern  Virginia,  or  New-Eng- 
land, the  name  given  it  by  Captain  Smith 
in  1614,  and  by  which  it  was  ever  after  to 
be  distinguished. 

The  governor  and  council  were  chosen 
every  year.  At  first,  and  for  above  eigh- 
teen years,  "  the  people"  met,  as  in  Athens 
of  old,  for  the  discussion  and  adoption  of 
laws.  But  as  the  colony  extended,  and 
towns  and  villages  rose  along  the  coasts  and 
in  the  interior,  the  "  Democratic"  form  of 
government  gave  place  to  the  "  Republi- 
can," by  two  delegates  being  chosen  from 
each  township  to  form  "the  General  Court," 
or  Legislature  of  the  commonwealth. 

For  some  time  they  had  no  pastor  or 
preaching  elder,  but  Mr.  Brewster  led  their 


*  During  the  first  two  or  three  years  they  suffered 
greatly  at  times  for  want  of  food.  Sometimes  they 
subsisted  on  half  allowance  for  months.  They  were 
once  saved  from  famishing  by  the  benevolence  of 
some  fishermen  off  the  coast.  "  I  have  seen  men," 
says  Winslow,  "  stagger  by  reason  of  faintness  for 
want  of  food."  "  Tradition  declares,  that  at  one 
time  the  colonists  were  reduced  to  a  pint  of  corn, 
which,  being  parched  and  distributed,  gave  to  each 
individual  only  five  kernels:  but  tradition  falls  far 
short  of  reality  ;  for  three  or  four  months  together 
they  had  no  corn  whatever.  When  a  few  of  their 
old  friends  arrived  to  join  them,  a  lobster,  or  a  piece 
of  fish,  without  bread  or  anything  else  but  a  cup  of 
fair  spring  water,  was  the  best  dish  which  the  hos- 
pitality of  the  whole  colony  could  afford.  Neat  cat- 
tle were  not  introduced  till  the  fourth  year  of  the 
settlement.  Yet,  during  all  this  season  of  self-deni- 
al and  suffering,  the  cheerful  confidence  of  the  Pil- 
grims in  the  mercies  of  Providence  remained  unsha- 
ken."— Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i., 
p.  315. 


public  devotions  until  they  came  to  have  a 
regular  minister.  Their  affairs  as  a  church 
were  conducted  with  the  same  system  and 
order  that  marked  their  civil  economy. 

Such  is  a  brief  account  of  the  founding 
of  Plymouth  Colony,  the  earliest  of  all  that 
were  planted  in  New-England.  Placed  on 
a  sandy  and  but  moderately  productive  part 
of  the  coast,  and  commanding  a  very  lim- 
ited extent  of  inland  territory  from  which 
to  derive  the  materials  of  commerce  and 
wealth,  it  could  not  be  expected  to  be- 
come a  great  and  important  colony,  like 
others  of  which  I  have  yet  to  speak.  But 
it  was  excelled  by  none  in  the  moral 
worth  of  its  founders.  All  professing  god- 
liness, they  almost  without  exception,  as 
far  as  we  know,  did  honour  to  that  profes- 
sion. True  religion  was  with  them  the 
first  of  all  possessions.  They  feared  God, 
and  He  walked  among  them,  and  dwelt 
among  them,  and  His  blessing  rested  upon 
them.  The  anniversary  of  their  disembar- 
cation  at  Plymouth  has  long  been  regular- 
ly celebrated  upon  the  yearly  return  of  the 
22d  of  December,  in  prose  and  in  verse,  in 
oration  and  in  poem  :  a  patriotic  and  reli- 
gious duty,  to  which  have  been  consecrated 
the  highest  efforts  of  many  of  the  noblest 
and  purest  minds  ever  produced  by  the 
country  to  whose  colonization  they  led  the 
way. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

RELIGIOUS  CHARACTER  OF  THE  EARLY  COLO- 
NISTS.  FOUNDERS  OF  NEW-ENGLAND. COL- 
ONY  OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 

The  first  English  settlements  in  America 
arose,  it  will  be  remembered,*  from  James 
I.'s  investing  two  Companies,  the  one  form- 
ed at  London,  the  other  at  Bristol  and  oth- 
er towns  in  the  West  of  England,  each  with 
a  belt  of  territory  extending  from  the  At- 
lantic to  the  Pacific  Ocean ;  the  one  lying 
between  the  34th  and  38th,  the  other  be- 
tween the  41st  and  48th  degrees  of  north 
latitude.  Both  Companies  were  formed  in 
a  purely  commercial  spirit ;  each  was  to 
have  its  own  council,  but  the  Royal  Coun- 
cil was  to  have  the  superintendence  of  their 
whole  colonial  system.  The  London  Com- 
pany was  dissolved,  we  have  seen,  after  an 
existence  of  eighteen  years.  The  other 
accomplished  nothing  beyond  giving  en- 
couragement to  sundry  trading  voyages  to 
the  coast  of  the  country  made  over  to  it  by 
its  charter. 

At  length,  at  the  repeated  instance  of 
Captain  Smith,  the  Western  Company 
sought  a  renewal  of  their  patent,  with  ad- 
ditional powers,  similar  to  those  of  the 
London  Company's  second  charter  in  1609, 


*  Book  i.,  chap.  iv. 


52 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


with  the  view  of  attempting  an  extensive 
plan  of  colonization  ;  and,  notwithstanding 
opposition  from  the  Parliament  and  the 
country  at  large,  they  succeeded  in  their 
request.  On  November  3d,  1G20,  the  king 
granted  a  charter  to  forty  of  his  subjects, 
among  whom  were  members  of  his  house- 
hold and  government,  and  some  of  the 
wealthiest  and  most  powerful  of  the  Eng- 
lish nobility,  convejdng  to  them  in  abso- 
lute property,  to  be  disposed  of  and  admin- 
istered as  they  might  think  proper,  the 
whole  of  that  part  of  North  America  which 
stretches  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
between  the  40th  and  48th  degrees  of  north 
latitude,  under  the  title  of  "  The  Council 
established  at  Plymouth,  in  the  County  of 
Devon,  for  the  planting,  ruling,  ordering, 
and  governing  New-England,  in  America." 
Under  the  auspices  of  a  vast  trading  corpo- 
ration, invested  with  such  despotic  powers, 
the  colonization  of  New-England  com- 
menced. While  this  charter  was  in  course 
of  being  granted,  the  Pilgrims  were  fast 
approaching  the  American  coast.  No  val- 
id title  had  given  them,  as  yet,  any  legal 
right  to  set  their  feet  upon  it,  but  this  they 
obtained  a  few  years  after  from  the  newly- 
formed  Plymouth  Company. 

From  its  very  commencement  the  new 
company  began  to  lavish  away  grants  of 
the  immense  territory  which  had  been 
conveyed  to  it,  so  that  during  the  fifteen 
years  of  its  existence  it  covered  with 
its  patents  the  whole  country  now  com- 
prising Massachusetts,  New-Hampshire, 
Maine,  and  the  vast  region  westward  of 
these  as  far  as  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Such 
■was  the  utter  disregard  shown  in  those 
grants  for  anything  like  clear  and  precise 
boundaries,  that  we  cannot  so  much  won- 
der at  the  number  of  lawsuits  that  arose 
from  them,  as  that  these  were  ever  termi- 
nated. To  Mason  and  Gorges  were  grant- 
ed the  territories  now  forming  the  States 
of  New-Hampshire  and  Maine ;  to  Sir 
William  Alexander,  the  country  between 
the  River  St.  Croix  and  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  Lawrence,  notwithstanding  that  it  was 
all  well  known  to  be  claimed  by  the  French, 
who  had  even  planted  a  colony  upon  it, 
called  by  them  Acadie,but  ultimately  des- 
tined to  receive  the  name  of  Nova  Scotia. 

But  the  most  important  grant  made  by 
the  Plymouth  Company,  often  called  in 
history  the  Council  for  New-England,  was 
one  conveying  the  Massachusetts  territory 
to  a  body  organized  in  England  in  1628,  for 
the  purpose  of  at  once  providing  an  asy- 
lum for  persons  suffering  for  conscience' 
sake  in  the  Old  World,  and  of  extending 
the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  New,  by 
founding  a  colony  on  a  large  scale.  With 
this  view,  six  Dorchester  gentlemen  bought 
from  the  company  a  belt  of  land  stretching 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  between 
three  miles  south  of  Charles  River  and 


Massachusetts  Bay,  and  three  miles  north 
of  every  part  of  the  River  Merrimac.  Of 
these  six,  three,  namely,  Humphrey,  Endi- 
cot,  and  Whetcomb,  retained  their  shares  ; 
while  the  other  three  sold  theirs  to  Win- 
throp,  Dudley,  Johnson,  Pynchon,  Eaton, 
Saltonstall,  and  Bellingham,  so  famous  in 
colonial  history,  besides  many  others,  men 
of  fortune  and  friends  to  colonial  enter- 
prise. Thus  strengthened,  this  new  com- 
pany sent  out  two  hundred  colonists  under 
Endicot,  a  man  every  way  fitted  for  such 
an  enterprise — courageous,  cheerful,  and 
having  firmness  of  purpose  and  warmth  of 
temper,  softened  by  an  austere  benevo- 
lence. These  arrived  in  Massachusetts 
Bay  in  September,  1628,  and  settled  at  Sa- 
lem, where  several  members  of  the  Plym- 
outh colony  had  already  established  them- 
selves. 

The  news  of  this  event  still  farther  aug- 
mented the  now  growing  interest  felt  in 
England  on  the  subject  of  colonizing  Amer- 
ica. In  the  painful  circumstances  in  which 
the  Puritans  were  placed,  they  could  not 
fail  to  have  their  attention  drawn  to  the 
continued  prosperity  of  the  Plymouth  set- 
tlement, and  naturally  rejoiced  to  hear  of  a 
land  towards  the  setting  sun  where  they 
might  enjoy  a  tranquillity  to  which  they 
had  long  been  strangers  in  the  land  of  their 
fathers.  Such  was  the  interest  felt  through- 
out the  kingdom,  that  not  only  in  London, 
Bristol,  and  Plymouth,  but  at  Boston,  and 
other  inland  towns,  influential  persons  were 
found  ready  to  risk  their  fortunes  in  the 
cause.  Efforts  were  made  to  procure  the 
royal  sanction  for  the  patent  granted  by 
the  Plymouth  Company  to  that  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  a  royal  charter  in  favour  of 
the  latter,  after  much  trouble  and  expense, 
passed  the  seals  on  the  4th  of  March,  1629. 

This  charter,  bearing  the  signature  of 
Charles  I.,  was  evidently  granted  under 
the  idea  that  the  persons  whom  it  incorpo- 
rated were  to  be  rather  a  trading  commu- 
nity than  a  civil  government.  They  were 
constituted  a  body  politic,  by  the  name  of 
"  The  Governor  and  Company  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  in  New-England."  The  ad- 
ministration of  its  affairs  was  committed 
to  a  governor,  deputy-governor,  and  thir- 
teen assistants,  elected  by  the  sharehold- 
ers. The  freemen  were  to  meet  four 
times  a  year,  or  oftener  if  necessary,  and 
were  empowered  to  pass  laws  for  the  reg- 
ulation of  their  affairs,  without  any  provis- 
ion rendering  the  royal  assent  indispensa- 
ble to  the  validity  of  their  acts.  Strictly 
considered,  the  patent  simply  conferred 
the  rights  of  English  subjects,  without  any 
enlargement  of  religious  liberty.  It  em- 
powered, but  did  not  require  the  governor 
to  administer  the  oaths  of  supremacy  and 
allegiance.  The  persons  in  whose  favour 
it  was  granted  were  still  members  of  the 
Church  of  England — not  Independents  or 


Chap.  III.] 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    EARLY    COLONISTS. 


53 


Separatists — and  probably  neither  the  gov- 
ernment, nor  the  first  patentees,  foresaw 
how  wide  a  departure  from  the  economy 
of  that  Church  would  result  from  the  emi- 
gration that  was  about  to  take  place  under 
its  provisions. 

It  is  surprising  that  a  charter  which  con- 
ferred unlimited  powers  on  the  corpora- 
tion, and  secured  no  rights  to  the  colonists, 
should  have  become  the  means  of  estab- 
lishing the  freest  of  all  the  colonies.  This 
was  partly  owing  to  its  empowering  the 
corporation  to  fix  what  terms  it  pleased 
for  the  admission  of  new  members.  The 
corporation  could  increase  or  change  its 
members  with  its  own  consent,  and  not 
being  obliged  to  hold  its  meetings  in  Eng- 
land, it  was  possible  for  it  to  emigrate, 
and  thus  to  identify  itself  with  the  colo- 
ny which  it  was  its  main  object  to  found. 
This  was  actually  done.  As  the  corpora- 
tion was  entirely  composed  of  Puritans,  it 
was  not  difficult,  by  means  of  resignations 
and  new  elections,  to  choose  the  govern- 
or, deputy-governor,  and  assistants,  from 
among  such  as  were  willing  to  leave  Eng- 
land as  colonists. 

The  first  object  of  the  new  company,  on 
obtaining  a  royal  charter,  was  to  re-enforce 
the  party  which  had  gone  out  with  Endi- 
cot  and  settled  at  Salem.  The  re-enforce- 
ment consisted  of  200  emigrants,  under 
the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  Francis  Hig- 
ginson,  an  eminent  Nonconformist  minis- 
ter, who  was  delighted  to  accept  of  the  in- 
vitation to  undertake  that  charge.  By 
their  arrival,  which  happened  in  June,  the 
colony  at  Salem  was  increased  to  300  per- 
sons ;  but  diseases  and  the  hardships  inci- 
dent to  new  settlements  cut  off,  during  the 
following  winter,  eighty  of  that  number, 
who  died  only  lamenting  that  they  were 
not  allowed  to  see  the  future  glories  of  the 
colony.  Among  these  was  their  beloved 
pastor,  Mr  Higginson,  whose  death  was  a 
great  loss  to  the  little  community. 

The  year  following,  namely,  1G30,  was 
a  glorious  one  for  the  colonization  of  New- 
England.  Having  first  taken  every  pre- 
paratory measure  required  for  self-trans- 
portation, the  corporation  itself  embark- 
ed, accompanied  by  a  body  of  from  800  to 
900  emigrants,  among  whom  were  sev- 
eral persons  of  large  property  and  high 
standing  in  society.  John  Winthrop,  one 
of  the  purest  characters  in  England,  had 
been  chosen  governor.  Taken  as  a  whole, 
it  is  thought  that  no  single  colony  could 
ever  be  compared  with  them.  One  may 
form  some  idea  of  the  elevated  piety  that 
pervaded  the  higher  classes  among  the  Pu- 
ritans of  that  day  from  the  language  of  the 
younger  Winthrop  :  "  I  shall  call  that  my 
country,"  said  he  to  his  father,  "where  I 
may  most  glorify  God,  and  enjoy  the  pres- 
ence of  my  dearest  friends.  Therefore 
herein  I  submit  myself  to  God's  will  and 


yours,  and  dedicate  myself  to  God  and  the 
company  with  the  whole  endeavours  both 
of  body  and  mind.  The  '  Conclusions'  which 
you  sent  down  are  unanswerable  ;  and  it 
cannot  but.  be  a  prosperous  action  which  is 
so  well  allowed  by  the  judgments  of  God's 
prophets,  undertaken  by  so  religious  and 
wise  worthies  in  Israel,  and  indented  to 
God's  glory  in  so  special  a  service."* 

Governor  Winthrop  had  a  fine  estate 
which  he  sacrificed.  Many  others  sacri- 
ficed what  were  considered  good  estates 
in  England  in  those  days.  One  of  the 
richest  of  the  colonists  was  Isaac  Johnson, 
"  the  father  of  Boston."  As  a  proof  of  his 
being  a  man  of  wealth,  it  may  be  men- 
tioned that,  by  his  will,  his  funeral  expen- 
ses were  limited  to  £-250.  His  wife,  the 
Lady  Arabella,  was  a  daughter  of  the  Earl 
of  Lincoln.  In  her  devotedness  to  the 
cause  of  Christ,  "  she  came  from  a  para- 
dise of  plenty  into  a  wilderness  of  wants. "f 
They  were  almost  without  exception  god- 
ly people,  and  when  they  embarked  for 
America  were  members  of  the  Church  of 
England,  being  that  in  which  they  had  been 
born  and  brought  up.  Though  of  the  par- 
ty that  were  opposed  to  what  they  consid- 
ered Romish  superstitions  and  errors,  still 
cleaving  in  their  conscientious  convictions 
to  the  National  Church ;  and  though  they 
could  not  in  all  points  conform  to  it,  yet 
they  had  not  separated  from  it,  but  sought 
the  welfare  of  their  souls  in  its  ministra- 
tions, whenever  they  possibly  could  hope 
to  find  it  there.  They  lamented  what  they 
regarded  as  its  defects,  but  not  in  a  spirit 
of  bitter  hostility.  This  very  plainly  ap- 
pears from  the  following  letter  addressed 
to  the  members  of  the  Church  of  England, 
by  Governor  Winthrop  and  others,  imme- 
diately after  their  embarcation,  and  when 
they  were  about  to  bid  a  long  farewell  to 
their  native  shores.  It  is  conceived  in  a 
noble  spirit : 

"  The  humble  request  of  his  majesty's 
loyal  subjects,  the  Governor  and  the  Com- 
pany, late  gone  for  New-England,  to  the 
rest  of  their  brethren  in  the  Church  of 
England. 

"  Reverend  Fathers  and  Brethren — The 
general  rumour  of  this  solemn  enterprise, 
wherein  ourselves,  with  others,  through  the 
providence  of  the  Almighty,  are  engaged, 
as  it  may  spare  us  the  labour  of  imparting 
our  occasion  unto  you,  so  it  gives  us  the 
more  encouragement  to  strengthen  our- 
selves by  the  procurement  of  the  prayers 
and  blessings  of  the  Lord's  faithful  ser- 
vants ;  for  which  end  we  are  bold  to  have 
recourse  unto  you,  as  those  whom  God 
hath  placed  nearest  his  throne  of  mercy, 
which,  as  it  affords  you  the  more  oppor- 
tunity, so  it  imposeth  the  greater  bond  upon 
you  to  intercede  for  his  people  in  all  their 


*  Wmthrop's  Journal,  i.,  p.  359,  3G0. 
t  Judge  Story's  Centennial  Discourse. 


54 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


straits  ;  we  beseech  you,  therefore,  by  the 
mercies  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  consider  us 
as  your  brethren,  standing  in  very  great 
need  of  your  help,  and  earnestly  imploring 
it.  And  howsoever  your  charity  may  have 
met  with  some  occasion  of  discourage- 
ment, through  the  misreport  of  our  inten- 
tions, or  through  the  disaffection  or  indis- 
cretion of  some  of  us,  or,  rather,  among 
us — for  we  are  not  of  those  that  dream  of 
perfection  in  this  world — yet  we -desire  you 
would  be  pleased  to  take  notice  of  the 
principles  and  body  of  our  company,  as 
those  who  esteem  it  our  honour  to  call  the 
Church  of  England,  from  whence  we  rise, 
our  dear  mother,  and  cannot  part  from  our 
native  country,  where  she  specially  resi- 
deth,  without  much  sadness  of  heart,  and 
many  tears  in  our  eyes  ;  ever  acknowl- 
edging that  such  hope  and  part  as  we  have 
obtained  in  the  common  salvation,  we  have 
received  in  her  bosom,  and  sucked  it  from 
her  breasts  ;  we  leave  it  not,  therefore,  as 
loathing  that  milk  wherewith  we  were 
nourished  there,  but,  blessing  God  for  the 
parentage  and  education,  as  members  of 
the  same  body,  shall  always  rejoice  in  her 
good,  and  unfeignedly  grieve  for  any  sor- 
row that  shall  ever  betide  her;  and  while 
we  have  breath,  sincerely  desire  and  en- 
deavour the  continuance  and  abundance  of 
her  welfare,  with  the  enlargement  of  her 
bounds  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ  Jesus. 

"  Be  pleased,  therefore,  fathers  and 
brethren,  to  help  forward  this  work  now  in 
hand,  which,  if  it  prosper,  you  shall  be  the 
more  glorious  ;  howsoever,  your  judgment 
is  with  the  Lord,  and  your  reward  with 
your  God.  It  is  a  usual  and  laudable  ex- 
ercise of  your  charity  to  commend  to  the 
prayers  of  your  congregations  the  neces- 
sities and  straits  of  your  private  neigh- 
bours :  do  the  like  for  a  church  springing 
out  of  your  own  bowels.  We  conceive 
much  hope  that  this  remembrance  of  us,  if 
it  be  frequent  and  fervent,  will  be  a  most 
prosperous  gale  in  our  sails,  and  provide 
such  a  passage  and  welcome  for  us  from 
the  God  of  the  whole  earth,  as  both  we 
which  shall  find  it,  and  yourselves,  with 
the  rest  of  our  friends  who  shall  hear  of  it, 
shall  be  much  enlarged  to  bring  in  such 
daily  returns  of  thanksgivings  as  the  speci- 
alities of  His  providence  and  goodness  may 
justly  challenge  at  all  our  hands.  You 
are  not  ignorant  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
stirred  up  the  Apostle  Paul  to  make  con- 
tinual mention  of  the  Church  of  Philippi 
(which  was  a  colony  from  Rome)  ;  let  the 
same  Spirit,  we  beseech  you,  put  you  in 
mind,  that  are  the  Lord's  remembrancers,  to 
pray  for  us  without  ceasing  (who  are  a 
weak  colony  from  yourselves),  making 
continual  request  for  us  to  God  in  all  your 
prayers. 

"  What  we  entreat  of  you  that  are  the 
ministers  of  God.  that  we  also  crave  at 


the  hands  of  all  the  rest  of  our  brethren, 
that  they  would  at  no  time  forget  us  in 
their  private  solicitations  at  the  throne  of 
grace. 

"  If  any  there  be  who,  through  want  of 
clear  intelligence  of  our  course,  or  tender- 
ness of  affection  towards  us,  cannot  con- 
ceive so  well  of  our  way  as  we  could  desire, 
we  would  entreat  such  not  to  despise  us ; 
nor  to  desert  us  in  their  prayers  and  affec- 
tions, but  to  consider  rather  that  they  are 
so  much  the  more  bound  to  express  the 
bowels  of  their  compassion  towards  us,  re- 
membering always  that  both  nature  and 
grace  doth  ever  bind  us  to  relieve  and  res- 
cue with  our  utmost  and  speediest  power 
such  as  are  dear  to  us,  when  we  conceive 
them  to  be  running  uncomfortable  hazards. 

"  What  goodness  you  shall  extend  to  us 
on  this  or  any  other  Christian  kindness,  we, 
your  brethren  in  Christ  Jesus,  shall  labour 
to  repay  in  what  duty  we  are  or  shall  be 
able  to  perform,  promising,  so  far  as  God 
shall  enable  us,  to  give  Him  no  rest  on  your 
behalf,  wishing  our  heads  and  hearts  may 
be  as  fountains  of  tears  for  your  everlasting 
welfare,  when  we  shall  be  in  our  poor  cot- 
tages in  the  wilderness,  overshadowed  with 
the  spirit  of  supplication,  through  the  mani- 
fold necessities  and  tribulations  which  may 
not  altogether  unexpectedly,  nor,  we  hope, 
unprofitably  befall  us.  And  so  commend- 
ing you  to  the  grace  of  God  in  Christ,  we 
shall  ever  rest." 

The  ships  that  bore  Winthrop  and  his 
companions  across  the  Atlantic  reached 
Massachusetts  Bay  in  the  following  June 
and  July.  After  having  consoled  the  dis- 
tresses and  relieved  the  wants  of  the  Salem 
colonists,  the  newly-arrived  emigrants  set 
about  choosing  a  suitable  place  for  a  settle- 
ment ;  a  task  which  occupied  the  less  time, 
as  the  bay  had  been  well  explored  by  pre- 
ceding visiters.  The  first  landing  was  made 
at  the  spot  where  Charlestown  now  stands. 
A  party  having  gone  from  that  place  up 
the  Charles  River  to  Watertown,  there 
some  of  them  resolved  to  settle  ;  others 
preferred  Dorchester;  but  the  greater  num- 
ber resolved  to  occupy  the  peninsula  upon 
which  Boston  now  stands,  the  settlement 
receiving  that  name  from  part  of  the  colo- 
nists having  come  from  Boston  in  England. 
For  a  while  they  were  lodged  in  cloth  tents 
and  wretched  huts,  and  had  to  endure  all 
kinds  of  hardship.  To  complete  their  tri- 
als, disease  made  its  attacks,  and  carried 
off  200  of  them  at  least  before  December. 
About  a  hundred  lost  heart,  and  went  back 
to  England.  Many  who  had  been  accus- 
tomed in  their  native  land  to  ease  and 
plenty,  and  to  all  the  refinements  and  lux- 
uries of  cultivated  life,  were  now  compelled 
to  struggle  with  unforeseen  wants  and  dif- 
ficulties. Among  those  who  sank  under 
such  hardships,  and  died,  was  the  Lady 
Arabella  Johnson.    Her  husband,  too,  "  the 


Chap.  III.] 


CHARACTER    OF   THE    EARLY   COLONISTS. 


55 


greatest  furtherer  of  the  plantation,"  was 
carried  off  by  disease  ;  but  "  he  died  will- 
ingly and  in  sweet  peace,"  making  "  a  most 
godly  end."*  These  trials  and  afflictions 
were  borne  with  a  calm  reliance  on  the 
goodness  of  God,  nor  was  there  a  doubt 
felt  but  that  in  the  end  all  would  go  well. 
They  were  sustained  by  a  profound  belief 
that  God  was  with  them,  and  by  bearing  in 
mind  the  object  of  their  coming  to  that 
wilderness. 

Amid  all  this  gloom,  light  began  to  break 
in  at  last.  Health  returned,  and  the  blanks 
caused  by  death  were  filled  up  by  partial 
arrivals  of  new  emigrants  from  England 
in  the  course  of  the  two  following  years. 
The  colony  becoming  a  little  settled,  meas- 
ures were  taken  to  introduce  a  more  popu- 
lar government,  by  extending  the  privile- 
ges of  the  charter,  which  had  established  a 
sort  of  close  corporation.  By  it  all  funda- 
mental laws  were  to  be  enacted  by  general 
meetings  of  the  freemen,  or  members  of 
the  company.  One  of  the  first  steps,  ac- 
cordingly, was  to  convene  a  General  Court 
at  Boston,  and  admit  above  a  hundred  of 
the  older  colonists  to  the  privileges  of  the 
corporation  ;  and  from  that  they  gradually 
went  on,  until,  instead  of  an  aristocratic 
government  conducted  by  a  governor,  dep- 
uty-governor, and  assistants,  holding  office 
for  an  indefinite  period,  these  functionaries 
were  elected  annually,  and  the  powers  of 
legislation  were  transferred  from  general 
courts  of  all  the  freemen  joined  with  the 
assistants,  to  a  new  legislature,  or  "  general 
court,"  consisting  of  two  branches,  the  as- 
sistants constituting  the  upper,  and  deputies 
from  all  the  "  towns"  forming  the  lower 
branch.  Within  five  years  from  the  found- 
ation of  the  colony,  a  Constitution  was 
drawn  up,  which  was  to  serve  as  a  sort  of 
Magna  Charta,  embracing  all  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  just  government ;  and 
in  fourteen  years  the  colonial  government 
was  organized  upon  the  same  footing  as 
that  on  which  it  rests  at  the  present  day. 

But  with  these  colonists  the  claims  of 
religion  took  precedence  of  all  other  con- 
cerns of  public  interest.  The  New- Eng- 
land Fathers  began  with  God,  sought  his 
blessing,  and  desired,  first  of  all,  to  pro- 
mote his  worship.  Immediately  after 
landing  they  appointed  a  day  for  solemn 
fasting  and  prayer.  The  worship  of  God 
was  commenced  by  them  not  in  temples 
built  with  hands,  but  beneath  the  wide- 
spreading  forest.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Wilson, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Philips,  and  other  faithful 
ministers,  had  come  out  with  them ;  and 
for  these,  as  soon  as  the  affairs  of  the  col- 
ony became  a  little  settled,  a  suitable  pro- 
vision was  made. 

In  the  third  year  of  the  settlement  there 
•came  out,  among  other  fresh  emigrants, 


Governor  Winthrop's  Journal. 


two  spiritual  teachers,  who  were  after- 
ward to  exercise  a  most  extensive  and 
beneficial  influence  in  the  colonies.  One 
of  these  was  the  eminently  pious  and  zeal- 
ous Cotton,  a  man  profoundly  learned  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  well  as  in  the  wri- 
tings of  the  fathers  and  the  schoolmen ;  in 
the  pulpit  rather  persuasive  than  eloquent, 
and  having  a  wonderful  command  over  the 
judgments  and  hearts  of  his  hearers.  The 
other  was  Hooker,  a  man  of  vast  endow- 
ments, untiring  energy,  and  singular  be- 
nevolence ;  the  equal  of  the  Reformers, 
though  of  less  harsh  a  spirit  than  that 
which  marked  most  of  those  great  men. 
These  and  other  devoted  servants  of  God 
were  highly  appreciated,  not  only  for  their 
works'  sake,  but  also  for  their  great  per- 
sonal excellences. 

Before  long  the  colony  began  to  extend, 
in  all  directions,  from  Boston  as  a  centre 
and  capital ;  and  as  new  settlements  were 
made,  additional  churches  were  also  plant- 
ed ;  for  the  New-England  fathers  felt  that 
nothing  could  be  really  and  permanently 
prosperous  without  religion.*  Within  five 
years  a  considerable  population  was  to  be 
found  scattered  over  Dorchester,  Roxbu- 
ry,  Watertown,  Cambridge,  Chaiiestown, 
Lynn,  and  other  settlements.  Trade  was 
spreading  wide  its  sails ;  emigrants  were 
arriving  from  Europe ;  brotherly  inter- 
course was  opened  up  with  the  Plymouth 
colony,  by  the  visits  of  Governor  Win- 
throp  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wilson.  Friendly 
treaties  were  made  not  only  with  the 
neighbouring  Indian  tribes,  the  Nipmucks 
and  Narragansetts,  but  also  with  the  more 
distant  Mohigans  and  the  Pequods  in  Con- 
necticut. God  was  emphatically  honoured 
by  the  great  bulk  of  the  people,  and  every- 
thing bore  the  aspect  of  prosperity  and 
happiness.  Such  was  the  origin  of  the 
colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay — a  colony 
destined  to  exercise  a  controlling  influence 
over  all  the  other  New-England  Planta- 
tions. 

*  Several  of  these  new  and  feeble  churches  actu- 
ally supported  two  ministers,  one  called  the  "  Pas- 
tor," and  the  other  the  "  Teacher."  The  distinction 
between  these  offices  is  not  very  easily  expressed, 
and  must  have  been  more  difficult  to  maintain  in 
practice.  Thomas  Hooker,  in  his  "  Survey  of  the 
Summe  of  Church  Discipline,"  &c,  declares  the 
scope  of  the  pastor's  office  to  be  "  to  work  upon  the 
will  and  the  affections  ;"  that  of  the  doctor  or  teach- 
er, ';  to  iuforme  the  judgment,  and  to  help  forward 
the  work  of  illumination  in  the  minde  and  under- 
standing, and  thereby  to  make  way  for  the  truth, 
that  it  may  be  settled  and  fastened  on  the  heart." 
The  former  was  to  "  wooe  and  win  the  soul  to  the 
love  and  practice  of  the  doctrine  which  is  according 
to  godlinesse ;"  the  latter,  to  dispense  "  a  word  of 
knowledge."  I  need  hardly  say  that  this  duplicate 
of  the  ministerial  office,  though  much  liked  by  the 
early  colonists,  did  not  long  survive  their  day. 


56 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


RELIGIOUS  CHARACTER  OF  THE  EARLY  COLO- 
NISTS.  FOUNDERS  OF  NEW-ENGLAND. COL- 
ONIES     OF      CONNECTICUT,      RHODE      ISLAND, 

NEW-HAMPSHIRE,      AND      MAINE. GENERAL 

REMARKS. 

Plymouth*  colony  had  been  planted  only 
three  years  when  it  began  to  have  off- 
shoots, one  of  which,  hi  1623,  settled  at 
Windsor,  on  the  rich  alluvial  lands  of  the 
Connecticut,  led  thither,  however,  more  by 
the  advantages  of  the  spot  as  a  station  for 
trading  in  fur,  than  by  the  nature  of  the 
soil.  The  report  of  its  fertility  having,  at 
length,  reached  England,  the  Earl  of  War- 
wick bought  from  the  Council  for  New- 
England,  as  we  have  seen  that  the  Plym- 
outh Company  was  sometimes  called,  the 
whole  Valley  of  the  Connecticut,  which 
purchase  was,  the  year  following,  trans- 
ferred to  Lord  Say  and  Seal,  Lord  Brooke, 
and  John  Hampden.  Two  years  later, 
the  Dutch,  who,  in  right  of  discovery, 
claimed  the  whole  of  the  Connecticut  ter- 
ritory, sent  an  expedition  from  their  set- 
tlement at  Manhattan  up  the  River  Con- 
necticut, and  attempted  to  make  good  their 
claim  by  erecting  a  blockhouse,  called 
Good  Hope,  at  Hartford.  In  1635,  the 
younger  Winthrop,  the  future  benefactor 
of  Connecticut,  came  from  England  with 
a  commission  from  the  proprietors  to  build 
a  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  this 
he  did  soon  after.  Yet,  even  before  his 
arrival,  settlers  from  the  neighbourhood 
of  Boston  had  established  themselves  at 
Hartford,  Windsor,  and  Weathersfield. 
Late  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  a  party  of 
sixty  persons,  men,  women,  and  children, 
set  out  for  the  Connecticut,  and  suffered 
much  from  the  inclement  weather  of  the 
winter  that  followed.  In  the  following 
June,  another  party,  amounting  to  about  a 
hundred  in  number,  including  some  of  the 
best  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  settlers,  left 
Boston  for  the  Valley  of  the  Connecticut. 
They  were  under  the  superintendence  of 
Hayes,  who  had  been  one  year  governor 
of  Boston,  and  of  Hooker,  who,  as  a 
preacher,  was  rivalled  in  the  New  World 
by  none  but  Cotton,  and  even  Cotton  he 
excelled  in  force  of  character,  kindliness 
of  disposition,  and  magnanimity.  Settling 
at  the  spot  where  Hartford  now  stands, 
they  founded  the  colony  of  Connecticut. 
They,  too,  carried  the  ark  of  the  Lord  with 
them,  and  made  religion  the  basis  of  their 
institutions.  Three  years  sufficed  for  the 
framing  of  their  political  government. 
First,  as  had  been  done  by  the  Plymouth 


*  Plymouth  in  America  is  often  called  New 
Plymouth  by  early  writers,  in  speaking  of  New-Eng- 
land. I  prefer  the  name  by  which  exclusively  the 
town  is  now  known.  The  context  will  always  en- 
able the  reader  to  distinguish  it  from  Plymouth  in 
England. 


colony,  they  subscribed  a  solemn  compact, 
and  then  drew  up  a  Constitution  on  the 
most  liberal  principles.  The  magistrates 
and  Legislature  were  to  be  chosen  every 
year  by  ballot,  the  "towns'"  were  to  return 
representatives  in  proportion  to  their  pop- 
ulation, and  all  members  of  the  "  towns," 
on  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
commonwealth,  were  to  be  allowed  to  vote 
at  elections.  Two  centuries  have  since 
passed  away,  but  Connecticut  still  rejoices 
in  the  same  principles  of  civil  polity. 

But  before  this  colony  had  time  to  com- 
plete its  organization,  the  colonists  had  to 
defend  themselves  and  all  that  was  dear  to 
them  against  their  neighbours,  the  Pe- 
quods.  This  was  the  first  war  that  broke 
out  between  the  New- England  settlers  and 
the  native  tribes,  and  it  must  be  allowed 
to  have  been  a  just  one  on  the  part  of  the 
former,  if  war  can  ever  be  so.  The  Pe- 
quods  brought  it  upon  themselves  by  the 
commission  of  repeated  murders.  In  less 
than  six  weeks,  hostilities  were  brought  to 
a  close  by  the  annihilation  of  the  tribe. 
Two  hundred  only  were  left  alive,  and 
these  were  either  reduced  to  servitude  by 
the  colonists,  or  incorporated  among  the 
Mohigans  and  Narragansetts. 

The  colony  of  New-Haven  was  founded 
in  1638  by  a  body  of  Puritans,  who,  like 
all  the  rest,  were  of  the  school  of  Calvin, 
and  whose  religious  teacher  was  the  Rev. 
John  Davenport.  The  excellent  Theoph- 
ilus  Eaton  was  their  first  governor,  and 
continued  to  be  annually  elected  to  that 
office  for  twenty  years.  Their  first  Sab- 
bath, in  the  yet  cool  month  of  April,  was 
spent  under  a  branching  oak,  and  there 
their  pastor  discoursed  to  them  on  the  Sa- 
viour's "  temptation  in  the  wilderness." 
After  spending  a  day  in  fasting  and  pray- 
er, they  laid  the  foundation  of  their  civil 
government  by  simply  covenanting  that 
"  all  of  them  would  be  ordered  by  the  rules 
which  the  Scriptures  held  forth  to  them." 
A  title  to  their  lands  was  purchased  from1 
the  Indians.  The  following  year,  these 
disciples  of  "  Him  who  was  cradled  in  a 
manger"  held  their  first  Constituent  As- 
sembly in  a  barn.  Having  solemnly  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  Scriptures  con- 
tain a  perfect  pattern  of  a  commonwealth, 
according  to  that  they  aimed  at  construct- 
ing theirs.  Purity  of  religious  doctrine  and 
discipline,  freedom  of  religious  worship, 
and  the  service  and  glory  of  God,  were 
proclaimed  as  the  great  ends  of  the  enter- 
prise. God  smiled  upon  it,  so  that  in  a 
few  years  the  colony  could  show  flourish- 
ing settlements  rising  along  the  Sound, 
and  on  the  opposite  shores  of  Long  Isl- 
and. 

While  the  colonization  of  Connecticut 
was  in  progress,  that  of  Rhode  Island  com*- 
menced.  Roger  Williams,  a  Puritan  min- 
ister, had  arrived  in  Boston  the  year  ira- 


Chap.  IV.] 


CHARACTER    OF   THE  EARLY   COLONISTS. 


57 


mediately  following  its  settlement  by  Win- 
throp  and  his  companions ;  but  he  soon 
advanced  doctrines  on  the  rights  of  con- 
science, and  the  nature  and  limits  of  hu- 
man government,  which  were  unaccepta- 
ble to  the  civil  and  religious  authorities  of 
the  colony.  For  two  years  he  avoided 
coming  into  collision  with  his  opponents 
by  residing  at  Plymouth  ;  but  having  been 
invited  to  become  pastor  of  a  church  in 
Salem,  where  he  had  preached  for  some 
time  after  his  first  coming  to  America, 
lie  was  ordered,  at  last,  to  return  to  Eng- 
land ;  whereupon,  instead  of  complying, 
he  sought  refuge  among  the  Narragansett 
Indians,  then  occupying  a  large  part  of  the 
present  State  of  Rhode  Island.  Having 
ever  been  the  steady  friend  of  the  Indians, 
and  defender  of  their  rights,  he  was  kind- 
ly received  by  the  aged  chief,  Canonicus, 
and  there,  in ( 1636,  he  founded  the  city  and 
plantation  of  Providence.  Two  years  af- 
terward, the  beautiful  island  called  Rhode 
Island,  in  Narragansett  Bay,  was  bought 
from  the  Indians,  by  John  Clarke,  William 
Coddington,  and  their  friends,  when  obli- 
ged to  leave  the  Massachusetts  colony,  in 
consequence  of  the  part  which  they  had 
taken  in  the  "  Antinomian  controversy," 
as  it  was  called,  and  of  which  we  shall  have 
occasion  to  speak.  These  two  colonies  of 
Providence  and  Rhode  Island,  both  founded 
on  the  principle  of  absolute  religious  free- 
dom, naturally  presented  an  asylum  to  all 
who  disliked  the  rigid  laws  and  practices 
of  the  Massachusetts  colony  in  religious 
matters  ;  but  many,  it  must  be  added,  fled 
thither  only  out  of  hatred  to  the  stern  mo- 
rality of  the  other  colonies.  Hence  Rhode 
Island,  to  this  day,  has  a  more  mixed  pop- 
ulation, as  respects  religious  opinions  and 
practices,  than  any  other  part  of  New-Eng- 
land. There  is,  however,  no  inconsidera- 
ble amount  of  sincere  piety  in  the  state, 
but  the  forms  in  which  it  manifests  itself 
are  numerous. 

As  early  as  1623,  small  settlements  were 
made,  under  the  grant  to  Mason,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Piscataqua,  in  New-Hamp- 
shire; and,  in  point  of  date,  both  Ports- 
mouth and  Dover  take  precedence  of  Bos- 
ton. Most  of  the  New-Hampshire  settlers 
came  direct  from  England  ;  some  from  the 
Plymouth  colony.  Exeter  owed  its  found- 
ation to  the  abandonment  of  Massachusetts 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wheelwright  and  his  im- 
mediate friends,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
"  Antinomian  controversy." 

The  first  permanent  settlements  made 
on  "  the  Maine,"  as  the  continental  part  of 
the  country  was  called,  to  distinguish  it 
from  the  islands — and  hence  the  name  of 
the  state — date  as  early,  it  would  appear, 
as  1626.  The  settlers  were  from  Plym- 
outh, and  no  doubt  carried  with  them  the 
religious  institutions  cherished  in  that  ear- 
liest of  all  the  New-England  colonies. 


Within  twenty  years  from  the  planting  of 
the  colony  at  Plymouth,  all  the  other  chief 
colonies  of  New-England  were  founded, 
their  governments  organized,  and  the  coast 
of  the  Atlantic,  from  the  Kennebec  River  in 
Maine  almost  to  the  Hudson  in  New- York, 
marked  by  their  various  settlements.  Off- 
shoots from  these  original  stocks  gradually 
appeared,  both  at  intervening  points  near 
the  ocean,  and  at  such  spots  in  the  interior 
as  attracted  settlers  by  superior  fertility  of 
soil  or  other  physical  advantages.  From 
time  to  time,  little  bands  of  adventurers 
left  the  older  homesteads,  and  wandered 
forth  in  search  of  new  abodes.  Carrying 
their  substance. with  them  in  wagons,  and 
driving  before  them  their  cattle,  sheep, 
and  hogs,  these  simple  groups  wended 
through  the  tangled  forest,  crossed  swamps 
and  rivers,  and  traversed  hill  and  dale,  un- 
til some  suitable  resting-place  appeared ; 
the  silence  of  the  wilderness,  meanwhile, 
was  broken  by  the  lowing  of  their  cattle 
and  the  bleating  of  their  sheep,  as  well  as 
by  the  songs  of  Zion,  with  which  the  pil- 
grims beguiled  the  fatigues  of  the  way. 
Everywhere  nature  had  erected  bethels 
for  them,  and  from  beneath  the  overshad- 
owing oak,  morning  and  night,  their  ori- 
sons ascended  to  the  God  of  their  salva- 
tion. Hope  of  future  comfort  sustained 
them  amid  present  toils.  They  were 
cheered  by  the  thought  that  the  extension 
of  their  settlements  was  promoting  also 
the  extension  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ 

This  rapid  advance  of  the  New-England 
settlements,  during  the  first  twenty  years 
of  their  existence,  must  be  ascribed,  in  a 
great  measure,  to  the  troubled  condition 
and  lowering  prospects  of  the  mother- 
country  during  the  same  period.  The  de- 
spotic principles  of  Charles  I.  as  a  mon- 
arch, still  more,  perhaps,  the  religious  in- 
tolerance of  Archbishop  Laud  and  his  par- 
tisans, so  fatally  abetted  by  the  king,  drove 
thousands  from  England  to  the  colonies, 
and  hurried  on  the  Revolution  that  soon  fol- 
lowed at  home.  The  same  oppressive  and 
bigoted  policy,  indeed,  that  was  convulsing 
Great  Britain,  threatened  the  colonies  also ; 
but  in  1639,  just  as  they  were  on  the  eve 
of  an  open  collision,  the  government  of 
that  country  found  itself  so  beset  with  dif- 
ficulties at  home,  that  New-England,  hap- 
pily for  its  own  sake,  was  forgotten. 

Nor  does  the  prosperity  of  the  colonial 
settlements,  during  those  twenty  years, 
seem  less  remarkable  than  their  multipli- 
cation and  extension  over  the  country. 
The  huts  in  which  the  emigrants  first  found 
shelter  gave  place  to  well-built  houses. 
Commerce  made  rapid  advances.  Large'' 
quantities  of  the  country's  natural  produc- 
tions, such  as  furs  and  lumber,  were  ex- 
ported ;  grain  was  shipped  to  the  West 
Indies,  and  fishing  employed  many  hands. 
Ship-building  was  carried  to  such  an  ex- 


58 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


tent,  that,  within  twenty-five  years  from 
the  first  settlement  of  New-England,  ves- 
sels of  400  tons  were  constructed  there. 
Several  kinds  of  manufactures,  even,  be- 
gan to  take  root  in  the  colonies. 

It  is  calculated  that  21,200  emigrants 
had  arrived  in  New-England  alone  before 
the  Long  Parliament  met.  "  One  hundred 
and  ninety-eight  ships  had  borne  them 
across  the  Atlantic,  and  the  whole  cost 
of  the  plantations  had  been  1,000,000  of 
dollars ;  a  great  expenditure  and  a  great 
emigration  for  that  age  ;  yet,  in  1832,  more 
than  50,000  persons  arrived  at  the  single 
port  of  Quebec  in  one  summer,  bringing 
with  them  a  capital  exceeding  3,000,000 
of  dollars."* 

A  great  change,  in  this  respect,  took 
place  during  the  next  twenty  years,  em- 
bracing the  period  of  the  civil  war,  and 
the  Protectorate  of  Oliver  Cromwell  and 
his  son.  Not  only  were  there  few  arri- 
vals of  emigrants  during  that  interval,  but 
some  fiery  spirits  in  the  colonies  returned 
to  the  mother-country,  eager  to  take  part  in 
the  contest  waging  there.  This,  indeed, 
some  of  the  leading  men  in  New-England 
were  earnestly  pressed  to  do  by  letters 
from  both  houses  of  Parliament,  but  they 
were  unwilling  to  abandon  the  duties  of  the 
posts  they  occupied  in  the  New  World. 
Upon  the  whole,  from  1640  to  1660  the 
population  of  New-England  rather  dimin- 
ised  than  augmented. 

But  while  such,  during  the  early  years 
of  their  existence,  was  the  temporal  pros- 
perity of  these  colonies,  not  less  was  their 
spiritual.  In  1647,  New-England  had  for- 
ty-three churches  united  in  one  commu- 
nion ;  in  1650,  the  number  of  churches  was 
fifty-eight,  that  of  communicants  7750 ; 
and  in  1674,  there  were  more  than  eighty 
English  churches  of  Christ,  composed  of 
known  pious  and  faithful  professors  only, 
dispersed  through  the  wilderness.  Of  these, 
twelve  or  thirteen  were  in  Plymouth  col- 
ony, forty-seven  in  Massachusetts  and  the 
province  of  New-Hampshire,  nineteen  in 
Connecticut,  three  in  Long  Island,  and 
one  in  Martha's  Vineyard. f  Well  might 
one  of  her  pious  historians  say,  "  It  con- 
cerneth  New-England  always  to  remem- 
ber that  she  is  a  religious  plantation,  and 
not  a  plantation  of  trade.  The  profession 
of  purity  of  doctrine,  worship,  and  disci- 
pline, is  written  upon  her  forehead. "J 

The  New-England  colonists  may  have 
been  "  the  poorest  of  the  people  of  God  in 
the  whole  world,"  and  they  settled  in  a 
rugged  country,  the  poorest,  in  fact,  in 
natural  resources  of  all  the  United  States' 
territories ;    nevertheless,    their   industry 


*  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i., 
p.  415. 

t  Prince's  Christian  History.  Emerson's  History 
of  the  First  Church. 

$  Prince,  in  his  Christian  History,  p.  66. 


and  other  virtues  made  them  increase  in 
wealth,  and  transformed  their  hills  and 
valleys  into  a  delightful  land.  Their  com- 
merce soon  showed  itself  in  all  seas  ;  their 
manufactures  gradually  gained  ground, 
notwithstanding  the  obstacles  created  by 
the  jealousy  of  England,  and,  with  the  in- 
crease of  their  population,  they  overspread 
a  large  extent  of  the  space  included  in 
their  charters. 

Many,  indeed,  affect  to  sneer  at  the 
founders  of  New-England ;  but  the  sneers 
of  ignorance  and  prejudice  cannot  detract 
from  their  real  merits.  Not  that  we  would 
claim  the  praise  of  absolute  wisdom  for 
all  that  was  done  by  the  "  New-England 
Fathers."  Some  of  their  penal  laws  were 
unreasonably  and  unjustly  severe,  some 
were  frivolous ;  some  were  even  ridicu- 
lous.* Some  of  their  usages  were  dicta- 
ted by  false  views  of  propriety.  Nor  can 
it  be  denied  that  they  were  intolerant  to 
those  who  differed  from  them  in  religion  ; 
that  they  persecuted  Quakers  and  Baptists, 
and  abhorred  Roman  Catholics.  But  all 
this  grew  out  of  the  erroneous  views  which 
they,  in  common  with  almost  all  the  world 
at  that  time,  entertained  on  the  rights  of 
human  conscience  and  the  duties  of  civil 
government,  in  cases  where  those  rights 
are  concerned.  We  shall  see,  likewise, 
that  they  committed  some  most  serious 
mistakes,  resulting  from  the  same  errone- 
ous views,  in  the  civil  establishments  of 
religion  adopted  in  most  of  the  colonies. 
Notwithstanding  all  this,  they  will  be  found 
to  have  been  far  in  advance  of  other  na- 
tions of  their  day. 

With  respect  to  their  treatment  of  the 
native  tribes,  they  were  led  into  measures 
which  appear  harsh  and  unjust  by  the  fact 
of  their  laws  being  modelled  upon  those  of 
the  Jews.  Such,  for  example,  was  their 
making  slaves  of  those  Indians  whom  they 
made  prisoners  in  war.  There  were  cases, 
also,  of  individual  wrong  done  to  the  In- 
dians. Yet  never,  I  believe,  since  the 
world  began,  have  colonies  from  civilized 
nations  been  planted  among  barbarous 
tribes  with  so  little  injustice  being  perpe 
trated  upon  the  whole.  The  land,  in  al 
most  all  cases  where  tribes  remained  to 
dispose  of  it,  was  taken  only  on  indemni- 
fication being  given,  as  they  fully  recog- 
nised the  right  of  the  natives  to  the  soil. 
The  only  exceptions,  and  these  were  but 


*  A  great  deal  of  misrepresentation  and  falsehood 
has  been  published  by  ignorant  and  prejudiced  per- 
sons at  the  expense  of  the  New-England  Puritans. 
For  example,  pretended  specimens  of  what  are  call- 
ed "  the  Blue  Laws  of  Connecticut"  have  appeared  in 
the  journals  of  certain  European  travellers,  and  have 
been  received  by  credulous  transatlantic  readers  as 
perfectly  authentic.  Yet  the  greater  part  of  these 
so-called  "  laws"  are  the  sheerest  fabrications  ever 
palmed  upon  the  world,  as  is  shown  by  Professor 
Kingsley  in  a  note  appended  to  his  Centennial  Dis- 
course, delivered  at  New-Haven  a  few  years  ago. 


Chap.  IV.] 


CHARACTER   OF  THE  EARLY  COLONISTS. 


59 


few,  were  the  cases  in  which  the  hazards 
of  war  put  them  in  possession  of  some 
Indian  territory.  Nor  were  they  indiffer- 
ent to  the  spiritual  interests  of  those  poor 
people.  We  shall  yet  see  that  for  these 
they  did  far  more  than  was  done  by  any 
other  colonies  on  the  whole  American  con- 
tinent, and  I  shall  explain  why  they  did 
not  do  more. 

Let  us  now,  in  conclusion,  contemplate 
for  a  moment  the  great  features  that  mark 
the  religious  character  of  the  founders  of 
New-England,  leaving  our  remarks  on  their 
religious  economy  to  be  introduced  at  an- 
other place. 

First,  then,  theirs  was  a  religion  that 
made  much  of  the  Bible  ;  I  should  rather 
say,  that  to  them  the  Bible  was  every- 
thing. They  not  only  drew  their  religious 
principles  from  it,  but  according  to  it,  in  a 
great  degree,  they  fashioned  their  civil 
laws.  They  were  disposed  to  refer  every- 
thing "  to  the  Law  and  to  the  Testimony." 
And  although  they  did  not  always  interpret 
the  Scriptures  aright,  yet  no  people  ever 
revered  them  more,  or  studied  them  more 
carefully.  With  them  the  famous  motto 
of  Chillingworth  had  a  real  meaning  and 
application  :  The  Bible  is  the  religion  of 
Protestants. 

Second.  The  religion  of  the  founders  of 
New-England  was  friendly  to  the  diffusion 
of  knowledge,  and  set  a  high  value  on 
learning.  Many  of  their  pastors,  especial- 
ly, were  men  of  great  attainments.  Not  a 
few  of  them  had  been  educated  at  the  Uni- 
versities of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  in  Eng- 
land, and  some  had  brought  with  them  a 
European  reputation.  John  Cotton,  John 
Wilson,  Thomas  Hooker,  Dunster,  and 
Chauncey,  which  last  two  were  Presidents 
of  the  University  at  Cambridge,  Thomas 
Thatcher,  Samuel  Whiting,  John  Sherman, 
John  Elliot,  and  several  more  of  the  early 
ministers,  were  men  of  great  learning.  All 
were  well  instructed  in  theology,  and  thor- 
oughly versed  in  Hebrew,  as  well  as  in 
Greek  and  Latin.  Some,  too,  such  as 
Sherman,  of  Watertown,  were  fine  mathe- 
matical scholars.  They  were  the  friends 
and  correspondents  of  Baxter,  and  Howe, 
and  Selden,  and  Milton,  and  other  lumina- 
ries among  the  Puritans  of  England.  Their 
regard  for  useful  learning  they  amply  pro- 
ved, by  the  establishment  of  schools  and 
academies  for  all  the  youth  of  the  colonies, 
as  well  as  for  their  own  children.  Only  eight 
years  after  the  first  settlement  of  Massa- 
chusetts colony,  they  founded,  at  a  great 
expense  for  men  in  their  circumstances, 
the  University  of  Harvard,  at  Cambridge, 
near  Boston,  an  institution  at  which,  for  a 
period  of  more  than  sixty  years,  the  most 
distinguished  men  of  New-England  receiv- 
ed their  academical  education. 

Third.  Their  religion  was  eminently  fit- 
ted to  enlarge  men's  views  of  the  duty  of 


living  for  God  and  promoting  his  kingdom 
in  the  world.  They  felt  that  Christianity 
was  the  greatest  boon  that  mankind  can 
possess ;  a  blessing  which  they  were  bound 
to  do  their  utmost  to  secure  to  their  pos- 
terity. In  going  to  a  new  continent  they 
were  influenced  by  a  double  hope,  the  en- 
largement of  Christ's  kingdom  by  the  con- 
version of  heathen  tribes,  and  the  found- 
ing of  an  empire  for  their  own  children, 
in  which  His  religion  should  gloriously 
prevail.  Their  eyes  seemed  to  catch  some 
glimpses  of  Messiah's  universal  reign, 
when  "  all  nations  shall  be  blessed  in  him, 
and  call  him  blessed." 

Fourth.  Their  religion  prompted  to  great 
examples  of  self-denial.  Filled  with  the 
idea  of  an  empire  in  which  true  religion 
might  live  and  flourish,  and  satisfied  from 
what  they  had  seen  of  the  Old  World  that 
the  Truth  was  in  bondage  there,  they  sigh- 
ed for  a  land  in  which  they  might  serve 
God  according  to  his  blessed  Word.  To 
secure  such  a  privilege  to  themselves  and 
their  children,  they  were  willing  to  go  into 
a  wilderness,  and  to  toil  and  die.  This  was 
something  worth  making  sacrifices  for,  and 
much  did  they  sacrifice  to  obtain  it.  Though 
poor  in  comparison  with  many  others,  still 
they  belonged  to  good  families,  and  might 
have  lived  very  comfortably  in  England ; 
but  they  preferred  exile  and  hardship,  in 
the  hope  of  securing  spiritual  advantages 
to  themselves  and  their  posterity. 

Fifth.  There  was  a  noble  patriotism  in 
their  religion.  Some  of  them  had  long 
been  exiled  from  England ;  others  had 
found  their  mother-country  a  very  unkind- 
ly home,  and  yet  England  was  still  dear  to 
them.  With  them  it  was  not  "  Farewell, 
Babylon!  farewell,  Rome!"  but,  "Fare- 
well, dear  England  !"*  Though  contemp- 
tuously treated  by  James  I.  and  Charles  I., 
yet  they  spoke  of  being  desirous  of  "  en- 
larging his  majesty's  dominions."  The 
Plymouth  settlers  did  not  wish  to  remain 
in  Holland,  because  "  their  posterity  would 
in  a  few  generations  become  Dutch,  and 
lose  their  interest  in  the  English  nation  ; 
they  being  desirous  to  enlarge  his  majes- 
ty's dominions,  and  to  live  under  their  nat- 
ural prince."  And  much  as  they  had  suf- 
fered from  the  prelacy  of  the  Established 
Church,  unnatural  stepmother  as  she  had 
been  to  them,  nothing  could  extinguish  the 
love  that  they  felt  for  her,  and  for  the  many 
dear  children  of  God  whom  she  retained 
in  her  communion. 

Sixth,  and  last.  Their  religion  was  fa- 
vourable to  liberty  of  conscience.  Not 
that  they  were  all  sufficiently  enlightened 
to  bring  their  laws  and  institutions  into 
perfect  accordance  with  that  principle  at 
the  outset ;  but  even  then  they  were,  in 
this  respect,  in  advance  of  the  age  in  which 


See  Mather's  Magnalia,  b.  iii.,  c.  i.,  s.  12. 


60 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


they  lived,  and  the  spirit  of  that  religion 
which  had  made  them  and  their  fathers,  in 
England,  the  defenders  of  the  rights  of  the 
people,  and  their  tribunes,  as  it  were, 
against  the  domination  of  the  throne  and 
the  altar,  caused  them,  at  last,  to  admit  the 
claims  of  conscience  in  their  full  extent. 

The  Fathers  of  New-England  were  no 
mean  men,  whether  we  look  to  themselves 
or  to  those  with  whom  they  were  associ- 
ated in  England — the  Lightfoots,  the  Gales, 
the  Seldens,  the  Miltons,  the  Bunyans,  the 
Baxters,  the  Bates,  the  Howes,  the  Char- 
nocks,  the  Flavels,  and  others  of  scarcely 
inferior  standing  among  the  two  thousand 
who  had  laboured  in  the  pulpits  of  the  Es- 
tablished Church,  but  whom  the  Restora- 
tion cast  out. 

Such  were  the  men  who  founded  the 
New-England  colonies,  and  their  spirit  still 
survives,  in  a  good  measure,  in  their  de- 
scendants after  six  generations.  With  the 
exception  of  a  few  thousands  of  recently- 
arrived  Irish  and  Germans  in  Boston,  and 
other  towns  on  the  seaboard,  and  of  the 
descendants  of  those  of  the  Huguenots 
who  settled  in  New-England,  that  country 
is  wholly  occupied  by  the  progeny  of  the 
English  Puritans  who  first  colonized  it. 
But  these  are  not  the  whole  of  their  de- 
scendants in  America ;  for  besides  the 
2,234,202  souls  forming  the  population  of 
the  six  New-England  States  in  1840,  it  is 
supposed  that  an  equal,  if  not  a  still  greater 
number,  have  emigrated  to  New- York,  the 
northern  parts  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illi- 
nois, and  into  all  parts  of  Michigan  and 
"Wisconsin,  carrying  with  them,  in  a  large 
measure,  the  spirit  and  the  institutions  of 
their  glorious  ancestors.  Descendants  of 
the  Puritans  are  also  to  be  found  scattered 
over  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  and 
many  of  them  prove  a  great  blessing  to 
the  neighbourhoods  in  which  they  reside. 

How  wonderful,  then,  was  the  mission 
of  the  founders  of  New-England  !  How 
gloriously  accomplished  !  How  rich  in  its 
results  ! 


CHAPTER  V. 

RELIGIOUS    CHARACTER     OF    THE     EARLY     COL- 
ONISTS.     FOUNDERS      OF      THE      SOUTHERN 

STATES. 

Widely  different  in  character,  I  have  al- 
ready remarked,  were  the  early  colonists 
of  the  Southern  from  those  of  the  Northern 
States.  If  New-England  may  be  regarded 
as  colonized  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  race, 
with  its  simpler  manners,  its  equal  insti- 
tutions, and  its  love  of  liberty,  the  South 
may  be  said  to  have  been  colonized  by 
men  very  much  Norman  in  blood,  aristo- 
cractic  in  feeling  and  spirit,  and  pretend- 
ing to  superior  dignity  of  demeanour  and 


elegance  of  manners.  Nor  has  time  yet 
effaced  this  original  diversity.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  has  been  increased  and  confirmed 
by  the  continuance  of  slavery  in  the  South, 
which  never  prevailed  much  at  any  time 
in  the  North,  but  has  immensely  influenced 
the  tone  of  feeling  and  the  customs  of  the 
Southern  States. 

If  the  New-England  colonies  are  charge- 
able with  having  allowed  their  feelings  to 
become  alienated  from  a  throne  from 
which  they  had  often  been  contemptu- 
ously spurned,  with  equal  truth  might 
those  of  the  South  be  accused  of  going  to 
the  opposite  extreme,  in  their  attachment 
to  a  line  of  monarchs  alike  undeserving  of 
their  love,  and  incapable  of  appreciating 
their  generous  loyalty. 

We  might  carry  the  contrast  still  farther. 
If  New-England  was  the  favourite  asylum  of 
the  Puritan  Roundhead,  the  South  became, 
in  its  turn,  the  retreat  of  the  "  Cavalier," 
upon  the  joint  subversion  of  the  altar  and 
the  throne  in  his  native  land.  And  if  the  re- 
ligion of  the  one  was  strict,  serious,  in  the 
regard  of  its  enemies  unfriendly  to  innocent 
amusements,  and  even  morose,  the  other 
was  the  religion  of  the  court,  and  of  fash- 
ionable life,  and  did  not  require  so  uncom- 
promising a  resistance  "  to  the  lust  of  the 
flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  and  the  pride  of 
life." 

Not  that  from  this  parallelism,  which  is 
necessarily  general,  the  reader  is  to  infer 
that  the  Northern  colonies  had  exclusive 
claims  to  be  considered  as  possessing  a 
truly  religious  character.  All  that  is  meant 
is  to  give  a  general  idea  of  the  different 
aspects  which  religion  bore  in  the  one  and 
the  other. 

Virginia  was  the  first  in  point  of  date,  as 
we  have  already  stated,  of  all  the  colonies. 
Among  its  neighbours  in  the  South  it 
was  what  Massachusetts  was  in  the  North 
— the  mother,  in  some  sense,  of  the  rest, 
and  the  dominant  colony.  Not  that  the 
others  were  planted  chiefly  from  it,  but  be- 
cause, from  the  prominence  of  its  posi- 
tion, the  amount  of  its  population,  and 
their  intelligence  and  wealth,  it  acquired 
from  the  first  a  preponderating  influence 
which  it  retains  as  a  state  to  this  day. 

The  records  of  Virginia  furnish  indubita- 
ble evidence  that  it  was  meant  to  be  a 
Christian  colony.  The  charter  enjoined 
that  the  mode  of  worship  should  conform 
to  that  of  the  Established  Church  of  Eng- 
land. In  1619,  for  the  first  time,  Virginia 
had  a  Legislature  chosen  by  the  people  ; 
and  by  an  act  of  that  body,  the  Episcopal 
Church  was,  properly  speaking,  establish- 
ed. In  the  following  year  the  number  of 
boroughs  erected  into  parishes  was  eleven, 
and  the  number  of  pastors  five,  the  popula- 
tion at  the  time  being  considerably  under 
3000.  In  1621-22,  it  was  enacted  that  the 
clergy  should  receive  from  their  parishion- 


Chap.  V.] 


CHARACTER   OF   THE    EARLY   COLONISTS. 


61 


ers  1500  pounds  of  tobacco  and  sixteen 
barrels  of  corn  each  as  their  yearly  salary, 
estimated  to  be  worth,  in  all,  £200.  Every 
male  colonist  of  the  age  of  sixteen  or  up- 
ward was  required  to  pay  ten  pounds  of 
tobacco  and  one  bushel  of  corn. 

The  Company  under  whose  auspices  Vir- 
ginia was  colonized  seems  to  have  been 
influenced  by  a  sincere  desire  to  make  the 
plantation  a  means  of  propagating  the 
knowledge  of  the  Gospel  among  the  Indi- 
ans. A  iew  years  after  the  first  settlement 
was  made,  in  the  body  of  their  instructions 
they  particularly  urged  upon  the  governor 
and  Assembly  "the  using  of  all  probable 
means  of  bringing  over  the  natives  to  a 
iove  of  civilization,  and  to  the  love  of  God 
and  his  true  religion."  They  recommend- 
ed the  colonists  to  hire  the  natives  as  la- 
bourers, with  the  view  of  familiarizing  them 
to  civilized  life,  and  thus  to  bring  them 
gradually  to  the  knowledge  of  Christianity, 
that  they  might  be  employed  as  instru- 
ments "  in  the  general  conversion  of  their 
countrymen,  so  much  desired/'  It  was 
likewise  recommended  "that  each  town, 
borough,  and  hundred  should  procure,  by 
just  means,  a  certain  number  of  Indian 
children,  to  be  brought  up  in  the  first  ele- 
ments of  literature  ;  that  the  most  toward- 
ly  of  these  should  be  fitted  for  the  college, 
in  building  of  which  they  purposed  to  pro- 
ceed as  soon  as  any  profit  arose  from  the 
estate  appropriated  to  that  use  ;  and  they 
earnestly  required  their  earnest  help  and 
furtherance  in  that  pious  and  important 
work,  not  doubting  the  particular  blessing 
of  God  upon  the  colony,  and  being  assured 
of  the  love  of  all  good  men  upon  that  ac- 
count."* 

Even  the  first  charter  assigns  as  one  of 
the  reasons  for  the  grant,  that  the  contem- 
plated undertaking  was  "  a  work  which 
may,  by  the  providence  of  Almighty  God, 
hereafter  tend  to  the  glory  of  His  Divine 
Majesty,  in  the  propagating  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion  to  such  people  as  yet  live  in 
darkness  and  miserable  ignorance  of  the 
true  knowledge  and  worship  of  God."f 

The  Company  seem  early  to  have  felt 
the  importance  of  promoting  education  in 
the  colony.  Probably  at  their  solicita- 
tion, the  king  issued  letters  to  the  bishops 
throughout  England,  directing  collections 
to  be  made  for  building  a  college  in  Vir- 
ginia. The  object  was  at  first  stated  to  be 
"  the  training  up  and  educating  infidel  (hea- 
then) children  in  the  true  knowledge  of 
God. "J  Nearly  £1500  had  already  been 
collected,  and  Henrico  had  been  selected 
as  the  best  situation  for  the  building,  when, 


*  Burk's  "  History  of  Virginia,"  p.  225,  226. 

t  1  Charter. — 1.  Hazzard's  State  Papers,  51.  This 
work  of  the  late  Mr.  H.  contains  all  the  charters 
granted  by  the  sovereigns  of  England  for  promoting 
colonization  in  America. 

X  Stith's  "History  of  Virginia,"  p.  162.  163. 


at  the  instance  of  their  treasurer,  Sir  Ed- 
win Sandys,  the  Company  granted  10,000 
acres  to  be  laid  off  for  the  new  "  Univer- 
sity of  Henrico  ;"  the  original  design  being 
at  the  same  time  extended,  by  its  being  re- 
solved that  the  institution  should  be  for  the 
education  of  the  English  as  well  as  the 
Indians.  Much  interest  was  felt  through- 
out England  in  the  success  of  this  under- 
taking. The  Bishop  of  London  gave  £1000 
towards  its  accomplishment,  and  an  anon- 
ymous contributor  £500  exclusively  for 
the  education  of  the  Indian  youth.  It  had 
warm  friends  in  Virginia  also.  The  min- 
ister of  Henrico,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bargave, 
gave  his  library,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
place  subscribed  £1500  to  build  a  hostel- 
ry for  the  entertainment  of  strangers  and 
visiters.*  Preparatory  to  the  college  or 
university,  it  was  proposed  that  a  school 
should  be  established  at  St.  Charles's  City, 
to  be  called  the  East  India  School,  from 
the  first  donation  towards  its  endowment 
having  been  contributed  by  the  master  and 
crew  of  an  East  Indiaman  on  its  return  to 
England. 

But  the  whole  project  received  its  death- 
blow by  the  frightful  massacre  perpetrated 
by  the  Indians  on  the  22d  of  March,  1622, 
when,  in  one  hour,  347  men,  women,  and 
children  were  slaughtered,  without  distinc- 
tion of  sex  or  age,  and  at  a  time,  too,  when 
the  Indians  professed  perfect  friendship. 
For  four  years,  nevertheless,  they  had 
been  maturing  their  plan,  had  enlisted  thir- 
ty tribes  in  a  plot  to  extirpate  the  English, 
and  might  have  succeeded  in  doing  so  but 
for  the  fidelity  of  a  converted  Indian  named 
Chanco.  The  minds  of  the  colonists  were 
still  farther  estranged  from  the  idea  of 
providing  a  college  for  the  Indian  youth  by 
the  long  and  disastrous  war  that  followed. 
At  a  much  later  date  a  college  for  the  ed- 
ucation of  the  colonial  youth  was  estab- 
lished at  Williamsburg,  which  was  for  a 
long  time  the  capital  of  the  colony. f 


*  Holmes's  Annals,  p.  173. 

t  This  was  the  College  of  William  and  Mary,  es- 
tablished in  1693,  and,  in  the  order  of  time,  the  sec- 
ond that  was  founded  in  the  colonies.  It  owed  its 
existence,  under  God,  to  the  great  and  long-contin- 
ued exertions  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Blair.  It  ought  to  be 
mentioned,  that  in  the  former  part  of  the  last  centu- 
ry a  number  of  Indian  youths  were  educated  at  it. 
The  celebrated  Robert  Boyle  presented  it  with  a 
sum  of  money  to  be  applied  to  the  education  of  the 
Indian  tribes.  At  first,  efforts  were  made  to  procure 
for  this  purpose  children  who  had  been  taken  in 
war  by  some  victorious  tribe ;  but  during  the  admin- 
istration of  Sir  Alexander  Spottswood,  which  com- 
menced in  1710,  that  plan  was  relinquished  for  a  far 
better.  The  governor  went  in  person  to  the  tribes 
in  the  interior  to  engage  them  to  send  their  children 
to  the  school,  and  had  the  gratification  of  seeing 
some  arrive  from  a  distance  of  four  hundred  miles  in 
compliance  with  his  request.  He  also,  at  his  own 
expense,  established  and  supported  a  preparatory 
school  on  the  frontiers,  at  which  Indian  lads  might 
be  prepared  for  the  college  without  being  too  far  re- 
moved from  their  parents. — See  Beverly's  "  History 
of  Virginia." 


62 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  IL 


In  proportion  as  the  population  began 
to  spread  along  the  large  and  beautiful 
streams  that  flow  from  the  Alleghany 
Mountains  into  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  more 
parishes  were  legally  constituted,  so  that 
in  1722  there  were  fifty-four,  some  very 
large,  others  of  moderate  extent,  in  the 
twenty-nine  counties  of  the  colony.  Their 
size  depended  much  on  the  number  of 
titheable  inhabitants  within  a  certain  dis- 
trict. Each  parish  had  a  convenient 
church  built  of  stone,  brick,  or  wood,  and 
many  of  the  larger  ones  had  also  chapels 
of  ease,  so  that  the  places  of  public  wor- 
ship were  not  less  than  seventy  in  all.  To 
each  parish  church  there  was  a  parsonage 
attached,  and  likewise,  in  almost  all  cases, 
a  glebe  of  250  acres  and  a  small  stock  of 
cattle.  But  not  more  than  about  half, 
probably,  of  these  established  churches 
were  provided  with  ministers  ;  in  the  rest 
the  services  were  conducted  by  lay  read- 
ers, or  occasionally  by  neighbouring  cler- 
gymen. When  the  war  of  the  Revolution 
commenced  there  were  ninety-five  parish- 
es, and  at  least  a  hundred  clergymen  of 
the  Established  Church. 

We  shall  yet  have  occasion  to  speak  of 
the  Church  establishment  in  Virginia,  and 
its  influence  upon  the  interests  of  reli- 
gion, as  well  as  of  the  character  of  the 
clergy  there  during  the  colonial  period.  I 
cannot,  however,  forbear  saying,  that  al- 
though the  greater  number  of  the  estab- 
lished ministers  seem,  at  that  epoch,  to 
have  been  very  poorly  qualified  for  their 
great  work,  others  were  an  ornament  to 
their  calling.  I  may  mention  as  belong- 
ing to  early  times  the  names  of  the  Rev. 
Robert  Hunt  and  the  Rev.  Alexander  Whit- 
aker.  The  former  of  these  accompanied 
the  first  settlers,  preached  the  first  Eng- 
lish sermon  ever  heard  on  the  American 
continent,  and  by  his  calm  and  judicious 
counsels,  his  exemplary  conduct,  and  his 
faithful  ministrations,  rendered  most  im- 
portant services  to  the  infant  colony.  The 
latter  was  justly  styled  "  the  Apostle  of 
Virginia."  At  a  later  period,  we  find, 
among  other  worthies,  the  Rev.  James 
Blair,  whose  indefatigable  exertions  in  the 
cause  of  religion  and  education  rank  him 
among  the  greatest  benefactors  of  Ameri- 
ca. Nor  were  there  laymen  wanting 
among  those  who  had  the  cause  of  God  at 
heart.  Morgan  Morgan,  in  particular,  was 
greatly  blessed  in  his  endeavours  to  sus- 
tain the  spirit  of  piety,  by  founding  church- 
es and  otherwise,  more  especially  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  Great  Valley.  In  la- 
ter times  Virginia  has  produced  many  illus- 
trious men,  not  only  in  the  Episcopal,  but 
in  almost  every  other  denomination  of 
Christians. 

In  point  of  intolerance,  the  Legislature  of 
Virginia  equalled,  if  it  did  not  exceed,  that 
of  Massachusetts.     Attendance  at  parish 


worship  was  at  one  time  required  under 
severe  penalties  ;  nay,  even  the  sacrament- 
al services  of  the  Church  were  rendered 
obligatory  by  law.  Dissenters,  Quakers, 
and  Roman  Catholics  were  prohibited 
from  settling  in  the  province.  People  of 
every  name  entering  the  colony,  without 
having  been  Christians  in  the  countries 
they  came  from,  were  condemned  to  sla- 
very. Shocking  barbarity !  the  reader  will 
justly  exclaim  ;  yet  these  very  laws  prove 
how  deep  and  strong,  though  turbid  and 
dark,  ran  the  tide  of  religious  feeling  among 
the  people.  As  has  been  justly  remarked, 
"  If  they  were  not  wise  Christians,  they 
wereat  least  strenuous  religionists." 

I  have  said  enough  to  show  that,  in  the 
colonization  of  Virginia,  religion  was  far 
from  being  considered  as  a  matter  of  no 
importance  ;  its  influence,  on  the  contrary, 
was  deemed  essential  to  national  as  well 
as  individual  prosperity  and  happiness. 

Maryland,  we  have  seen,  though  origi- 
nally a  part  of  Virginia,  was  planted  by 
Lord  Baltimore,  as  a  refuge  for  persecu- 
ted Roman  Catholics.  When  the  first  of 
its  colonists  landed  in  1634,  under  the  gui- 
dance of  Leonard  Calvert,  son  of  that  no- 
bleman, on  an  island  in  the  Potomac,  they 
took  possession  of  the  province  "  for  their 
Saviour,"  as  well  as  for  "  their  lord  the 
king."  They  planted  their  colony  on  the 
broad  basis  of  toleration  for  all  Christian 
sects,  and  in  this  noble  spirit  the  govern- 
ment was  conducted  for  fifty  years.  Think 
what  we  may  of  their  creed,  and  very  dif- 
ferent as  was  this  policy  from  what  Ro- 
manism elsewhere  might  have  led  us  to 
expect,  Ave  cannot  refuse  to  Lord  Balti- 
more's colony  the  praise  of  having  estab- 
lished the  first  government  in  modern 
times,  in  which  entire  toleration  was 
granted  to  all  denominations  of  Chris- 
tians ;  this  too,  at  a  time  when  the  New- 
England  Puritans  could  hardly  bear  with 
one  another,  much  less  with  "  papists ;" 
when  the  zealots  of  Virginia  held  both 
"  papists"  and  "  Dissenters"  in  nearly  equal 
abhorrence ;  and  when,  in  fact,  toleration 
was  not  considered  in  any  part  of  the  Prot- 
estant world  to  be  due  to  Roman  Catholics. 
After  being  thus  avowed  at  the  outset,  tol- 
eration was  renewed  in  1649,  when,  by  the 
death  of  Charles  I.,  the  government  in 
England  was  about  to  pass  into  the  hands 
of  the  extreme  opponents  of  the  Roman 
Catholics.  "  And  whereas  the  enforcing 
of  the  conscience  in  matters  of  religion," 
such  is  the  language  of  their  statute, 
"  hath  frequently  fallen  out  to  be  of  dan- 
gerous consequence  in  those  common- 
wealths where  it  has  been  practised,  and 
for  the  more  quiet  and  peaceable  govern- 
ment of  this  province,  and  the  better  to 
preserve  mutual  love  and  amity  among  the 
inhabitants,  no  person  within  this  province 
professing  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  shall 


Chap.  V] 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  EARLY  COLON  I  S  TS. 


63 


be  any  way  troubled,  molested,  or  discoun- 
tenanced for  his  or  her  religion,  or  in  the 
free  exercise  thereof."  Meanwhile,  Prot- 
estant sects  increased  so  much,  that  the 
political  power  of  the  state  passed,  at 
length,  entirely  out  of  the  hands  of  its 
founders,  and  before  the  war  of  the  Rev- 
olution, many  churches  had  been  planted 
in  it  by  Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  and 
Baptists. 

North  Carolina  was  first  colonized  by 
stragglers  from  Virginia  settling  on  the 
rivers  that  flow  into  Albemarle  Sound, 
and  among  these  were  a  good  many  Qua- 
kers, driven  out  of  Virginia  by  the  intoler- 
ance of  its  laws.  This  was  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  seventeenth  century.  Puritans 
from  New-England,  and  emigrants  from 
Barbadoes,  followed  in  succession  ;  but 
the  Dissenters  from  Virginia  predomina- 
ted. Religion  for  a  long  while  seems  to 
have  received  but  little  attention.  Will- 
iam Edmunson  and  George  Fox  visited 
their  Quaker  friends  among  the  pine  groves 
of  Albemarle  in  1672,  and  found  a  "  tender 
people."  A  Quarterly  Meeting  was  es- 
tablished, and  thenceforward  that  religious 
body  may  be  said  to  have  organized  a  spir- 
itual government  in  the  colony.  But  it 
was  long  before  any  other  made  much 
progress.  No  Episcopal  minister  was 
settled  in  it  until  1703,  and  no  church  built 
until  1705. 

The  Proprietaries,  it  is  true,  who  obtain- 
ed North  as  well  as  South  Carolina  from 
Charles  II.,  professed  to  be  actuated  by  a 
"laudable  and  pious  zeal  for  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  Gospel ;"  but  they  did  nothing 
to  vindicate  their  claim  to  such  praise.  In 
their  "  Constitutions"  they  maintained,  that 
religion  and  the  profession  of  it  were  in- 
dispensable to  the  well-being  of  the  state 
and  privileges  of  citizenship ;  vain  words, 
as  long  as  no  measures  were  taken  to  pro- 
mote what  they  thus  lauded.  But  we  shall 
yet  see  that,  little  as  true  religion  owed  in 
North  Carolina  to  the  first  settlers,  or  to 
the  Proprietaries,  that  state  eventually  ob- 
tained a  large  population  of  a  truly  reli- 
gious character,  partly  from  the  emigra- 
tion of  Christians  from  France  and  Scot- 
land, partly  from  the  increase  of  Puritans 
from  New-England. 

South  Carolina  began  to  be  colonized  in 
1670  by  settlers  shipped  to  the  province  by 
the  Proprietaries,  and  from  that  time  for- 
ward it  received  a  considerable  accession 
of  emigrants  almost  every  year.  Its  cli- 
mate was  represented  as  being  the  finest 
in  the  world :  under  its  almost  tropical 
sun  flowers  were  said  to  blossom  every 
month  of  the  year :  orange  groves  were 
to  supplant  those  of  cedar,  silk-worms 
were  to  be  fed  on  mulberry-trees  intro- 
duced from  the  south  of  France,  and  the 
choicest  wines  were  to  be  produced. 
Ships  arrived  with  Dutch  settlers  from 


New-York,  as  well  as  with  emigrants 
from  England.  The  Earl  of  Shaftesbury, 
when  committed  to  the  Tower  in  1681, 
begged  for  leave  to  exile  himself  to  Car- 
olina. 

Nor  were  they  Churchmen  only  who 
emigrated  thither  from  England.  Many 
Dissenters,  disgusted  with  the  unfavoura- 
ble state  of  things  in  that  country,  went 
out  also,  carrying  with  them  intelligence, 
industry,  and  sobriety.  Joseph  Blake,  in 
particular,  brother  of  the  gallant  admiral 
of  that  name,  having  inherited  his  broth- 
ers fortune,  devoted  it  to  transporting  his 
persecuted  brethren  to  America,  and  con- 
ducted thither  a  company  of  them  from 
Somersetshire.  Thus  the  booty  taken 
from  New  Spain  helped  to  people  South 
Carolina.*  A  colony  from  Ireland,  also, 
went  over,  and  were  soon  merged  among 
the  other  colonists. 

Such  was  the  character  of  what  might 
be  called  the  substratum  of  the  popula- 
tion in  South  Carolina.  The  colonists 
were  of  various  origin,  but  many  of  them 
had  carried  thither  the  love  of  true  reli- 
gion, and  the  number  of  such  soon  in- 
creased. 

Georgia,  of  all  the  original  thirteen  col- 
onies, ranks  latest  in  point  of  date.  The 
good  Oglethorpe,  one  of  the  finest  speci- 
mens of  a  Christian  gentleman  of  the  Cav- 
alier school,  one  who  loved  his  king  and 
his  Church,  led  over  a  mixed  people  to 
settle  on  the  banks  of  the  Savannah.  Poor 
debtors,  taken  from  the  prisons  of  England, 
formed  a  strange  medley  with  godly  Mo- 
ravians from  Herrnhut  in  Germany,  and 
brave  Highlanders  from  Scotland.  To 
Georgia,  also,  were  directed  the  youthful 
steps  of  those  two  wonderful  men,  John 
and  Charles  Wesley,  and  the  still  more  el- 
oquent Whitefield,  who  made  the  pine  for- 
ests that  stretch  from  the  Savannah  to  the 
Altamaha  resound  with  the  tones  of  their 
fervid  piety.  In  Georgia,  too,  was  built 
the  "  Orphan  House,"  for  the  erection  of 
which  so  much  eloquence  was  poured 
forth,  both  in  England  and  in  the  Atlantic 
cities  of  her  American  colonies,  by  the 
last-named  herald  of  the  Gospel,  but  which 
was  not  destined  to  fulfil  the  expectations 
of  its  good  and  great  founder. 

Thus  we  find  that  religion  was  not  the 
predominating  motive  that  led  to  the  col- 
onization of  the  Southern  States,  as  was 
the  case  with  New-England;  and  yet  it 
cannot  be  said  to  have  been  altogether 
wanting.  It  is  remarkable,  that  in  every 
charter  granted  to  the  Southern  colonies, 
"the  propagation  of  the  Gospel"  is  men- 
tioned as  one  of  the  reasons  for  the  plant- 
ing of  them  being  undertaken.  And  we 
shall  see  that  that  essential  element  of  a 
people's  prosperity  ultimately  received  a 


*  Bancroft's  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  vol. 
ii.,  p.  172,  173. 


-64 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


vast  accession  of  strength  from  the  emi- 
grants whom  God  was  preparing  to  send 
from  the  Old  World  to  those  parts  of  the 

New. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

RELIGIOUS    CHARACTER     OF     THE    EARLY    COLO- 
NISTS.  FOUNDERS   OF   NEW-YORK. 

We  now  proceed  to  give  some  account 
of  the  intermediate  states  between  New- 
England  and  those  in  the  South,  compri- 
sing New- York,  New-Jersey,  Delaware, 
and  Pennsylvania.  WTe  begin  with  New- 
York,  which,  as  we  "have  seen,  was  first 
colonized  by  the  Dutch. 

"  The  spirit  of  the  age,"  says  an  eloquent 
author,*  to  whom  we  have  oflen  referred, 
"  was  present  when  the  foundations  of  New- 
York  were  laid.  Every  great  European 
event  affected  the  fortunes  of  America.  Did 
a  state  prosper,  it  sought  an  increase  of 
wealth  by  plantations  in  the  West:  Was 
a  sect  persecuted,  it  escaped  to  the  New 
World.  The  Reformation,  followed  by  col- 
lisions between  English  Dissenters  and  the 
Anglican  hierarchy,  colonized  New-Eng- 
land. The  Reformation,  emancipating  the 
United  Provinces,  led  to  European  settle- 
ments on  the  Hudson.  The  Netherlands 
divide  with  England  the  glory  of  having 
planted  the  first  colonies  in  the  United 
States  :  they  also  divide  the  glory  of  hav- 
ing set  the  example  of  public  freedom.  If 
England  gave  our  fathers  the  idea  of  a  pop- 
ular representation,  Holland  originated  for 
them  the  principle  of  federal  union." 

It  was  the  Dutch,  we  remarked,  who  first 
discovered  the  Rivers  Hudson  and  Connec- 
ticut, and  probably  the  Delaware  also.  In 
1614,  five  years  after  Henry  Hudson  had 
sailed  up  the  first  of  those  streams,  and  to 
which  he  gave  his  name,  they  erected  a 
few  huts  upon  Manhattan  Island,  where 
now  stands  the  city  of  New-York. 

The  first  attempts  to  establish  trading 
stations,  for  they  hardly  could  be  called 
settlements,  were  made  by  the  merchants 
of  Amsterdam.  But  when  the  Dutch  WTest 
India  Company  was  formed,  in  1621,  it  ob- 
tained a  monopoly  of  the  trade  with  all 
parts  of  the  Atlantic  coast  claimed  by  Hol- 
land in  North  America.  Colonization  on 
the  Hudson  River  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  the  main  object  of  that  Company. 
The  territory  of  New  Netherlands  was  not 
even  named  in  the  charter,  nor  did  the 
States-General  guaranty  its  possession 
and  protection.  Trade  with  the  natives  in 
skins  and  furs  was,  in  fact,  the  primary  and 
almost  exclusive  object. 

But  in  a  few  years,  as  the  families  of  the 
Company's  factors  increased,  what  was  at 


*  Mr.  Bancroft's  "  History  of  the  United  States," 
vol.  ii.,  p.  256. 


first  a  mere  station  for  traders,  gradually 
bore  the  appearance  of  a  regular  plantation; 
and  New  Amsterdam,  on  Manhattan  Isl- 
and, began  to  look  like  some  thriving  town, 
with  its  little  fleet  of  Dutch  ships  almost 
continually  lying  at  its  wharves.  Settle- 
ments were  also  made  at  the  west  end  of 
Long  Island,  on  Staten  Island,  along  the 
North  River  up  to  Albany,  and  even  be- 
yond that,  as  well  as  at  Bergen,  at  various 
points  on  the  Hackensack,  and  on  the  Rar- 
itah,  in  what  was  afterward  New-Jersey. 

Harmony  at  this  time  subsisted  between 
the  Dutch  and  their  Puritan  neighbours,  not- 
withstanding the  dispute  about  their  respec- 
tive boundaries.  In  1627,  we  find  the  Gov- 
ernor of  New  Netherlands,  or  New  Belgium, 
as  the  country  was  sometimes  called,  pay- 
ing a  visit  of  courtesy  and  friendship  to  the 
Plymouth  colony,  by  which  he  was  receiv- 
ed with  "  the  noise  of  trumpets."  A  treaty 
of  friendship  and  commerce  was  proposed. 
"  Our  children  after  us,"  said  the  Pilgrims, 
"  shall  never  forget  the  good  and  courte- 
ous entreaty  which  we  found  in  your  coun- 
try, and  shall  desire  your  prosperity  for- 
ever." 

The  colony,  as  it  extended,  gradually 
penetrated  into  the  interior  of  East  Jersey, 
and  along  the  shores  of  the  Delaware. 
Still,  receiving  neither  protection  nor  en- 
couragement from  the  fatherland,  and  aban- 
doned to  the  tender  mercies  of  a  low-mind- 
ed commercial  corporation,  its  progress 
was  not  what  might  have  been  expected. 
It  had  not  always  wise  governors.  The 
infamous  Kieft,  neglecting  to  conciliate  the 
Indians,  allowed  the  settlers  on  Staten  Isl- 
and to  be  destroyed  by  the  savages  of  New- 
Jersey  ;  and  having,  in  a  most  wanton  at- 
tack upon  a  tribe  of  the  friendly  Algon- 
quins,  massacred  many  of  them  in  cold 
blood,  the  colony  lay  for  two  whole  years 
(1643-1645)  exposed  to  attack  at  all  points, 
and  was  threatened  with  absolute  ruin. 
From  the  banks  of  the  Raritan  to  the  bor- 
ders of  the  Connecticut,  not  a  "  bowery" 
(farm)  was  safe.  "  Mine  eyes,"  says  an 
eyewitness,  "saw  the  flames  of  their 
towns,  and  the  flights  and  hurries  of  men, 
women,  and  children,  the  present  removal 
of  all  that  could  to  Holland  !"  In  this  war 
the  celebrated  Anne  Hutchinson,  one  of  the 
most  extraordinary  women  of  her  age, 
was  murdered  by  the  Indians,  together  with 
all  her  family,  with  but  one  exception. 

Next  to  this  disastrous  war,  the  colony 
was  most  retarded  by  the  want  of  a  popu- 
lar form  of  government,  and  by  the  deter- 
mination of  the  West  India  Company  not 
to  concede  one. 

The  first  founders  of  New  Netherlands 
were  men  of  a  bold  and  enterprising  turn, 
whose  chief  motive  in  leaving  Holland  was, 
no  doubt,  the  acquisition  of  wealth.  But 
educated  in  the  National  Dutch  Church, 
they  brought  with  them  a  strong  attach- 


Chap.  VI.] 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    EARLY   COLONISTS. 


65 


merit  to  its  doctrines,  worship,  and  govern- 
ment ;  and  however  deeply  interested  in 
their  secular  pursuits,  they  unquestionably 
took  early  measures  to  have  the  Gospel 
preached  purely  among  them,  and  to  have 
the  religious  institutions  of  their  fatherland 
planted  and  maintained  in  their  adopted 
country.  A  church  was  organized  at  New 
Amsterdam,  now  New-York,  not  later, 
probably,  than  1619  ;  and  there  was  one  at 
Albany  as  early,  if  not  earlier.  The  first 
minister  of  the  Gospel  settled  at  New- 
York  was  the  Rev.  Everardus  Bogardus. 

The  Dutch  language  was  exclusively 
used  in  the  Dutch  churches  until  1764,  be- 
ing exactly  a  century  after  the  colony  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  English.  As 
soon  as  that  event  took  place,  the  new  gov- 
ernor made  great  efforts  to  introduce  the 
language  of  his  own  country,  by  opening 
schools  in  which  it  was  taught.  This,  to- 
gether with  the  introduction  of  the  English 
Episcopal  Church,  and  the  encouragement 
it  received  from  Governor  Fletcher,  in  1693, 
made  the  new  language  come  rapidly  into 
use.  The  younger  colonists  began  to  urge 
that,  for  a  part  of  the  day  at  least,  English 
should  be  used  in  the  churches ;  or  that 
new  churches  should  be  built  for  those  who 
commonly  spoke  that  tongue.  At  length, 
after  much  opposition  from  some  who 
dreaded  lest,  together  with  the  language  of 
their  fathers,  their  good  old  doctrines,  lit- 
urgy, catechisms,  and  all  should  disappear, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Laidlie,  a  distinguished  Scotch 
minister  who  had  been  settled  in  an  Eng- 
lish Presbyterian  church  at  Flushing,  in 
Holland,  connected  with  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church,  was  invited  to  New- York, 
in  order  to  commence  Divine  service  there 
in  English.  Having  accepted  this  call,  he 
was,  in  1764,  transferred  to  that  city,  and 
in  his  new  charge  his  labours  were  long 
and  greatly  blessed.  From  that  time  the 
Dutch  language  gradually  disappeared,  so 
that  hardly  a  vestige  of  it  now  remains. 

The  population  of  New  Netherlands, 
when  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English, 
is  supposed  to  have  been  about  ten  thou- 
sand, or  half  as  many  as  that  of  New- 
England  at  the  same  date.  There  has  been 
a  slight  emigration  to  it  from  Holland  ever 
since,  too  small,  however,  to  be  regarded 
as  of  any  importance.  But  all  the  emi- 
grants from  Dutch  ports  to  America  were 
not  Hollanders.  The  Reformation  had 
made  the  Dutch  an  independent  nation,  and 
the  long  and  bitter  experience  they  had  had 
of  oppression  led  them  to  offer  an  asylum 
to  the  persecuted  Protestants  of  England, 
Scotland,  France,   Italy,   and   Germany.* 


*  This  has  often  been  made  an  occasion  of  re- 
proach and  ridicule  by  men  of  more  wit  than  grace 
or  sense. 

Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  in  their  "  Maid  of  the  Inn," 
introduce  one  of  their  characters  as  saying, 

"  I  am  a  schoolmaster,  sir,  and  would  faiu 

E 


Among  others  who  thus  came  by  way  of 
Holland  to  America  was  Robert  Living- 
ston, ancestor  of  the  numerous  and  distin- 
guished family  of  that  name  to  be  found  in 
various  parts  of  America,  but  particularly 
in  the  State  of  New-York,  and  son  of  that 
pious  and  celebrated  minister,  the  Rev. 
John  Livingston,  of  Scotland,  who,  after 
being  eminently  blessed  in  his  labours  in 
his  native  country,  was,  in  1663,  driven  by 
persecution  into  Holland,  where  he  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  life  as  minister  of  the 
Scotch  Church  at  Rotterdam. 

Several  causes  retarded  the  progress  of 
religion  among  the  Dutch  colonists  in 
America.  One  was  the  unsettled  state  of 
the  country,  caused  by  actual  or  dreaded 
hostilities  with  the  Indians  ;  another  lay  in 
the  churches  being  long  unnecessarily  de- 
pendant for  their  pastors  on  the  classis,  or 
presbytery,  of  Amsterdam  ;  a  body  which, 
however  well  disposed,  was  at  too  remote 
a  distance  to  exercise  a  proper  judgment 
in  selecting  such  ministers  as  the  circum- 
stances of  the  country  and  the  people  re- 
quired ;  a  third  is  to  be  found  in  the  lateness 
of  the  introduction  of  the  English  tongue 
into  the  public  services  of  the  churches  ;  it 
ought  to  have  occurred  at  least  fifty  years 
sooner. 

Notwithstanding  these  hinderances,  the 
blessed  Gospel  was  widely  and  success- 
fully preached  and  maintained  in  the  colo- 
ny, both  when  under  the  government  of 
Holland  and  afterward.  Its  beneficial  in- 
fluence was  seen  in  the  strict  and  whole- 
some morals  that  characterized  the  com- 
munity, and  in  the  progress  of  education 
among  all  classes,  especially  after  the 
adoption  of  a  more  popular  form  of  govern- 
ment. Many  faithful  pastors  were  either 
sent  over  from  Holland,  or  raised  up  at 
later  periods  in  the  colony,  and  sent  over 
to  Holland  for  instruction  in  theology. 
Among  the  former  I  may  mention  the 
Rev.  T.  J.  Frelinghuysen,  who  came  from 
Holland  in  1720,  and  settled  on  the  Raritan. 
As  an  able,  evangelical,  and  eminently  suc- 
cessful preacher,  he  proved  a  great  bless- 
ing to  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  in 
America.  He  left  five  sons,  all  ministers, 
and  two  daughters,  who  were  married  to 
ministers.*  In  confirmation  of  this  state- 
ment, we  may  add  the  testimony  of  the 


Confer  with  you  about  erecting  four 
New  sects  of  religion  at  Amsterdam."     . 

And  Andrew  Marvell,  in  his  "  Character  of  Hol- 
land," writes  : 

"  Sure,  when  religion  did  itself  embark, 

And  from  the  East  would  westward  steer  its  bark, 

It  struck  ;  and  splitting  on  this  unknown  ground. 

Each  one  thence  pillaged  the  first  piece  he  found. 

Hence  Amsterdam,  Turk,  Christian,  Pagan,  Jew, 

Staple  of  sects,  and  mint  of  schism,  grew  ; 

That  bank  of  conscience,  where  not  one  so  strange 

Opinion,  but  finds  credit  and  exchange. 

In  vain  for  Catholics  ourselves  we  bear  ; 

The  Universal  Church  is  only  there." 

*  Christian  Magazine,  quoted  in  Dr.  Gunn's  Me- 
moirs of  Dr.  Livingston,  p.  87. 


CO 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  IT. 


Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent,  who,  in  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Prince,  of  Boston,  says,  "  The  labours 
of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  a  Dutch  minister, 
were  much  blessed  to  the  people  of  New- 
Brunswick  and  places  adjacent,  especially 
about  the  time  of  his  coming  among  them. 
When  I  came,  which  was  about  seven 
years  after,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
much  of  the  fruits  of  his  ministry :  divers 
of  his  hearers,  with  whom  I  had  opportu- 
nity of  conversing,  appeared  to  be  con- 
verted persons,  by  their  soundness  in  prin- 
ciple, Christian  experience,  and  pious  prac- 
tice ;  and  these  persons  declared  that  his 
ministrations  were  the  means  thereof."* 
Among  the  latter  was  the  late  J.  H.  Liv- 
ingston, D.D.,  who  died  in  1825,  after  being 
for  a  long  time  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished ministers  in  the  United  States. 
On  his  return  from  Holland,  he  was  for 
many  years  a  pastor  in  New- York,  and 
thereafter  divinity  professor  in  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary  of  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church  at  New-Brunswick,  in  the  State  of 
New-Jersey.  He  was  one  of  those  who, 
though  born  to  fill  a  large  space  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church,  yet  spend  their  lives  in 
the  calm  and  unostentatious  discharge  of 
the  duties  of  their  calling.  The  impress  of 
his  labours  and  character  will  long  be  felt 
in  the  Church  of  which  he  was  so  distin- 
guished an  ornament. 

The  descendants  of  the  Dutch  are  nu- 
merous, and  widely  dispersed  in  America. 
They  constitute  a  large  proportion  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  southern  part  of  the  State 
of  New- York  and  eastern  part  of  New- 
Jersey,  besides  forming  a  very  consider- 
able body  in  the  north  and  west  of  the 
former  of  these  states.  But  they  are  to 
be  found  also  in  larger  or  smaller  numbers 
in  all  parts  of  the  confederacy.  Though 
often  made  the  butts  of  ridicule  for  their 
simplicity,!  slowness   of  movement,  and 


*  Prince's  Christian  History.  I  may  add,  that 
the  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  spoken  of  in  the  text  was  the 
ancestor  of  three  brothers  of  the  same  name,  who 
have  adorned  the  profession  of  the  law  in  the  present 
generation,  one  of  whom,  the  Hon.  Theodore  Fre- 
linghuysen, was  for  several  years  a  distinguished 
member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  is 
now  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  New-York. 

t  Their  Yankee  neighbours,  as  the  New-England 
people  are  called,  tell  a  thousand  stories  showing 
the  simplicity  of  the  Dutch.  One  of  the  best  which 
I  have  heard  is  that  respecting  a  wealthy  Dutch 
farmer,  in  the  State  of  New- York,  who  had  erected 
a  church  in  his  neighbourhood  at  his  own  expense, 
and  was  advised  (probably  by  some  very  sensible 
Yankee)  to  attach  a  lightning-rod  to  it.  But  he  re- 
ceived the  suggestion  with  displeasure,  as  if  God 
would  set  fire  to  his  own  house !  Another  is  as  fol- 
lows :  Shortly  after  the  arrival  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Laid- 
lie,  and  the  commencement  of  his  labours,  he  was  thus 
accosted  by  some  excellent  old  people,  at  the  close 
of  a  prayer-meeting  one  evening,  in  which  he  had 
most  fervently  addressed  the  throne  of  grace  :  "  Ah, 
Domine  !  (the  title  which  the  Dutch,  in  their  affec- 
tion, give  to  their  pastors)  we  offered  up  many  an 
earnest  prayer  in  Dutch  for  your  coming  among  us  ; 
and  truly  the  Lord  has  heard  us  in  English,  and  sent 
you  to  us." 


dislike  to  innovation  of  every  kind,  yet, 
taken  as  a  whole,  they  have  been  uniformly 
a  religious  and  virtuous  people,  and  consti- 
tute a  most  valuable  part  of  the  American 
nation.  Some  of  them  have  found  a  place 
among  our  most  illustrious  statesmen. 
Emigrants  from  the  country  of  Grotius  and 
John  De  Witt  have  furnished  one  President 
and  three  Vice-presidents  to  the  Republic 
which  they  have  done  so  much  to  establish 
and  maintain.  They  have  preserved  to 
this  day  the  Church  planted  by  their  fore- 
fathers in  America ;  but  although  a  very 
respectable  part  of  them  still  adhere  to  it, 
a  greater  number  have  joined  the  Episcopal 
Church,  and  many  belong  to  other  denom- 
inations. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

RELIGIOUS    CHARACTER    OF    THE     EARLY    COLO- 
NISTS.  FOUNDERS    OF    NEW-JERSEY. 

Hollanders  from  New  Amsterdam  were 
the  first  European  inhabitants  of  New-Jer- 
sey, and,  during  the  continuance  of  the 
Dutch  dominion  in  America,  it  formed  part 
of  New  Netherlands.  The  first  settlement 
was  at  Bergen,  but  the  plantations  extended 
afterward  to  the  Hackensack,  the  Passaic, 
and  the  Raritan.  It  is  probable  that  a  few 
families  had  settled  even  on  the  Delaware, 
opposite  Newcastle,  before  the  cession  of 
the  country  to  the  English  in  1664. 

But  the  Dutch  were  not  the  only  colonists 
of  New-Jersey.  A  company  of  the  same 
race  of  English  Puritans  that  had  colonized 
New-England  left  the  eastern  end  of  Long 
Island  in  1664,  and  established  themselves 
at  Elizabethtown.  They  must  have  been 
few  in  number,  for  four  houses  only  were 
found  there  the  following  year,  on  the  ar- 
rival of  Philip  Carteret,  as  governor  of  the 
province.  Woodbridge,  Middletown,  and 
Shrewsbury  were  founded  about  the  same 
time  by  settlers  from  Long  Island  and 
Connecticut.  Newark  was  founded  in  1667 
or  1668,  by  a  colony  of  about  thirty  fami- 
lies, chiefly  from  Brandon  in  Connecticut. 

Colonists  from  New-Haven  bought  land 
on  both  sides  of  the  Delaware,  and  fifty 
families  were  sent  to  occupy  it,  but  their 
trading  establishments  were  broken  up,  and 
the  colony  dispersed,  in  consequence  of 
the  Dutch  claiming  the  country.  There 
are  extant  memorials,  however,  in  the  rec- 
ords of  Cumberland  and  Cape  May  coun- 
ties, that  colonies  from  New-England  es- 
tablished themselves  in  these,  not  very  long 
after  the  province  changed  its  masters. 
The  middle  parts  were  gradually  occupied 
by  Dutch  and  New-England  settlers  in  their 
progress  westward,  and  also  by  a  consider- 
able number  of  Scotch  and  Irish  emigrants 
— all  Protestants,  and  most  of  them  Pres- 
byterians. 


Chap.  VII.] 


CHARACTER   OF   THE    EARLY    COLONISTS. 


67 


It  will  be  remembered  that,  by  the  gift  of 
his  brother,  Charles  II.,  the  Duke  of  York 
became  "  Proprietary"  of  all  that  part  of 
America  ceded  by  the  Dutch  to  the  English 
in  1664.  That  same  year  the  duke  sold 
New-Jersey  to  Sir  George  Carteret  and 
Lord  Berkeley,  in  honour  of  the  former  of 
whom  it  took  the  name  that  it  bears  to  this 
day.  They  immediately  appointed  a  gov- 
ernor, and  gave  the  colonists  a  popular  form 
of  government.  The  Legislature,  however, 
soon  became  the  organ  of  popular  disaf- 
fection :  few  were  willing  to  purchase  a 
title  to  the  soil  from  the  Indians,  and  to 
pay  quit-rents  to  the  proprietaries  besides. 
After  some  years  of  severe  struggles  be- 
tween the  colonists  and  their  governors, 
Lord  Berkeley  became  tired  of  the  strife, 
and  in  167-1  sold  the  moiety  of  New- Jer- 
sey to  Quakers  for  £1000,  John  Fenwick 
acting  as  agent  in  the  transaction  for  Ed- 
ward Byllinge  and  his  assigns.  Fenwick 
left  England  the  following  year,  accompa- 
nied by  a  great  many  families  of  that  per- 
secuted sect,  and  formed  the  settlement  of 
Salem,  on  the  Delaware.  Lands  in  West 
Jersey  were  now  offered  for  sale  by  the 
Quaker  company,  and  hundreds  of  colonists 
soon  settled  upon  them.  In  1676  they  ob- 
tained from  Carteret  the  right,  so  far  as  he 
was  concerned,  to  institute  a  government 
of  their  own  in  West  Jersey,  and  proceeded, 
the  year  following,  to  lay  the  groundwork 
in  the  "  Concessions,"  as  their  fundamental 
deed  was  called.  Its  main  feature  was, 
that  "  it  put  the  power  in  the  people." 
Forthwith  great  numbers  of  English  Qua- 
kers flocked  to  West  Jersey,  with  the  view 
of  permanently  settling  there.  A  title  to 
the  lands  was  purchased  from  the  Indians, 
at  a  council  held  under  the  shade  of  the 
forest,  at  the  spot  where  the  town  of  Bur- 
lington now  stands  ;  there  the  tawny  chil- 
dren of  the  wood  conveyed  to  the  men  of 
peace  the  domain  which  they  desired. 
"  You  are  our  brothers,"  said  the  sachems, 
"  and  we  will  live  like  brothers  with  you. 
We  will  make  a  broad  path  for  you  and  us 
to  walk  in.  If  an  Englishman  falls  asleep 
in  this  path,  the  Indian  shall  pass  him  by 
and  say,  He  is  an  Englishman  ;  he  is 
asleep  ;  let  him  alone.  The  path  shall  be 
plain  ;  there  shall  not  be  in  it  a  stump  to 
hurt  the  feet."*  And  they  kept  their  word. 
In  November,  1681,  Jennings,  who  act- 
ed as  governor  for  the  Proprietaries,  con- 
vened the  first  Quaker  Legislature  ever 
known  to  have  met.  The  year  following, 
by  obtaining  the  choice  of  their  own  chief 
ruler,  the  colonists  completed  the  meas- 
ure of  their  self-government.  In  the  year 
following  that,  again,  William  Penn  and 
eleven  others  bought  East  New-Jersey 
from  Carteret's  heirs,  and  from  that  time 
a  Quaker  emigration  set  into  that  division 
of  the  province,  but  never  to  such  a  de- 
*  Smith's  "  History  of  New-Jersey." 


gree  as  to  change  the  general  character 
of  the  inhabitants.  The  population,  upon 
the  whole,  remained  decidedly  Puritan, 
though  combining  the  elements  of  a  Scotch, 
Dutch,  and  New-England  Presbyterianism. 
It  was  much  otherwise  with  West  New- 
Jersey.  With  the  exception  of  a  few 
churches  planted  here  and  there  by  other 
denominations,  and  standing  like  islands 
in  this  sea  of  the  religion  of  George  Fox, 
Salem,  Gloucester,  and  Burlington  coun- 
ties were  peopled  almost  entirely  with 
Quakers,  and  their  religion  flourishes  there 
to  this  day. 

After  about  twelve  years  of  embarrass- 
ment, commencing  with  the  Revolution 
of  1688  in  England,  the  Proprietaries  of 
both  East  and  West  New-Jersey  surren- 
dered "  their  pretended  right  of  govern- 
ment" to  the  British  crown,  and  in  1702, 
both  provinces,  united  into  one,  were  pla- 
ced for  a  time  under  the  Governor  of  New- 
York,  retaining,  however,  their  own  Legis- 
lature. The  population,  notwithstanding 
the  difficulties  and  irritation  caused  by  po- 
litical disputes  intimately  affecting  their 
interests,  steadily  increased.  Taken  as  a 
whole,  few  parts  of  America  have  been 
colonized  by  a  people  more  decidedly  re- 
ligious in  principle,  or  more  intelligent 
and  virtuous ;  and  such,  in  the  main,  are 
their  descendants  at  the  present  day.  No- 
where in  the  United  States  have  the  church- 
es been  supplied  with  a  more  faithful  or 
an  abler  ministry.  New-Jersey  was  the 
scene  of  the  excellent  David  Brainerd's 
labours  among  the  Indians,  during  the  lat- 
ter years  of  his  short  but  useful  life.  There, 
too,  laboured  the  celebrated  William  Ten- 
nent,  and  those  other  faithful  servants  of 
God  in  whose  society  WThitefield  found  so 
much  enjoyment,  and  whose  ministrations 
were  so  much  blessed.  There,  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  eastern  section  of  the  prov- 
ince, many  have  been  witnesses  of  those 
outpourings  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  we 
shall  have  occasion  in  another  place  to 
speak  of.  And,  lastly,  in  New-Jersey  was 
planted  the  fourth,  in  point  of  date,  of  the 
American  colleges,  commonly  called  Nas- 
sau Hall,  but  more  properly  the  College 
of  New-Jersey.  That  college  has  had  for 
its  presidents  some  of  the  greatest  divines 
that  have  ever  lived  in  America,  Dickin- 
son, Burr,  the  elder  Edwards,  Finley,  With- 
erspoon,  Smith,  Green,  &c,  and  it  is  still 
as  flourishing  as  ever,  although  a  sister  in- 
stitution has  arisen  at  New-Brunswick,  to 
co-operate  in  diffusing  blessings  through- 
out the  state.  I  may  add,  that  no  state  in 
the  American  Union  has  more  decidedly 
proved  the  importance  of  having  a  good 
original  population,  nor  has  any  state  done 
more,  in  proportion  to  its  population  and 
resources,  to  sustain  the  honour  and  pro- 
mote the  best  interests  of  the  American 
nation. 


68 


RELIGION  IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


RELIGIOUS    CHARACTER    OF     THE    EARLY    COLO- 
NISTS.  FOUNDERS  OF  DELAWARE,  AT   FIRST 

CALLED    NEW    SWEDEN. 

Though  of  all  the  states  Delaware  has 
the  smallest  population,  and  is  the  least 
but  one  in  territorial  extent,  yet  its  history 
is  far  from  uninteresting.  Fairly  included 
within  the  limits  of  Maryland,  it  never 
submitted  to  the  rule  of  Lord  Baltimore's 
colony  ;  subjected  for  a  time  to  the  domin- 
ion of  the  Quaker  province  of  William 
Penn,  from  that  it  emancipated  itself  in 
time  to  be  justly  ranked  among  the  origi- 
nal Thirteen  States,  which  so  nobly  achiev- 
ed their  independence. 

This  small  province  was  claimed  by  the 
Dutch  in  right  of  discovery,  as  well  as  the 
country  on  the  other  side  of  Delaware 
River  and  Bay  ;  and  in  1631,  a  colony  un- 
der De  Vries  actually  left  the  Texel  for 
the  south  shore  of  that  bay,  and  settled 
near  the  present  site  of  Lewestown,  on 
lands  acquired  the  year  before  by  Godyn 
and  his  associates,  Van  Rensellaer,  Bloe- 
mart,  and  De  Lact.  That  colony,  consisting 
of  above  thirty  souls,  was,  in  the  absence 
of  De  Vries,  utterly  destroyed  by  the  In- 
dians towards  the  close  of  the  following 
year  ;  yet  its  priority  in  point  of  date  saved 
it  from  being  included  in  Lord  Baltimore's 
charter,  and  secured  for  subsequent  set- 
tlers the  benefits  of  a  separate  colony  and 
independent  state.  Before,  however,  it 
could  be  rescued  from  the  Indians,  and  col- 
onized a  second  time  by  the  Dutch,  it  fell 
to  the  possession  of  a  Scandinavian  prince. 

Gustavus  Adolphus,  justly  pronounced 
the  most  accomplished  prince  of  modern 
times,  and  the  greatest  benefactor  of  hu- 
manity in  the  line  of  Swedish  kings,  had 
■early  comprehended  the  advantages  of  for- 
eign commerce  and  distant  colonization. 
Accordingly,  in  1626,  he  instituted  a  com- 
mercial company,  with  exclusive  privile- 
ges to  trade  beyond  the  Straits  of  Gibral- 
tar, and  with  the  right  of  planting  colonies. 
The  stock  was  open  to  all  Europe.  The 
king  himself  pledged  400,000  dollars  from 
the  royal  treasury  ;  the  chief  seat  of  busi- 
ness was  Gottenburg,  the  second  city  in 
the  kingdom,  and  the  best  situated  for  com- 
merce in  the  open  seas.  The  government 
of  the  future  colonies  was  committed  to 
a  royal  council,  and  emigrants  were  to  be 
invited  from  all  Europe.  The  New  World 
was  described  as  a  paradise,  and  the  hope 
of  better  fortunes  on  its  distant  shores  was 
strongly  excited  in  the  Scandinavian  mind. 
The  colony  proposed  to  be  planted  there 
was  to  be  a  place  where  "  the  honour  of  the 
wives  and  daughters"  of  those  whom  wars 
and  bigotry  had  made  fugitives  might  be 
safe  ;  a  blessing  to  the  "  common  man,"  as 
well  as  to  the  "  whole  Protestant  world."* 

*  Argonautica  Gustaviana,  p.  11,  16. 


As  opening  an  asylum  for  persecuted  Prot- 
estants of  all  nations,  the  projeci  was  well 
worthy  of  the  great  champion  of  Protest- 
ant rights. 

But  Gustavus  Adolphus  did  not  live  to 
carry  his  favourite  scheme  into  effect. 
When  the  Protestant  princes  of  Germany 
were  compelled  to  defend  their  violated 
religious  privileges  by  taking  up  arms 
against  the  emperor,  they  made  the  first 
offer  of  the  command  of  their  armies  to 
Christian  IV.,  of  Denmark  ;  but  that  prince 
proving  unequal  to  the  task,  they  turned 
their  regards  to  the  youthful  King  of  Swe- 
den, who  hesitated  not  to  accept  their 
summons.  Crossing  the  Baltic  with  his 
small  army  of  15,000  faithful  Swedes, 
Finns,  and  Scotch,  he  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  confederate  troops,  and  with- 
in eighteen  months  gained  the  series  of 
splendid  victories  that  have  placed  him  in 
the  highest  rank  of  warrior-princes.  Hav- 
ing driven  the  imperial  troops  from  the 
walls  of  Leipsic  to  the  southern  extremity 
of  Germany,  he  fell  at  last  on  the  plains 
of  Liitzen,  on  the  16th  of  October,  1632, 
victory  even  there  crowning  his  efforts, 
while  his  body,  covered  with  wounds,  lay 
undistinguished  among  the  slain.  Yet 
even  the  toils  and  horrors  of  that  war 
could  not  make  the  brave  young  monarch 
forget  his  favourite  project.  A  few  days 
before  that  last  fatal  battle,  where  it  has 
been  beautifully  said  that  "humanity  won 
one  of  her  most  glorious  victories,  and  lost 
one  of  her  ablest  defenders,"  he  recom- 
mended to  the  people  of  Germany  the  co- 
lonial project,  which  he  still  continued  to 
regard  as  "  the  jewel  of  his  kingdom."* 

The  enterprise,  however,  which  his  pre- 
mature death  prevented  Gustavus  Adol- 
phus from  carrying  into  effect,  fell  into 
the  hands  of  his  minister  Oxenstiern,  the 
ablest  statesman  of  that  age.  Emigrants 
for  Delaware  Bay,  furnished  with  provis- 
ions for  themselves,  and  with  merchandise 
for  traffic  with  the  Indians,  accompanied 
also  by  a  religious  teacher,  left  Sweden  in 
1638,  in  two  ships,  the  Key  of  Calmar  and 
the  Griffin.  Upon  their  arrival,  they  bought 
the  lands  on  the  Delaware  from  its  mouth 
up  to  the  falls  where  Trenton  now  stands  ; 
and  near  the  mouth  of  Christiana  Creek 
they  built  a  fort,  to  which  they  gave  that 
name,  in  honour  of  their  youthful  queen. 
Tidings  of  their  safe  arrival,  and  encour- 
aging accounts  of  the  country,  were  soon 
carried  back  to  Scandinavia,  and  naturally 
inspired  many  of  the  peasantry  of  Sweden 
and  Finland  with  a  wish  to  exchange  their 
rocky,  unproductive  soil  for  the  banks  of 
the  Delaware.  More  bands  of  emigrants 
soon  went  thither,  and  many  who  would 
fain  have  gone  were  prevented  only  by 
the  difficulty  of  finding  a  passage.      The 


*  Bancroft's  "History  of  the  United  States,"  voL 
ii.,  p.  285. 


Chap.  IX] 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  EARLY    COLONISTS. 


69 


plantations  gradually  extended  along  the 
Delaware,  from  the  site  of  Wilmington  to 
that  of  Philadelphia.  A  fort  constructed 
of  huge  hemlock  logs,  on  an  island  a  few 
miles  below  Philadelphia,  defended  the 
Swedish  settlements,  and  became  the  head- 
quarters of  Printz,  their  governor.  The 
whole  country,  as  above  described,  was 
called  New  Sweden,  and  the  few  families 
of  emigrants  from  New-England  that  hap- 
pened to  be  within  its  boundaries,  either 
submitted  to  the  Swedish  government,  or 
lse  withdrew  and  established  themselves 
elsewhere. 

Meanwhile  the  Dutch  reasserted  their 
old  claims  to  the  country,  planted  a  fort 
at  Newcastle,  and  ultimately  reduced  New 
Sweden  under  their  dominion  by  means  of 
an  expedition  of  six  hundred  men,  under 
the  famous  Peter  Stuyvesant,  governor  of 
New  Netherlands.  Thus  terminated,  in 
1655,  the  power  of  Sweden  on  the  Ameri- 
can continent,  after  it  had  lasted  above 
seventeen  years.  The  Swedish  colonists, 
probably,  did  not  much  exceed  seven  hun- 
dred, and  as  their  descendants,  in  the 
course  of  some  generations,  became  wide- 
ly scattered,  and  blended  with  emigrants 
of  a  different  lineage,  they  are  supposed 
to  constitute  one  part  in  200  of  the  pres- 
ent population  of  the  United  States.* 

Interesting  as  this  colony  is  from  its 
early  history,  it  becomes  still  more  so  be- 
cause of  its  practical  worth.  The  colo- 
nists were  invariably  amiable  and  peace- 
able in  their  deportment ;  they  maintained 
the  best  terms  with  the  Indians ;  they 
were  frugal  and  industrious  ;  they  were 
attentive  to  the  education  of  their  children, 
notwithstanding  the  want  of  schools  and 
the  difficulty  of  procuring  books  in  their 
mother  tongue  ;  and,  above  all,  they  were 
careful  in  upholding  religious  institutions 
and  ordinances.  Lutherans,  as  their  kin- 
dred in  Sweden  are  to  this  day,  they  long 
preserved  their  national  liturgy  and  disci- 
pline, besides  keeping  up  a  most  affection- 
ate intercourse  with  the  churches  in  their 
mother-country ;  and  from  these  they  often 
received  aid  in  Bibles  and  other  religious 
books,  as  well  as  in  money.  Having  es- 
tablished themselves  in  the  southern  sub- 
urbs of  Philadelphia,  previously  to  the  colo- 
nization of  Pennsylvania  by  William  Penn, 
they  have  always  had  a  church  there, 
known  as  the  "  Swedes'  Church"  to  this 
day,  and  which,  with  two  or  three  more  in 
Delaware  and  Pennsylvania,  now  belongs 
to  the  Protestant  Episcopal  communion. 
The  late  Dr.  Colin  was  the  last  of  the  long 
line  of  Swedish  pastors. 

Taken  possession  of  by  the  Dutch  in 
1655,  New  Sweden  was,  nine  years  after 
that,  ceded  by  them  to  the  English.  It 
was  then  placed  for  some  time  under  the 


Bancroft's  "  History  of  the  United  States/ 


administration  of  the  Governor  of  New- 
York  ;  was  afterward  attached  to  Penn- 
sylvania, but  ultimately  became  first  a 
separate  colony,  and  then  an  independent 
state.  Meanwhile,  its  population,  composed 
of  the  descendants  of  Swedes,  of  Quakers 
who  accompanied  William  Penn,  of  set- 
tlers from  New-England,  and  of  Scotch, 
Irish,  and  a  few  emigrants  from  other 
parts  of  Europe,  steadily  increased.  Re- 
ligion has  ever  had  a  happy,  and  not  an  in- 
considerable influence,  in  this  little  com- 
monwealth. It  would,  no  doubt,  have  been 
greater  still  had  slavery  never  existed  in 
it.  But  though  Delaware  is  a  slavehold- 
ing  state,  it  scarcely  deserves  the  name, 
from  the  number  of  slaves  being  so  small. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

RELIGIOUS    CHARACTER    OF     THE    EARLY    COLO- 
NISTS.  FOUNDERS    OF    PENNSYLVANIA. 

The  history  of  William  Penn,  the  Qua- 
ker philosopher  and  lawgiver,  is  very  gen- 
erally known.  The  son  of  a  distinguished 
English  admiral,  heir  to  a  fortune  consid- 
ered large  in  those  days,  accustomed  from 
his  youth  to  mingle  in  the  highest  circles, 
educated  at  the  University  of  Oxford,  rich 
in  the  experience  and  observation  of  man- 
kind acquired  by  much  travel,  and  versed 
in  his  country's  laws,  he  seemed  fitted  for 
a  very  different  course  from  that  which  he 
considered  to  be  marked  out  for  him  in  af- 
ter life.  He  inherited  from  his  parents  a 
rooted  aversion  to  the  despotism  of  a  hie- 
rarchy, and  having,  when  a  student  at  Ox- 
ford, ventured  to  attend  the  preaching  of 
George  Fox,  he  was  for  this  offence  ex- 
pelled from  the  university.  After  his  ex- 
pulsion, from  a  desire  to  make  himself  ac- 
quainted with  the  doctrines  and  spirit  of 
the  French  Reformed  churches,  he  spent 
some  time  at  Saumur,  one  of  their  chief 
seats  of  learning,  and  there  he  attended 
the  prelections  of  the  gifted  and  benevo- 
lent A  myrault.  From  that  time  he  return- 
ed to  England,  and  in  1666  visited  Ire- 
land, where  he  heard  Thomas  Loe  preach 
on  "  the  faith  that  overcomes  the  world," 
whereupon  he  was  immediately  filled  with 
peace,  and  decided  upon  following  out  his 
future  plans  of  benevolence.  In  the  au- 
tumn of  that  year  he  was  imprisoned  for 
conscience'  sake.  "  Religion,"  said  he  to 
the  Irish  viceroy,  "  is  my  crime  and  my 
innocence  ;  it  makes  me  a  prisoner  to  mal- 
ice, but  my  own  free  man."  On  returning 
to  England,  he  became  the  butt  of  unmeas- 
ured ridicule  from  the  witlings  of  the  court, 
which  was  that  of  one  of  the  most  disso- 
lute monarchs  that  ever  lived.  Driven 
penniless  from  his  father's  house,  he  found 
compassion  where  it  takes  up  its  last 
abode,  if  it  ever  leaves  this  world,  in  a 


70 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


mother's  heart.  Her  bounty  kept  him  above 
want,  while  he  was  preparing,  in  God's 
providence,  to  become  an  author,  and  a 
preacher  of  the  doctrines  of  peace  to  prin- 
ces, priests,  and  people.  Experience  of 
persecution  had  prepared  him  for  the  great 
mission  of  succouring  those  who  suffer 
from  the  same  cause.    He  could  truly  say, 

"  Haud  ignarus  mali  miseris  succurrere  disco." 

He  had  become  a  member  of  the  ever- 
"  suffering  kingdom"  of  righteousness. 

William  Penn's  personal  interests,'  in  the 
course  of  Providence,  coincided  with  his 
benevolent  views  in  leading  him  to  think 
of  founding  the  colony  to  which  he  at 
length  so  assiduously  devoted  himself.  His 
father  having  a  large  sum  due  to  him  from 
the  crown,  this  not  very  hopeful  debt  he  left 
as  a  legacy  to  his  son.  But  the  son  pro- 
posed to  his  royal  debtor  an  easy  mode  of 
paying  it :  the  king  had  only  to  make  him 
a  grant  of  waste  land  in  the  New  World  ; 
and  the  suggestion  was  favourably  receiv- 
ed, for  the  profuse  and  profligate  Charles 
II.  had  been  his  father's  friend.  On  the 
5th  of  March,  1681,  he  received  a  title  to  a 
territory  which  was  to  extend  from  the 
Delaware  River  five  degrees  of  longitude 
westward,  and  from  the  39°  to  the  42°  N. 
latitude.  The  whole  of  this,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  previous  grants,  of  no 
great  extent,  made  by  the  Duke  of  York, 
was  to  be  his  ;  and  thus  all  that  remained 
of  the  territory  claimed  by  the  Dutch,  but 
which  they  had  been  compelled  to  cede  to 
the  English,  became  not  a  place  of  refuge 
merely,  but  the  absolute  property  and  sure 
abode  of  a  sect  which  had  probably  been 
loaded  with  as  much  contempt  and  ridicule 
as  had  ever  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  portion 
of  the  human  race.  Their  peculiar  dress 
and  modes  of  speech,  no  doubt,  so  far  invi- 
ted this  treatment,  while  their  principles 
secured  impunity  to  such  as  meanly  chose 
to  attack  with  such  weapons  what  they 
deemed  absurdity  and  fanaticism. 

Nor  was  it  only  for  the  persecuted 
"  Friends"  in  England  that  William  Penn 
founded  his  colony  ;  it  was  to  be  open  also 
to  members  of  the  same  society  in  Ameri- 
ca. Incredible  as  it  may  appear,  they 
were  persecuted  in  New-England  by  the 
very  men  who  themselves  had  been  driven 
thither  by  persecution.  Twelve  Quakers 
were  banished  from  Massachusetts  by  or- 
der of  the  General  Court  in  1C56,  and  four 
of  these,  who  had  returned,  were  actually 
executed  in  1669.  That  same  year  an  act 
was  passed  by  the  Legislature  of  Virginia, 
to  the  effect  "  that  any  commander  of  any 
shipp,  or  vessell,  bringing  into  the  collonie 
any  person  or  persons  called  Quakers,  is 
to  be  fined  £100 ;  and  all  Quakers  appre- 
hended in  the  collonie  are  to  be  imprisoned 
till  they  abjure  this  countrie,  or  give  secu- 
ritie  to  depart  from  it  forthwith.     If  they 


return  a  third  time,  they  are  to  be  punished 
as  felons."* 

After  making  all  necessary  arrange- 
ments, Penn  left  England  for  his  ample 
domain  in  America,  and  arrived  there  on 
the  27th  of  October,  1682.  Having  landed 
at  Newcastle,  he  went  from  that  to  Ches- 
ter, and  thence,  by  boat,  up  the  Delaware, 
to  the  spot  where  now  stands  the  city  of 
Philadelphia.  His  first  care  was  to  ac- 
quire, by  fair  purchase,  a  title  from  the  In- 
dians to  as  much  land,  at  least,  as  might 
be  required  for  his  projected  colony,  and 
this  transaction  took  place  at  a  famous 
council,  held  under  a  large  elm-tree  at 
Shakamaxon,  on  the  northern  edge  of 
Philadelphia.  There  the  hearts  of  the 
congregated  chiefs  of  the  Algonquin  race 
were  captivated  by  the  simplicity  and  sin- 
cerity of  Penn's  manners,  and  by  the  lan- 
guage of  Christian  affection  in  which  he 
addressed  them.  "  We  will  live,"  said 
they,  in  reply  to  his  proposals,  "  in  love 
with  William  Penn  and  his  children,  and 
with  his  children's  children,  as  long  as  the 
moon  and  sun  endure." 

The  year  following  was  devoted  by  the 
philosopher  to  the  founding  of  a  city,  to  be 
called  Philadelphia,  between  the  Delaware 
and  the  Schuylkill  Rivers,  and  to  the  estab- 
lishing of  a  government  for  his  people. 
Hardly  could  a  pleasanter  situation  have 
anywhere  been  found  than  that  which  he 
selected  for  his  capital,  which  was  destined 
to  become  one  of  the  largest  and  finest 
cities  in  America,  and  to  be  the  birthplace 
of  national  independence,  and  where  union 
among  the  liberated  colonies  was  to  be  se- 
cured by  the  framing  of  a  Federal  Consti- 
tution for  the  whole.  Nothing  could  have 
been  more  popular  than  the  constitution 
laid  down  for  his  own  colony,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  his  veto  as  Proprietary — which 
he  could  hardly  have  abandoned — and  an 
acknowledgment  of  the  supremacy  of  the 
English  crown  and  government.  Council, 
assembly,  judges,  and  petty  magistrates — 
all  were  to  be  appointed  by  the  colonists 
themselves. 

The  first  emigrants  to  Pennsylvania 
were,  for  the  most  part,  Quakers ;  but 
the  principle  of  unlimited  toleration,  upon 
which  it  was  established,  made  it  a  resort 
for  people  of  all  creeds  and  of  none. 
Swedes,  Dutch,  and  New-Englanders  had 
previously  established  themselves  within 
its  limits,  and  not  many  years  had  elapsed 
Avhen  the  Quakers,  whom  Penn  had  spe- 
cially contemplated  as  the  future  citizens 
of  his  colony,  were  found  to  be  a  minority 
among  the  inhabitants.  This,  however,  has 
not  marred  the  harmony  and  tranquillity  of 
the  province.  No  act  of  persecution  or  in- 
tolerance has  ever  disgraced  its  statute- 
book.     The  rights  of  the  Indians  were  al- 

*  Herring's  Collection  of  the  Laws  of  Virginia. 


€hap.  XI.] 


CHARACTER   OF   THE    EARLY   COLONISTS. 


71 


ways  respected  ;  their  friendship  was  hard- 
ly ever  interrupted. 

Friends'  meeting-houses,  and  churches 
of  other  denominations,  soon  increased 
with  the  population,  which  spread  by  de- 
grees into  the  interior,  and  reached  the 
most  western  limits  of  the  colony  within 
a  century  from  its  commencement. 

It  were  superfluous  in  me  to  pronounce 
any  eulogium  on  the  morality  of  the  Qua- 
kers. The  foundations  of  the  colony  of 
William  Penn  were  laid  in  the  religion  of 
the  Bible,  and  to  the  blessed  influence  of 
that  religion  it  is  unquestionably  indebted 
for  much  of  the  remarkable  prosperity 
which  it  has  enjoyed.  But  the  Quaker 
population  now  forms  only  a  small  minor- 
ity in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  especially 
in  its  central  and  western  parts.  I  shall 
yet  have  occasion  to  show  what  was  the 
religious  character  of  the  emigrants  who 
constituted  the  early  population  of  those 
parts. 

Thus  have  I  completed  the  notice  of  the 
religious  character  of  all  the  original  colo- 
nies, which,  by  settling  on  the  Atlantic 
slope,  may  be  said  to  have  founded  the 
nation,  by  founding  its  civil  and  religious 
institutions ;  or,  rather,  I  should  say,  I  have 
spoken  of  the  colonies  that  had  territorial 
limits  as  such,  and  were  established  under 
charters  from  the  crown  of  England.  I 
have  spoken  of  the  bases  —  the  lowest 
strata,  so  to  speak — of  the  colonization  of 
the  United  States.  I  have  yet  to  speak  of 
the  superadded  colonies,  which  dispersed 
themselves  over  the  others,  without  hav- 
ing any  territorial  limits  marked  out  to 
them  by  charters,  but  which  settled  here 
or  there  as  individuals  or  groups  might 
prefer.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  secondary, 
but  still  early  colonization,  exerted  an  im- 
mense influence  upon  the  religious  char- 
acter of  the  country,  and  in  many  cases, 
through  the  wonderful  providence  of  God, 
supplied  what  was  wanting  in  the  religious 
condition  of  the  primary  or  territorial  col- 
onization. 

CHAPTER  X. 

BELIGIOUS    CHARACTER    OF    THE     EARLY    COLO- 
NISTS.  EMIGRANTS    FROM    WALES. 

Presbyterianism  is  said  to  have  had 
many  zealous  adherents  in  Wales  in  the 
time  of  the  Commonwealth,  or  from  1648 
to  1660 ;  and  when  the  Restoration  came, 
many  Welsh  Presbyterians,  including  both 
pastors  and  people,  sought  a  refuge  from 
the  persecution  that  ensued  by  emigrating 
to  America.  On  reaching  the  New  World, 
many  of  these  wandered  over  the  country, 
and  were  glad  to  avail  themselves  of  a 
resting-place  wherever  it  could  be  found. 
But  a  natural  predilection  for  their  own 
people,  language,  and  customs,  led  others 
to  keep  together  and  settle  on  the  same 


spots  ;  a  course  almost  indispensable  in 
the  case  of  those  who  could  neither  under- 
stand nor  speak  English.  Hence  we  find 
that  towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
century  no  fewer  than  six  townships  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Schuylkill  were  in  the 
occupation  of  Welsh  colonists.* 

The  success  of  those  earlier  emigra- 
tions led  to  a  steady  and  even  copious 
transference  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Prin- 
cipality to  America,  long  after  open  perse- 
cution had  ceased  to  drive  them  from  their 
native  hills  and  valleys.  About  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  century  a  colony  from 
Wales  settled  in  the  mountains  of  Penn- 
sylvania, on  a  large  tract  of  land  which 
they  had  bought  before  they  left  home,  and 
gave  the  name  Cambria,  the  ancient  ap- 
pellation of  Wales,  to  a  whole  county. 
A  pretty  large  part  of  their  settlement  lies 
on  a  kind  of  table-land,  in  the  centre  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains,  and  the  chief  villa- 
ges are  Armagh  and  Ebensburg,  the  lat- 
ter of  which  is  the  seat  of  justice  for  the 
county.  Two  or  three  faithful  pastors  ac- 
companied them  from  Wales,  and  to  this 
day,  I  believe,  they  conduct  their  religious 
services  in  Welsh.  There  are  several 
congregations,  likewise,  of  Welsh  Baptists 
in  the  State  of  New- York,  and  throughout 
the  United  States  not  fewer  than  twenty- 
five  churches  of  Calvinistic  Welsh  Meth- 
odists. 

I  have  no  means  of  knowing  how  ex- 
tensive the  emigrations  from  Wales,  from 
first  to  last,  have  been ;  doubtless  they 
have  been  far  from  unimportant  in  point 
of  numbers.  What,  however,  is  of  most 
consequence  is,  that  they  have  been  good  in 
point  of  character,  and  have  already  given 
to  America  many  distinguished  men.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Davies,  of  whom  I  shall  have 
some  notice  to  give  hereafter,  probably 
the  most  eloquent  preacher  in  America  in. 
his  day,  and,  at  his  death,  president  of  the 
College  of  New-Jersey,  was,  if  I  mistake 
not,  of  Welsh  ancestry.  The  Morris  fam- 
ily, so  numerous,  and  in  many  of  its  mem- 
bers so  distinguished,  is  of  Welsh  origin. 
So,  also,  are  the  Morgans.  Besides  these, 
we  find  many  persons  of  the  name  of 
Jones,  Owen,  Griffiths,  Evans,  &c,  all  of 
Welsh  descent,  several  of  whom  have  ris- 
en to  eminence  in  the  Church  and  State. 
I  may  add  that  Roger  Williams,  the  found- 
er of  Rhode  Island,  whom  I  have  had  oc- 
casion already  to  notice,  was  a  native  of 
Wales. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

RELIGIOUS     CHARACTER    OF     THE    EARLY    COLO 

NISTS  OF  AMERICA. EMIGRANTS  FROM  SCOT 

LAND    AND    IRELAND. 

Next  to   the  Puritans  of  England  we 


Proud's  "  History  of  Pennsylvania,"  vol.  i.,  p.  221. 


72 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  H. 


must  unquestionably  rank  the  Scotch,  as 
having  largely  contributed  to  form  the  re- 
ligious character  of  the  United  States.  A 
few  words,  then,  as  to  the  causes  that 
have,  at  different  times,  led  so  many  of 
the  natives  of  Scotland  to  pass  over  to 
America,  will  not  be  out  of  place,  and  will 
prepare  the  reader  for  the  remarks  to  be 
made  on  the  religious  character  of  emi- 
grants from  that  part  of  the  united  king- 
dom. 

James  I.,  before  he  left  Scotland,  when 
called  to  the  throne  of  England  in  1G03,  as- 
sured his  countrymen  of  his  love  to  their 
Church,  and  of  his  determination  to  sup- 
port it ;  but  no  sooner  had  he  crossed  the 
Tweed  than  he  manifested  a  predilection 
for  Prelacy,  and  a  decided  aversion  to 
Presbyter}-,  as  being  of  an  essentially  re- 
publican tendency.  Flattered  and  caress- 
ed by  the  aged  Whitgift,  by  Bancroft,  and 
other  bishops,  he  soon  learned  to  hate  the 
Presbyterians  of  Scotland,  as  well  as  to 
despise  the  Puritans  of  England  ;  nor  was 
it  long  before  he  showed  a  fixed  purpose 
to  change,  if  possible,  the  ecclesiastical 
government  of  his  northern  kingdom,  not- 
withstanding that  prudence  and  natural 
timidity  deterred  him  from  abrupt  meas- 
ures. 

It  was  otherwise  with  his  unfortunate 
son.  Charles  I.  resolved  to  snatch  at  re- 
sults to  which  caution  and  cunning  might. 
in  time,  have  conducted  his  arbitrary,  but 
timid  father.  He  began  with  ordering  the 
publication  of  a  Book  of  Canons,  essential- 
ly altering  the  constitution  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  and  these  he  tried  to  enforce 
by  his  own  authority.  He  next  caused  a 
liturgy  to  be  drawn  up  and  published,  cop- 
ied, in  a  great  measure,  from  that  of  the 
Church  of  England,  but  brought  by  Laud 
into  a  closer  agreement  with  the  Romish 
Missal  ;  and  this  he  commanded  all  the 
Scotch  ministers  to  use  on  pain  of  suspen- 
sion. These  proceedings  led,  at  last,  to 
open  resistance  on  political  as  well  as  re- 
ligious grounds ;  for  they  involved  an  as- 
sumption of  powers  denied  to  the  king  by 
the  Scottish  Constitution,  and  it  was  seen 
and  felt  that  if  he  could  introduce  the  Eng- 
lish Liturgy,  he  might,  at  some  future  time, 
force  upon  them  the  Romish  Mass.  The 
wrong  attempted  in  Scotland  roused  the 
sympathy  of  England,  and  the  upshot  was, 
as  Hallam  remarks,  "  the  liberties  of  Eng- 
land were  preserved,  but  her  monarchy 
was  overthrown." 

But  Charles  II.  behaved  a  great  deal 
worse  than  his  father  had  done.  When 
that  father  was  beheaded  the  son  was  a 
friendless  fugitive.  The  Scotch  offered  to 
receive  him  as  their  king,  and  to  assist 
him  in  recovering  the  throne  of  England, 
on  his  pledging  himself,  by  oath,  to  main- 
tain their  Presbyterian  form  of  Church 
government.     This  he  engaged  to  do,  and, 


on  his  arriving  among  them,  he  subscribed 
the  Covenant.  The  Scotch,  thereupon, 
took  up  arms  in  his  cause,  but  were  de- 
feated by  Cromwell,  so  that  Charles  was 
driven  a  second  time  to  the  Continent. 
When  restored,  in  1660,  to  the  crown  of 
England,  he  voluntarily  renewed  his  for- 
mer promise  to  the  Scotch,  to  whom  he 
was  greatly  indebted  for  his  restoration  ; 
but  no  sooner  was  he  seated  on  the  throne 
than  his  oaths  and  promises  were  all  for- 
gotten. Presbyterianism  was  almost  im- 
mediately abolished,  and  Episcopacy  es- 
tablished in  Scotland  ;  and  that,  too,  in  the 
most  repulsive  form.  The  bishops  were 
invested  by  royal  mandate  with  the  ut- 
most plenitude  of  prelatical  power,  and 
a  new  law  forbade  speaking  against  the 
king's  ecclesiastical  supremacy,  or  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Church  by  bishops  and 
archbishops.  A  court  of  High  Commis- 
sion, partly  composed  of  prelates,  and  arm- 
ed with  inquisitorial  powers,  was  set  upr 
and  was  followed  by  scenes  of  persecu- 
tion and  oppression,  unparalleled  except 
by  the  worst  doings  of  Rome.  Numbers 
of  learned  and  pious  ministers  were  eject- 
ed, and  though  their  places  were  filled,  for 
the  most  part,  by  ignorant  and  ungodly 
men,*  the  people  were  compelled,  under 


*  The  author  would  not  be  understood,  for  a  mo- 
ment, to  place  in  the  same  category  all  the  prelates, 
and  all  the  parish  clergy,  introduced  into  the  Scot- 
tish Established  Church  by  the  measures  mentioned 
in  the  text.  He  is  well  aware  that  among  the  for- 
mer there  was  a  Robert  Leighton,  who  was  forced, 
however,  by  the  atrocities  of  his  associates,  to  relin- 
quish an  office  which  his  gentle  spirit  would  no 
longer  suffer  him  to  hold,  and  a  Henry  Scougal 
among  the  latter.  Such  beautiful  characters  were 
enough  to  redeem,  if  that  were  possible,  the  worth- 
lessness  of  a  whole  generation,  composed  of  such 
men  as  the  greater  number  of  the  intruded  clergy 
are  known  to  have  been.  The  author  could  not 
avoid  referring  to  the  arbitrary  principles  and  horri- 
ble cruelties  of  the  Scottish  prelates,  and  of  the 
statesmen  who  patronised  them,  and  he  has  not  done 
so  with  the  intention  of  casting  odium  on  Episco- 
pacy in  general ;  the  odium  being  due  to  the  men 
and  their  principles,  not  to  their  office.  Should  it 
be  supposed  that  stronger  terms  than  the  truth  of 
history  will  warrant  have  been  employed  in  speak- 
ing of  those  men  and  their  doings,  let  the  reader 
consult  Burnet's  "  History  of  his  own  Times ;''  Dr. 
Cook's  "  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  ;"  or  Mr. 
Hallam's  "  Constitutional  History  of  England."  Let 
two  short  extracts  from  the  last  of  these  authorities 
suffice  : 

"  The  enormities  of  this  detestable  government 
are  far  too  numerous,  even  in  species,  to  be  enu- 
merated in  this  slight  sketch,  and,  of  course,  most 
instances  of  cruelty  have  not  been  recorded.  The 
privy  council  was  accustomed  to  extort  confessions 
by  torture  ;  that  grim  divan  of  bishops,  lawyers,  and 
peers,  sucking  the  groans  of  each  undaunted  enthu- 
siast, in  the  hope  that  some  imperfect  avowal  might 
lead  to  the  sacrifice  of  other  victims,  or  at  least  war- 
rant the  execution  of  the  present."  And  again  :  "It 
was  very  possible  that  Episcopacy  might  be  of  apos- 
tolical institution  ;  but  for  this  institution  houses 
had  been  burned  and  fields  laid  waste,  and  the  Gos- 
pel had  been  preached  in  the  wilderness,  and  its 
ministers  had  been  shot  in  their  prayers,  and  hus- 
bands had  been  murdered  before  their  wives,  and 


CHAP.  XI.] 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  EARLY  COLONISTS. 


73 


severe  penalties,  to  attend  their  worthless 
ministrations.  The  ejected  ministers  were 
not  allowed  to  preach,  even  in  the  fields, 
under  pain  of  death.  They  might  pray  in 
their  own  houses,  but  none  of  their  neigh- 
bours were  allowed  to  attend.  Even  the 
nearest  relations  were  forbidden  to  afford 
shelter  to  the  denounced,  or  in  any  way  to 
succour  them.  All  land-owners  were  re- 
quired to  give  bonds  that  neither  they  nor 
their  dependants  should  attend  "  conven- 
ticles," as  the  forbidden  meetings  were 
called.  The  laws  were  enforced  by  muti- 
lation, torture,  fines,  imprisonment,  ban- 
ishment, and  death.  Soldiers  were  quar- 
tered upon  defenceless  families,  and  allow- 
ed to  harass  them  as  they  pleased ;  men 
were  hunted  down  like  wild  beasts,  and 
shot  or  gibbeted  upon  the  highways ;  and 
this  dreadful  state  of-  things  lasted  nearly 
thirty  years,  for  the  sole  object  of  forcing 
upon  the  Scotch  a  form  of  Church  gov- 
ernment which  they  conscientiously  dis- 
liked. Can  we  wonder  that  the  Scotch 
Presbyterians  of  that  day  detested  Prel- 
acy, as  not  the  occasion  only,  but  the  cause 
of  their  sufferings  \  In  their  experience  it 
was  identified  with  despotism,  superstition, 
and  irreligion,  whereas  Presbyterianism 
was  associated  with  the  love  of  liberty  and 
Truth.  The  Scottish  Parliament  being 
then  so  constituted  and  regulated  as  to  be 
a  very  imperfect  exponent  of  the  will,  and 
a  very  feeble  advocate  of  the  rights  of  the 
nation,  it  was  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Church,  therefore,  which  the  people  re- 
garded as  the  best  guardian  of  their  dear- 
est interests  and  privileges.  In  the  sup- 
pression of  free  Assemblies,  the  body  of 
the  nation  probably  felt  themselves  more 
grievously  wronged  than  had  Parliament 
itself  been  suppressed  ;  and  such,  upon  the 
whole,  was  the  state  of  the  law,  and  the 
oppressive  maimer  in  which  it  was  admin- 
istered, that  none  can  reasonably  wonder 
that  the  most  loyal  people  to  be  found  any- 
where should  have  attempted  to  rid  them- 
selves of  their  oppressors  by  rising  against 
them.  The  attempts  of  this  kind,  how- 
ever, whether  made  in  England  or  Scot- 
land, led  only  to  the  sacrifice  of  some  val- 
uable lives  ;  nor  was  it  until  by  the  Revo- 
lution of  1688,  so  bloodless,  yet  so  com- 
plete, that  the  Stuarts  were  again  removed 
from  the  throne,  and  a  better  era  dawned 
upon  both  kingdoms. 


virgins  had  been  defiled,  and  many  had  died  by  the 
executioner,  and  by  massacre,  and  in  imprisonment, 
and  in  exile,  and  slavery  ;  and  women  had  been  tied 
to  stakes  on  the  seashore  till  the  tide  rose  to  over- 
flow them,  and  some  had  been  tortured  and  mutila- 
ted ;  it  was  a  religion  of  the  boots  and  the  thumb- 
screw, which  a  good  man  must  be  very  cold-blooded 
indeed  if  he  did  not  hate,  and  reject  from  the  hands 
which  offered  it.  For,  after  all,  it  is  much  more  cer- 
tain that  the  Supreme  Being  abhors  cruelty  and 
persecution,  than  that  he  has  set  up  bishops  to  have 
superiority  over  presbyters." — Const.  Hist.,  vol.  iii., 
p.  435,  442. 


Such  was  the  severity,  however,  of  the 
nation's  griefs  while  they  lasted,  that  it 
seems  strange  that  the  Scotch  Presbyteri- 
ans did  not  abandon  their  country  en  masse. 
But  they  were  withheld  by  the  hope  of 
better  times — a  hope  that  even  sometimes 
arrested  plans  of  extensive  emigration. 
Thus,  after  a  company  of  thirty-six  noble- 
men and  gentlemen  had  contracted  for  a 
large  tract  of  land  in  the  Carolinas,  as  an 
asylum  for  their  persecuted  countrymen, 
the  project  was  relinquished,  in  hopes  of 
the  success  of  the  abortive  attempt  for 
which  Russel  and  Sidney  suffered  in  Eng- 
land. Many,  nevertheless,  went  over  from 
Scotland  into  Ireland — many  emigrated  to 
America ;  and  a  large  proportion  of  the 
former,  or  of  their  descendants,  subsequent- 
ly sought  a  resting-place  in  the  New  World. 
This  emigration  from  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
after  it  had  thus  commenced  in  the  reigns 
of  Charles  II.  and  James  II.,  was  contin- 
ued, from  other  causes,  down  to  the  Amer- 
ican Revolution,  and  consisted,  almost  ex- 
clusively, of  Presbyterians.  It  was  not 
until  a  later  epoch  that  the  emigration  of 
Roman  Catholics  from  Ireland  to  America 
properly  commenced  ;  at  least,  until  then 
it  was  too  inconsiderable  to  merit  notice. 

Let  us  now  see  to  what  parts  of  Ameri- 
ca this  emigration  was  directed,  and  which 
have  enjoyed  most  of  the  happy  effects  of 
its  moral  influence. 

New-England  did  not,  on  many  accounts, 
present  the  most  attractions  to  Scotch  em- 
igrants. Not  only  were  its  best  districts 
already  occupied,  but  in  almost  all  its  col- 
onies a  Church  was  established,  between 
which  and  the  Presbyterian  there  might  not 
be  all  the  harmony  that  was  to  be  desired. 
Some,  nevertheless,  did  go  to  New-Eng- 
land, and  received  a  kind  welcome  there. 
According  to  Cotton  Mather,  even  previous 
to  1640,  4000  Presbyterians  had  arrived  in 
that  province,  but  what  proportion  of  these 
came  from  Scotland  and  Ireland  we  have 
no  means  of  ascertaining.  At  a  later  pe- 
riod, Londonderry,  in  New-Hampshire,  was 
founded  by  a  hundred  families  of  Irish  Pres- 
byterians, who,  having  brought  their  pastor 
with  them,  organized  a  Presbyterian  church 
there.  Another  church  of  that  denomina- 
tion was  formed  at  Boston  in  17-29,  and 
such  it  remained  until  1786,  when  it  became 
Congregational.  Other  Presbyterians  set- 
tled at  Pelham  and  Palmer. 

Neither  was  New- York,  for  some  time 
at  least,  an  inviting  quarter  to  Presbyterian 
emigrants  ;  the  establishment  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church  in  that  colony  towards  the 
close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  the,, 
intolerance  to  which  it  led,  would  naturally 
deter  them  from  making  it  their  choice. 
Some,  indeed,  had  arrived  previously  to 
that  epoch,  and  many  Scotch  and  Irish  set- 
tled in  the  province  in  the  following  cen* 
tury,  particularly  as  the  American  Revolu- 


74 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


tion  was  drawing  on.  Between  400  and 
500  emigrants  from  Scotland  alone  arrived 
at  New-York  in  1737,  and,  twenty  years 
later,  Scotch  and  Irish  colonists  established 
themselves  in  Ulster  county,  and  also  at 
Orange  and  Albany. 

In  1682,  William  Penn,  and  eleven  other 
Quakers,  having  bought  the  claims  of  Lord 
Carteret's  heirs,  associated  with  them- 
selves twelve  other  persons,  a  large  pro- 
portion of  whom  were  Scotch,  with  the 
view  of  securing  as  extensive  an  emigra- 
tion as  possible  from  Scotland,  as  well  as 
other  places.  Nor  were  they  disappoint- 
ed ;  many  were  induced  to  leave  that  coun- 
try and  the  North  of  Ireland,  and  settle  in 
East  New-Jersey,  from  the  favourable  ac- 
counts they  heard  of  that  colony.  "  It  is 
judged  the  interest  of  the  government," 
said  George  Scot,  of  Pitlochie,  a  Scotch- 
man of  rank  and  influence,  "  to  suppress 
Presbyterian  principles  altogether ;  the 
whole  force  of  the  law  of  this  kingdom  is 
levelled  at  the  effectual  bearing  of  them 
down.  The  rigorous  putting  of  these  laws 
in  execution  has,  in  a  great  part,  ruined 
many  of  those  who,  notwithstanding  here- 
of, find  themselves  in  conscience  obliged 
to  retain  their  principles.  A  retreat,  where 
by  law  a  toleration  is  allowed,  doth  at  pres- 
ent offer  itself  in  America,  and  is  nowhere 
else  to  be  found  in  his  majesty's  domin- 
ions."* "  This  is  the  era,"  says  Mr.  Ban- 
croft, "  at  which  East  New-Jersey,  till  now 
chiefly  colonized  from  New-England,  be- 
came the  asylum  of  Scottish  Presbyteri- 
ans." "  Is  it  strange,"  asks  that  author, 
"  that  many  Scottish  Presbyterians,  of  vir- 
tue, education,  and  courage,  blending  a  love 
of  popular  liberty  with  religious  enthusi- 
asm, came  to  East  New-Jersey  in  such 
numbers  as  to  give  to  the  rising  common- 
wealth a  character  which  a  century  and  a 
half  has  not  effaced  ]"f  Many  of  the  more 
wealthy  of  these  emigrants  brought  with 
them  a  great  number  of  servants,  and,  in 
some  instances,  transported  whole  families 
of  poor  labourers,  whom  they  placed  on 
their  lands.  J  And  in  speaking  of  the  town 
of  Freehold,  in  Monmouth  county,  one  of 
the  earliest  settlements  in  New-Jersey,  the 
Rev.  William  Tennent,  long  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  that  place,  ob- 
serves, "  The  settling  of  that  place  with  a 
Gospel  ministry  was  owing,  under  God,  to 
the  agency  of  some  Scotch  people  that 
came  to  it ;  among  whom  there  were  none 
so  painstaking  in  this  blessed  work  as  one 
Walter  Ker,  who  in  1685,  for  his  faithful 
and  conscientious  adherence  to  God  and 
His  Truth,  as  professed  by  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  was  there  apprehended  and  sent 
to  this  country  under  a  sentence  of  perpet- 
ual banishment.     By  which  it  appears  that 


*  Bancroft's  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  vol. 
ii.,  p.  411.  t  Ibid.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  414. 

X  Gordon's  "  History  of  New-Jersey,"  p  51. 


the  devil  and  his  instruments  lost  their  aim 
in  sending  him  from  home,  where  it  is  un- 
likely he  could  ever  have  been  so  service- 
able to  Christ's  kingdom  as  he  has  been 
here.  He  is  yet  (1744)  alive  ;  and,  blessed 
be  God,  flourishing  in  his  old  age,  being  in 
his  88th  year."* 

But  it  was  to  Pennsylvania  that  the  lar- 
gest emigrations  of  Scotch  and  Irish,  par- 
ticularly of  the  latter,  though  at  a  later 
period,  took  place.  About  the  commence- 
ment of  last  century  they  began  to  arrive 
in  large  numbers.  It  is  said  that  nearly 
6000  Irish  arrived  in  1729  ;  and  that  up  to 
the  middle  of  the  century  as  many  as  12,000 
came  over  every  year.  Speaking  of  that 
period,  Proud,  in  his  History  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, says,  "  They  have  flowed  in  of  late 
years  from  the  North  of  Ireland  in  very 
large  numbers."  They  settled  in  the  east- 
ern and  middle  parts  of  the  state,  the  only 
parts  then  inhabited  by  white  men.  Cum- 
berland county  was  filled  with  them. 

From  Pennsylvania  they  emigrated  in 
great  numbers  into  the  western  parts  of 
Maryland,  the  central  portions  of  Virginia, 
and  the  western  counties  of  North  Caroli- 
na. A  thousand  families  are  said  to  have 
left  the  northern  colonies  for  the  last  of 
these  provinces  in  the  single  year  of  1764. 
There  their  descendants  now  constitute  a 
dense  homogeneous  population,  occupying 
the  whole  western  section  of  the  state,  and 
distinguished  by  the  strict  morality  and 
unbending  principles  of  their  forefathers. 
Five  or  six  hundred  Scotch  settled  near 
Fayetteville,  N.  C,  in  1749,  and  there  was 
a  second  arrival  from  the  same  country  in 
1754,  after  which  a  steady  yearly  immigra- 
tion of  the  same  hardy  and  industrious 
people  was  kept  up  for  a  long  period.f 

But,  besides  the  emigration  of  Scotch  and 
Irish  colonists  from  Pennsylvania  into  Ma- 
ryland, the  latter  province  received  emi- 
grants direct  from  Scotland  and  Ireland. 
Colonel  Ninian  Beall,  a  native  of  Fifeshire, 
who  had  been  implicated  in  some  of  the 
disturbances  in  his  native  country,  fled  first 
to  Barbadoes,  and  removed  thence  to  Mary- 
land, where  he  bought  an  immense  estate, 
including  much  of  the  ground  now  occupied 
by  Washington  and  Georgetown.  About 
200  of  his  friends  and  neighbours  joined 
him  at  his  request  about  the  year  1690,  and 
brought  along  with  them  the  Rev.  Nathan- 
iel Taylor,  their  pastor. 

In  1684,  a  small  colony  of  persecuted 


*  The  Rev.  William  Tennent,  quoted  by  Dr.  Hodge 
in  his  "  Constitutional  History  of  the  Presbyterian- 
Church  in  the  United  States." 

t  The  Scotch  settlers  near  Fayetteville,  in  North 
Carolina,  are  said  to  have  been,  almost  without  ex- 
ception, from  the  Highlands.  Gaelic  is  still  spoken 
by  some  of  the  old  colonists,  and  I  understand  that 
it  is  used  in  some  of  the  churches  in  that  quarter  for 
public  worship,  which,  1  may  add,  is  in  every  respect 
conducted  as  in  Scotland. — See  Dr.  Hodge's  "  Con- 
stitutional History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,"  vol.  i., 
p.  66. 


Chap.  XII.] 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    EARLY   COLONISTS. 


75 


Scotch  settled,  under  Lord  Cardross,  in 
South  Carolina.*  In  1737,  multitudes  of 
husbandmen  and  labourers  from  Ireland 
embarked  for  that  province,!  and  within 
three  years  before  1773  no  fewer  than  1G00 
emigrants  from  the  North  of  Ireland  settled 
there.  Indeed,  of  a.11  European  countries, 
Ireland  furnished  South  Carolina  with  the 
greatest  number  of  inhabitants  ;|  they  not 
only  settled  in  the  interior,  but  also  on 
Edisto  and  the  other  islands  on  the  coast. 

Georgia,  too,  was  partly  colonized  by 
Scotch  and  Irish,  who  emigrated  south- 
westward  from  Pennsylvania,  across  Ma- 
ryland, Virginia,  and  North  Carolina,  be- 
sides receiving  no  small  proportion  of  its 
first  settlers  directly  from  the  Highlands  of 
Scotland. 

Thus  it  is  manifest  that  Presbyterians 
from  Scotland  and  the  North  of  Ireland 
have  largely  contributed  to  form  the  reli- 
gious character  of  the  United  States  ;  par- 
ticularly in  the  middle  and  southern  parts  of 
the  country,  and,  by  consequence,  the  cor- 
responding parts  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, which  have  been  colonized  from 
them.  As  the  early  emigrants  from  Scot- 
land and  Ireland  were  not  only  Protestants, 
but  decidedly  religious  people,  they  did 
much  to  give  a  religious  tone  to  the  dis- 
tricts in  which  they  established  themselves, 
being  those  precisely  that  most  stood  in 
need  of  such  an  influence.  So  that  in  this 
we  have  another  instance  of  the  Divine  in- 
terposition in  behalf  of  a  country,  whose 
whole  history  is  a  continued  illustration  of 
the  mercy  and  the  goodness  of  God. 

I  may  add,  in  concluding  this  chapter, 
that  America  owes  to  the  early  emigrations 
from  Scotland  and  Ireland  not  a  few  of  the 
men  who  have  risen  to  the  highest  emi- 
nence both  in  Church  and  State.  The 
Tennents,  the  Blairs,  the  Allisons  were  of 
Scotch-Irish  origin  ;  Dr.  Witherspoon,  one 
of  the  most  valuable  men  in  America  of 
his  day,  both  as  a  divine  and  as  a  states- 
man, Dr.  Nisbet,  and  many  others,  were 
from  Scotland. 

The  son  of  a  poor  Irish  emigrant,  who 
had  settled  in  North  Carolina,  has  been 
President  of  the  United  States. $  The  son 
of  a  Scotch-Irish  emigrant  who  had  settled 
first  in  Pennsylvania  and  removed  after- 
ward to  South  Carolina,  has  been  Vice- 
President.  || 

CHAPTER  XII. 

RELIGIOUS    CHARACTER     OF    THE    EARLY    COLO- 
NISTS.  HUGUENOTS   FROM  FRANCE. 

Next  to  the  English  Puritans  and  Scotch 
Presbyterians  we  must  rank  the  exiled  Hu- 

*  Bancroft's  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  vol. 
ii.,  p.  173.  t  Holmes's  Annals,  vol.  ii.,  p.  145. 

%  Ramsay's  "  History  of  South  Carolina,"  vol.  i., 
p.  20  ;  vol.  ii.,  p.  23,  548. 

§  General  Andrew  Jackson. 

II  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun. 


guenots,  or  French  Reformed,  as  having 
done  most  to  form  the  religious  character 
of  the  United  States. 

The  Reformation  found  its  way  into 
France  in  the  reign  of  Francis  I.,  but  was 
hated  by  that  monarch  on  a  double  account. 
First,  it  placed  man  at  once  before  his 
Creator  and  his  Judge,  without  the  inter- 
vention of  human  proxies,  or  the  possibil- 
ity of  standing  there  on  the  ground  of  hu- 
man merit.  It  placed  the  sinner  at  once  in 
presence  of  the  God  against  whom  he  had 
sinned.  Second, because,  in  Calvin's  hands, 
the  natural  development  of  his  principles 
threatened  the  questioning  of  the  rights 
of  despotic  power.  Hence,  although  the 
king's  love  of  literature,  and  lhs  patronage 
of  learned  men,  led  him  for  a  time  to  de- 
fend the  chiefs  of  the  Reformation  in  France 
on  account  of  the  interest  they  showed  in 
the  revival  of  letters,  and  his  hatred  of 
the  scholastic  and  fanatical  theologians  of 
the  Sorbonne,  Francis  distinguished  him- 
self by  being  almost  the  first  ruler  that  put 
a  Protestant  to  death.  His  successors  but 
too  closely  followed  his  example.  Perse- 
cution, though  intermitted  at  times,  owing 
to  the  pressure  of  circumstances,  was  re- 
sumed when  that  pressure  ceased,  until 
1598,  when  Henry  IV.  granted  the  Edict 
of  Nantes — a  measure  which  was  far  from 
according  the  full  measure  of  Protestant 
rights,  but  which  was  sacredly  observed 
during  the  remainder  of  that  monarch's 
reign.  But  during  that  of  his  successor, 
Louis  XIII.,  and  the  early  years  of  Louis 
XIV.,  that  famous  ordinance  was  no  bet- 
ter than  an  ill-observed  truce. 

Louis  XIV.,  after  having  come  to  the 
crown  in  his  minority,  was  now  approach- 
ing his  fiftieth  year,  and  had  begun  to 
feel  the  decline  of  passions  which  he  had 
long  indulged  without  regard  for  the  re- 
straints of  religion  and  morality,  beyond 
an  habitual  compliance  with  the  outward 
forms  of  the  Romish  Church,  and  occasion- 
al fits  of  remorse,  that  were  soon  forgot- 
ten amid  the  excitement  of  new  pleasures. 
In  proportion  as  his  relish  for  a  voluptu- 
ous life  became  blunted  by  increasing  age 
and  satiety,  he  became  more  and  more 
anxious  to  atone  in  some  way  for  long 
years  of  sinful  indulgence  by  acts  of  extra- 
ordinary devotion,  without  altogether  sac- 
rificing, however,  either  his  love  of  pleas- 
ure or  the  pursuit  of  glory.  He  was  thus 
in  a  state  of  mind  admirably  calculated  to 
make  him  the  tool  of  an  order  of  men  who 
have  acquired  the  highest  celebrity  for 
their  profound  knowledge  of  the  human 
heart,  and  their  consummate  skill  in  ma- 
king alike  its  strength  and  its  weakness 
subserve  the  advancement  of  their  power, 
more  especially  in  the  case  of  persons 
placed  in  stations  of  authority  and  influ- 
ence. A  Jesuit  skilled  in  casuistry,  and 
a  fascinating  and  ambitious  woman,  were 


TO 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


bent,  the  one  on  making  the  king,  who  had 
been  brought  up  in  moderate  sentiments  to- 
wards the  Reformed,  and  had  long  pro- 
voked their  enemies  by  his  respect  for  the 
Edict  of  Nantes,  become  the  instrument  of 
Rome  in  utterly  suppressing  the  Reforma- 
tion in  France,  and,  if  possible,  throughout 
Europe ;  the  other,  on  making  herself  the 
widowed  monarch's  wife.  To  attain  these 
ends,  they  played  into  each  other's  hands, 
with  an  unrivalled  mastery  of  all  the  arts 
usually  employed  on  such  occasions.  The 
confessor  used  his  influence  in  confirming 
the  favourite's  ascendency  in  the  king's  af- 
fections— the  favourite,  though  educated  a 
Protestant,  and  under  early  and  deep  obli- 
gations to  a  Protestant  relation,  sacrificed 
her  friends,  and  perhaps  her  convictions, 
by  professing  an  extravagant  zeal  for  the 
universal  reign  of  the  Roman  Catholic  re- 
ligion, and  by  suggesting  that  in  no  way 
could  the  king  better  atone  for  his  past  ir- 
regularities, or  promote  his  own  glory,  than 
by  labouring  "  for  the  conversion  of  here- 
tics." Both  succeeded,  but  not  to  the  full 
measure  of  their  desires.  Madame  de 
Maintenon  was  privately  married  to  Louis 
XIV.,  but  never  became  the  acknowledged 
queen  of  France.  The  Edict  of  Nantes 
was  revoked,  but  the  Reformation  survives 
in  the  French  dominions  to  this  day. 

The  king  had  come  under  too  many 
solemn  obligations  to  observe  that  Edict, 
and  had  a  conscience  too  little  sophistica- 
ted by  Jesuit  morality  in  early  life,  to  be 
brought  into  a  direct  revocation  of  Prot- 
estant privileges.  The  mode  by  which  his 
scruples  were  overcome  was  exceedingly 
ingenious.  His  consent  was  first  obtained 
to  a  multitude  of  indirect  methods  of  di- 
minishing the  numbers  of  the  Reformed ; 
much  violence  and  fraud  unknown  to  him 
were  mingled  with  the  execution  of  those 
measures,  and  he  was  then  persuaded  that 
the  Edict  of  Nantes  was  unnecessary,  since 
those  in  whose  favour  it  had  been  granted 
had  ceased  to  exist,  in  his  dominions.  Fa- 
vours of  every  kind  were  promisd  to  those 
who  would  recant  the  alleged  errors  trans- 
mitted to  them  from  their  ancestors,  or 
embraced  by  themselves  ;  offices  were  held 
out  as  the  reward  of  such  meritorious  recan- 
tations, while,  on  the  other  hand,  all  hope  of 
public  employment,  and  even  of  public  fa- 
vour in  any  form,  was  denied  to  such  as  re- 
fused to  be  converted.  Not  only  were  they 
excluded  from  every  post  of  honour  or  place 
of  trust,  but  even  the  guilds  and  trades'  cor- 
porations were  closed  against  them.  No 
Protestant  was  to  be  allowed  to  marry  a  Ro- 
man Catholic.  Bribery  was  also  employed, 
and  converts  were  purchased  for  gold. 

Proselytism,  nevertheless,  went  on  slow- 
ly, and  death  threatened  to  overtake  the 
illustrious  apostle  before  he  should  see 
his  subjects  united  again  under  the  crosier 
of  the  successor  of  Peter  the  fisherman. 


The  enterprise  must  needs  be  hastened  for- 
ward. The  sacredness  of  the  family  sanc- 
tuary is  next  invaded.  Children  of  seven 
years  of  age  are  invited  to  abjure  the  faith 
of  their  parents.  Protestant  ministers  be- 
gin to  be  tormented  in  every  way  :  Protest- 
ant chapels  are  pulled  down,  or  confisca- 
ted to  other  uses  ;  Protestant  schools  are 
shut  up  ;  Protestant  funds  are  seized  and 
diverted  from  their  legitimate  ends  ;  those 
that  attempt  to  fly  are  forbidden  to  leave 
France,  under  pain  of  being  sent  to  the 
galleys.  Vain  attempt !  The  conversions 
stdl  proceed  very  slowly. 

Next  come  scenes  of  violence.  Instead 
of  Jesuit  missionaries,  or,  rather,  along 
with  those  missionaries,  dragoons  are  sent 
into  the  Protestant  districts,  to  be  quarter- 
ed on  the  inhabitants,  and  to  worry  them 
into  conversion.  Ferocity  and  lust  are  let 
loose  under  every  roof,  and  escape  is  hope- 
less. 

At  length  the  Edict  of  Nantes  was  for- 
mally revoked.  All  public  worship  among 
the  Protestants  was  suppressed  ;  their 
places  of  public  worship  existed  no  more 
for  them  at  least.  The  old  Chancellor  Le 
Tellier  could  exclaim,  "Now,  Lord,  lettest 
thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,"  and  the 
royal  dupe  believed  that  he  had  united  all 
dissenters  with  the  Roman  Church. 

But  what  pen  can  describe  the  results  of 
this  pretended  union  1  Property  plundered, 
books  destroyed,  children  torn  from  their 
parents,  faithful  pastors  who  would  not 
abandon  their  flocks  broken  on  the  wheel, 
the  bodies  of  all  who  died  unreconciled  to 
the  Church  thrown  to  the  beasts,  estates 
given  up  to  relations  who  conformed  to 
the  Romish  Church,  and  protracted  tortures 
employed  to  extort  recantations  of  Protest- 
antism !  Men  were  even  roasted  at  slow 
fires,  plunged  into  wells,  and  wounded  with 
knives  and  red-hot  pincers.  The  loss  of 
life  cannot  now  be  computed,  but  it  has 
been  asserted  that  ten  thousand  persons 
perished  at  the  stake  alone,  or  on  the  gib- 
bet and  the  wheel.* 

In  consequence  of  these  proceedings,  it 
is  believed  that  no  fewer  than  half  a  mill- 
ion of  Protestants  left  France.  It  was  in 
vain  that  the  frontiers  were  guarded.  De- 
spair was  more  ingenious  in  devising 
means  of  evasion  than  bigotry  was  in  its 
endeavours  to  prevent  it.  Another  half 
million,  unable  to  escape,  remained  in 
France,  yet  could  not  be  reduced  to  abso- 
lute conformity  with  the  established  creed 
and  worship.  Fanaticism  grew  weary  in 
hunting  down  its  victims,  and  found  nothing 
harder  to  subdue  than  the  human  mind, 
when  once  disenthralled  by  Truth. 

Those  Huguenots  that  escaped  sought 
refuge  in  all  the  Protestant  countries  of 
Europe,  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and 


De  Rulhiere,  (Euvres,  v.,  p.  221. 


Chap.  XII.] 


CHARACTER   OF   THE    EARLY   COLONISTS. 


77 


in  America,  carrying  with  them  the  useful 
arts  wherever  they  went,  and  founding 
many  new  manufactures  in  Germany,  Hol- 
land, and  the  British  islands.  An  entire 
suburb  of  London  came  to  be  inhabited  by 
French  mechanics,  and  they  had  six  church- 
es at  one  time  in  that  city.  The  Prince 
of  Orange  took  whole  regiments  of  brave 
refugees  into  his  service,  and  retained  them 
after  he  became  William  III.  of  England. 
Most  affecting  narratives  have  come  down 
to  our  times  from  the  actors  in  those 
scenes,  and  yet  filial  piety  has  not  been 
so  diligent  as  it  ought  to  have  been  in  col- 
lecting and  preserving  them. 

"  In  our  American  colonies,"  says  the 
eloquent  historian  to  whom  I  have  been  so 
often  indebted, "  they  were  welcome  every- 
where. The  religious  sympathies  of  New- 
England  were  awakened.  Did  any  arrive 
in  poverty,  having  barely  escaped  with  life  ? 
the  towns  of  Massachusetts  contributed 
liberally  to  their  support,  and  provided 
them  with  lands  ;  others  repaired  to  New- 
York  ;  but  a  warmer  climate  was  more  in- 
viting to  the  exiles  of  Languedoc,  and 
South  Carolina  became  the  chief  resort  of 
the  Huguenots.  What  though  the  attempt 
to  emigrate  was,  by  the  law  of  France,  a 
felony  !  in  spite  of  every  precaution  of  the 
police,  500,000  souls  escaped  from  the 
country.  The  unfortunate  were  more 
wakeful  to  fly  than  the  ministers  of  tyran- 
ny to  restrain. 

"  '  We  quitted  home  by  night,  leaving  the 
soldiers  in  their  beds,  and  abandoning  the 
house  with  its  furniture,'  said  Judith,  the 
young  wife  of  Pierre  Manigault ;  '  we  con- 
trived to  hide  ourselves  for  ten  days  at 
Romans,  in  Dauphiny,  while  a  search  was 
made  for  us;  but  our  faithful  hostess  would 
not  betray  us.'  Nor  could  they  escape  to 
the  seaboard  except  by  a  circuitous  jour- 
ney through  Germany  and  Holland,  and 
thence  to  England,  in  the  depths  of  winter. 
'  Having  embarked  at  London,  we  were 
sadly  off.  The  spotted  fever  appeared  on 
board,  and  many  died  of  the  disease ;  among 
these,  our  aged  mother.  We  touched  at 
Bermuda,  where  the  vessel  was  seized. 
Our  money  was  all  spent ;  with  great  dif- 
ficulty we  procured  a  passage  in  another 
vessel.  After  our  arrival  in  Carolina,  we 
suffered  every  kind  of  evil.  In  eighteen 
months,  our  eldest  brother,  unaccustomed 
to  the  hard  labour  which  we  were  obliged 
to  undergo,  died  of  a  fever.  Since  our 
leaving  France  we  had  experienced  every 
sort  of  affliction — disease,  pestilence,  fam- 
ine, poverty,  hard  labour.  I  have  been  six 
months  without  tasting  bread,  working  like 
a  slave ;  and  I  have  passed  three  or  four 
years  without  having  it  when  I  wanted  it. 
And  yet,'  adds  the  excellent  woman,  in  the 
spirit  of  grateful  resignation,  '  God  has 
done  great  things  for  us  in  enabling  us  to 
bear  up  under  so  many  trials.' 


"  This  family  was  but  one  of  many  that 
found  a  shelter  in  Carolina,  the  general 
asylum  of  the  Calvinist  refugees.  Esca- 
ping from  a  land  where  the  profession  of 
their  religion  was  a  felony,  where  their  es- 
tates were  liable  to  become  confiscated  in 
favour  of  the  apostate,  where  the  preach- 
ing of  their  faith  was  a  crime  to  be  expiated 
on  the  wheel,  where  their  children  might 
be  torn  from  them  to  be  subjected  to  their 
nearest  Catholic  relation  —  the  fugitives 
from  Languedoc,  on  the  Mediterranean, 
from  Rochelle,  and  Saintonge,  and  Bor- 
deaux, the  Provinces  on  the  Bay  of  Biscay, 
from  St.  Quentin,  Poictiers,  and  the  beau- 
tiful valley  of  Tours,  from  St.  Lo,  and 
Dieppe,  men  who  had  the  virtues  of  the  Eng- 
lish Puritans  without  their  bigotry,  came 
to  the  land  to  which  the  tolerant  benevo- 
lence of  Shaftesbury*  had  invited  the  be- 
liever of  every  creed.  From  a  land  that 
had  suffered  its  king  in  wanton  bigotry  to 
drive  half  a  million  of  its  best  citizens  into 
exile,  they  came  to  the  land  which  was  the 
hospitable  refuge  of  the  oppressed ;  where 
superstition  and  fanaticism,  infidelity  and 
faith,  cold  speculation  and  animated  zeal, 
were  alike  admitted  without  question,  and 
where  the  fires  of  religious  persecution 
were  never  to  be  kindled.  There  they  ob- 
tained an  assignment  of  lands,  and  soon 
had  tenements ;  there  they  might  safely 
make  the  woods  the  scene  of  their  devo- 
tions, and  join  the  simple  incense  of  their 
psalms  to  the  melodies  of  the  winds  among 
the  ancient  groves.  Their  church  was  in 
Charleston,  and  thither  on  every  Lord's 
day,  gathering  from  the  plantations  on  the 
banks  of  the  Cooper,  and  taking  advantage 
of  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide,  they  might 
all  regularly  be  seen,  the  parents  with  their 
children,  whom  no  bigot  could  wrest  from 
them,  making  their  way  in  light  skiffs, 
through  scenes  so  tranquil  that  silence  was 
broken  only  by  the  rippling  of  the  oars, 
and  the  hum  of  the  flourishing  village  at 
the  confluence  of  the  rivers. 

"  Other  Huguenot  emigrants  established 
themselves  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Santee, 
in  a  region  which  has  since  been  celebrated 
for  affluence  and  refined  hospitality. 

"  The  United  States  are  full  of  monu- 
ments of  the  emigrations  from  France. 
When  the  struggle  for  independence  ar- 
rived, the  son  of  Judith  Manigault  intrusted 
the  vast  fortune  he  had  acquired  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  country  that  had  adopted  his 
mother  ;  the  hall  in  Boston,  where  the 
eloquence  of  New-England  rocked  the  in- 
fant Spirit  of  Independence,  was  the  gift 
of  the  son  of  a  Huguenot ;  when  the  treaty 


*  The  "  Constitutions"  which  Mr.  Locke  prepared 
for  Carolina,  and  to  which  Mr.  Bancroft  alludes, 
promised,  not  equal  rights,  but  "toleration"  to  "  Jews, 
heathens,  and  other  dissenters,"  to  "  men  of  any  re- 
ligion." The  Episcopal  Church  was  to  be  established 
by  law. 


to 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


of  Paris,  for  the  independence  of  our  coun- 
try, was  framing,  the  grandson  of  a  Hugue- 
not, acquainted  from  childhood  with  the 
wrongs  'of  his  ancestors,  would  not  allow 
his  jealousies  of  France  to  be  lulled,  and 
exerted  a  powerful  influence  in  stretching 
the  boundary  of  the  States  to  the  Missis- 
sippi. In  our  northeastern  frontier  state, 
the  name  of  the  oldest  college  bears  wit- 
ness to  the  wise  liberality  of  a  descendant 
of  the  Huguenots.  The  children  of  the 
Calvinists  of  France  have  reason  to  respect 
the  memory  of  their  ancestors."* 

The  emigration  of  the  Huguenots  to 
America  is  an  exceedingly  interesting 
event  in  the  history  of  that  country.  It 
commenced  earlier,  and  was  more  exten- 
sive than  is  generally  supposed.  Even 
previously  to  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew's day,  some  of  the  Protestant  leaders, 
as  we  have  seen,  whether  from  feeling  their 
position  to  be  even  then  intolerable,  or  from 
their  anticipations  of  a  still  darker  futurity, 
proposed  to  establish  a  colony  and  a  mis- 
sion in  Brazil — the  mission  being  the  first 
ever  projected  by  Protestants.  The  Ad- 
miral of  France,  the  brave  Coligny,  who 
was  afterward  a  victim  in  the  above  mas- 
sacre, entered  warmly  into  the  undertaking, 
and  Calvin  urged  it  on  with  all  his  might, 
and  selected  three  excellent  ministers,  who 
had  been  trained  under  his  own  eye  at 
Geneva,  to  accompany  the  emigrants.  The 
expedition  set  out  in  1556,  but  proved  pe- 
culiarly disastrous.  The  commander  re- 
lapsed to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  and 
having  put  the  three  ministers  to  death, 
returned  to  France,  leaving  the  remains  of 
the  colony  to  be  massacred  by  the  Portu- 
guese !  Nor  did  better  success  attend  two 
attempts  made  by  the  good  admiral  to  plant 
colonies  in  North  America,  the  one  in 
South  Carolina,  the  other  in  Florida.  It 
seemed  as  if  the  time  had  not  yet  come  for 
the  planting  of  good  colonies,  and  that  nei- 
ther religion  nor  persecution  had  as  yet 
sufficiently  ripened  the  Protestants  for  the 
enterprise. 

From  the  time  of  the  siege  of  Rochelle 
to  that  of  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes,  there  had  been  a  continual  emi- 
gration of  French  Protestants  to  the  Eng- 
lish colonies  in  America,  which,  after  the 
latter  of  these  two  events,  was  greatly  aug- 
mented, as  is  abundantly  proved  by  the 
public  acts  of  those  colonies.  The  first 
notice  of  the  kind  to  be  found  is  an  act  of 
the  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  1662, 
to  this  effect,  "  that  John  Touton,  a  French 
doctor  and  inhabitant  of  Rochelle,  made 
application  to  the  General  Court  of  Massa- 
chusetts, in  behalf  of  himself  and  other 
Protestants,  expelled  from  their  habitations 
on  account  of  their  religion,  that  they  might 
have  liberty  to  live  there,  which  was  read- 

*  Bancroft's  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  vol. 
11.,  p.  180-183. 


ily  granted  to  them."*  In  1686,  a  grant 
of  11,000  acres  was  made  to  another  com- 
pany of  French  Protestants  who  had  set- 
tled at  Oxford,  in  the  same  colony. f  In 
that  year,  too,  a  French  Protestant  Church 
was  erected  at  Boston,  which,  ten  years 
after,  had  the  Rev.  Mr.  Daille  for  its  pas- 
tor. A  century  later,  when  the  French 
Protestants  had  ceased  to  use  the  French 
language,  and  had  become  merged  in  other 
churches,  their  place  of  worship  fell  into 
the  hands  of  some  Roman  Catholic  refu- 
gees from  France. 

In  1666,  an  act  for  the  naturalization 
of  French  Protestants  was  passed  by  the 
Legislature  of  Maryland :  acts  to  the  like 
effect  were  passed  in  Virginia  in  1671 ;  in 
the  Carolinas  in  1696,  and  in  New- York  in 
1703. 1 

New- York  became  an  asylum  for  the 
Huguenots  at  a  very  early  date,  for  even 
before  it  was  surrendered  to  England, 
namely,  about  1656,  they  were  so  numer- 
ous there  that  the  public  documents  of  the 
colony  had  to  be  published  in  French  as 
well  as  in  Dutch  ;§  and  in  1708,  Smith,  the 
historian  of  that  colony,  says,  that  next  to 
the  Dutch,  they  were  the  most  numerous 
and  wealthiest  class  of  the  population. 
From  an  early  period  they  had  in  that  city 
a  church,  wliich  exists  at  the  present  day. 
It  has  long  been  attached  to  the  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Church,  and  has  a  French- 
man for  its  rector. 

New-Rochelle,  about  twenty  miles  above 
the  city  of  New- York,  on  the  East  River,, 
or  Sound,  as  it  is  more  commonly  called, 
was  settled  solely  by  Huguenots  from  Ro- 
chelle, in  France,  and  the  French  tongue, 
both  in  public  worship  and  common  par- 
lance, was  in  use  even  until  after  the  Amer- 
ican Revolution.  There  are  many  of  the 
descendants  of  French  Huguenots  in  Ul- 
ster and  Dutchess  counties  in  the  State  of 
New- York. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Miller,  professor  of  Church 
History  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Princeton,  New-Jersey,  had  the  following 
interesting  facts,  respecting  the  early  in- 
habitants of  New-Rochelle,  communicated 
to  him  :  "  When  the  Huguenots  first  set- 
tled hi  that  neighbourhood,  their  only  place 
of  worship  was  in  the  city  of  New- York. 
They  had  taken  lands  on  terms  that  requi- 
red the  utmost  exertions  of  men,  women, 
and  children  among  them  to  render  tillable. 
They  were,  therefore,  in  the  habit  of  work- 
ing hard  till  Saturday  night,  spending  the 


*  Holmes's  "  American  Annals"  for  that  year. 

t  Ibid. 

t  Huguenots  had  long  been  settled  in  both  the 
Carolinas  and  New-York  before  they  were  natural- 
ized. This  arose  solely  from  internal  difficulties, 
which  rendered  their  naturalization,  for  the  moment, 
impossible,  not  from  any  unwillingness  to  receive 
them. 

$  Bancroft's  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  voL 
ii.,  p.  302. 


Chap.  XII.] 


CHARACTER   OF  THE    EARLY    COLONISTS. 


?a 


night  in  trudging  down  on  foot  to  the  city, 
attending  worship  twice  the  next  day,  and 
walking  home  the  same  night  to  be  ready 
for  work  in  the  morning.  Amid  all  these 
hardships,  they  wrote  to  France  to  tell 
what  great  privileges  they  enjoyed."* 

In  1679,  Charles  II.  sent,  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, in  two  ships,  a  company  of  Hugue- 
nots to  South  Carolina,  in  order  that  they 
might  there  cultivate  the  vine,  the  olive, 
&c,  and  from  that  time  there  was  an  ex- 
tensive emigration  of  French  Protestants 
to  the  colonies.  Collections  were  made 
for  them  in  England  in  the  reign  of  James 
II.,  and  the  English  Parliament  at  one  time 
aided  them  with  a  grant  of  £15,000. f  In 
1690,  William  III.  sent  a  large  colony  of 
them  to  Virginia  ;  in  addition  to  which, 
that  colony  received  300  families  in  1699, 
followed  successively  by  200  and  afterward 
by  100  families  more.  In  1752,  no  fewer 
than  1600  foreign  Protestants,  chiefly 
French,  settled  in  South  Carolina,  and 
above  200  more  in  1764. 

In  1733,  370  Swiss  Protestant  families 
settled  in  South  Carolina,  under  the  ^con- 
duct of  Jean  Pierre  Pury,  of  Neuchatel ; 
the  British  government  granting  them 
40,000  acres  of  land,  and  £400  sterling  for 
every  hundred  adult  emigrants  landed  in 
the  colony.J 

In  some  of  the  colonies  where  an  Es- 
tablished Church  was  supported  by  a  tax, 
special  acts  were  passed  for  relieving 
French  Protestants  of  that  burden,  and  for 
granting  them  liberty  of  worship.  Thus, 
in  1700,  the  colony  of  Virginia  enacted  as 
follows  :  "  Whereas,  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  French  Protestant  refugees  have 
been  lately  imported  into  his  majesty's 
colony  and  dominion,  and  several  of  which 
refugees  have  seated  themselves  above  the 
fall  of  James's  River,  at  or  near  the  place 
commonly  called  and  known  by  the  name 
of  the  Monacan  towns,  &c,  the  said  settle- 
ment be  erected  into  a  parish,  not  liable  to 
other  parochial  assessments."  This  ex- 
emption was  to  last  for  seven  years,  and 
was  afterward  renewed  for  seven  more.fy 

These  Huguenots,  wherever  sufficiently 
numerous,  at  first  used  their  own  language 
in  public  worship,  and  had  churches  of  their 
own,  until,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  and 
those  only  for  a  time,  they  fell  into  either 
the  Presbyterian  or  Episcopal  denomina- 
tion. This  must  be  taken  as  a  general 
statement,  for  their  descendants  may  now 
be  found  in  almost  all  communions,  as 
well  as  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 
Many  members,  too,  of  the  Dutch  Reform- 
ed churches  are  descended  from  Hugue- 

*  "  History  of  the  Evangelical  Churches  of  New- 
York." 

+  Holmes's  "  American  Annals."  J  Ibid. 

(j  Ibid,,  p.  432,  472,  492.  Hening's  "  Statutes,"  p. 
201.  Dr.  Hawks's  "  Episcopal  Church  in  Virginia," 
p.  79. 


nots,  who  had  first  taken  refuge  in  Holland, 
and  afterward  emigrated  to  America.  Nor 
must  we  forget  the  descendants  of  Hugue- 
nots who  found  their  first  asylum  in  Eng- 
land and  Scotland.  Among  these  was  the 
late  excellent  Divie  Bethune,  whose  an- 
cestors came  originally  from  the  town  of 
Bethune,  not  far  from  Calais. 

On  looking  over  the  roll  of  the  Presby- 
terian churches  of  Charleston,  South  Car- 
olina, there  may  be  found  the  Huguenot 
names  of  Dupre,  Du  Bosse,  Quillin,  Lan- 
neau,  Legare,  Rosamond,  Dana,  Cousac, 
Lequeux,  Bores,  Hamet,  Rechon,  Bize,  Be- 
noist,  Berbant,  Marchant,  Mallard,  Belville, 
Molyneux,  Chevalier,  Bayard,  Sayre,  De 
Saint  Croix,  Boudinot,  Le  Roy,  Ogier,  Jan- 
vier, Gillet,  Purviance,  Guiteau,  Boyer,  Si- 
mon, &c,  &c* 

As  the  entire  population  of  the  American 
colonies  amounted  only  to  about  200,000 
souls  in  1701,f  more  than  forty  years  after 
the  commencement  of  the  Huguenot  emi- 
grations, a  large  proportion  of  that  number 
must  have  been  French  Protestants,  and 
Huguenot  blood  accordingly  must  be  ex- 
tensively diffused  among  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States  at  the  present  day. J  It 
is  very  obvious  that  so  large  an  accession 
of  people,  whose  very  presence  in  Ameri- 
ca proved  the  consistency  of  their  reli- 
gious character,  and  who  were  generally 
distinguished  by  simple  and  sincere  piety, 
must  have  been  a  great  blessing  to  the  land 
of  their  adoption,  especially  to  the  South- 
ern States,  where  it  was  most  required. 
Their  coming  to  America,  on  the  other 
hand,  has  been  blest,  under  God,  to  them 
and  their  descendants.  Many  of  the  first 
families  in  New- York,  Maryland,  Virginia, 
and  the  Carolinas,  as  well  as  other  states, 
are  to  be  found  among  them,  as  may  be 
seen  in  many  cases  from  their  names,  al- 
though these  have  often  been  lost  through 
intermarriages,  or  can  with  difficulty  be 
recognised,  owing  to  their  being  spelt  as 
they  are  pronounced  by  Anglo-Americans. 
Some  of  the  most  eminent  persons  that 
have  ever  adorned  the  United  States  were 
of  Huguenot  descent.  Such  were  no  few- 
er than  three  out  of  the  seven  presidents 
of  Congress,  and,  in  a  sense,  of  the  whole 
nation,  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
namely,  John  Jay,  Henry  Laurens,  and 
Elias  Boudinot — all  excellent  men. 

I  conclude  this  chapter  in  the  words  of 
a  distinguished  clergyman  of  the  Episco- 
pal Church  in  America.  §  "  And  never, 
probably,  did  any  people  better  repay  the 
hospitable  kindness  of  the  land  which  af- 
forded them  a  refuge.     Many  of  their  de- 


*  Lang's  "  Religion  and  Education  in  America," 
p.  24.  t  Holmes's  "  Annals." 

t  Lang's  "  Religion  and  Education  in  America," 
p.  22,  23. 

t)  Rev.  Dr.  Hawks's  "  History  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  in  Virginia." 


90 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


scendants  are  still  left  in  New- York,  Vir- 
ginia, the  Carolinas,  and  other  parts  of  our 
country  ;  and  among  the  brightest  orna- 
ments of  the  state,  in  the  halls  of  legisla- 
tion and  of  justice,  as  well  as  in  the  sacred 
office,  may  be  found  the  names  of  some  of 
the  French  refugees.  No  man  in  Ameri- 
ca need  ever  blush  to  own  himself  one  of 
their  descendants  ;  for  the  observation  has 
more  than  once  been  made,  and  it  is  believ- 
ed to  be  true,  that  among  their  descend- 
ants the  instances  have  been  rare  indeed 
of  individuals  who  have  been  arraigned  for 
crime  before  the  courts  of  the  country." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

RELIGIOUS     CHARACTER    OF    THE    EARLY    COLO- 
-       NISTS. — EMIGRANTS   FROM  GERMANY. 

Germans  began  to  emigrate  to  America 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  centu- 
ry, and  the  first  comers  were  probably  suf- 
ferers in  the  devastations  committed  by  the 
French  under  Turenne  in  the  Upper  Palat- 
inate, a  country  lying  on  both  sides  of  the 
Rhine,  having  Manheim  for  its  capital,  and 
including  a  portion  of  the  territory  which 
has  since  been  transferred  from  the  Ger- 
man Empire  to  France.  In  1674  the 
whole  of  it  was  rendered  almost  utterly 
desolate  by  the  troops  of  Louis  XIV.,  who 
had  no  better  motive  for  perpetrating  such 
atrocities  than  that  the  invaded  province 
was  part  of  the  empire  with  which  he 
was  then  at  war,  and,  next,  that  its  inhabi- 
tants were  almost  all  Protestants.  So  ef- 
fectually did  these  troops  do  their  master's 
bidding,  that  the  Elector  Palatine  could  at 
one  time  see,  from  his  palace  at  Manheim, 
two  cities  and  twenty-five  villages  in 
flames  !  In  this  work  of  horror  Turenne, 
no  doubt,  proved  to  his  royal  masters  sat- 
isfaction the  sincerity  of  his  conversion 
from  Protestantism  to  Romanism,  but  he 
forever  tarnished  by  it  his  own  great 
name. 

As  persecution  continued  what  war  and 
rapine  had  begun,  on  the  Palatinate  falling 
under  the  government  of  a  bigot,  many 
German  Protestants  emigrated  to  the  Eng- 
lish colonies  in  America  ;  and  it  may  be 
remarked,  that  previously  to  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution,  the  German  emigration, 
though  not  always  confined  to  the  Palati- 
nate, and  though  many  of  the  emigrants 
came  from  the  northwest  of  Germany, 
continued  to  be  almost  purely  Protestant. 

About  2700  "  Palatines,"  as  they  were 
called,  who  had  sought  refuge  in  England, 
were  sent  out  by  the  British  government  un- 
der Colonel  Hunter  in  1710,  when  that  offi- 
cer was  transferred  from  the  governorship 
of  Virginia  to  that  of  New- York  ;  and  Ger- 
man settlements  were  formed  about  that 
time,  and  some  years  following,  on  the 


"  German  Flats,"  and  in  some  other  parts 
of  the  latter  province. 

In  Pennsylvania  this  immigration  is  said 
to  have  commenced  in  1682  or  1683,  when 
Germantown,near  Philadelphia,  was  found- 
ed ;  and  in  subsequent  years,  such  was  the 
influx  of  those  emigrants,  that  they  and 
their  descendants  were  estimated,  in  1772, 
at  a  third  of  the  whole  population  of  that 
province,  then  amounting  to  between 
200,000  and  300,000.*  In  a  letter  dated 
October  14th,  1730,  Mr.  Andrews  says : 
"  There  is  besides  in  this  province  a  vast 
number  of  Palatines,  and  they  come  in 
still  every  year.  Those  that  have  come 
of  late  are  mostly  Presbyterians,  or,  as 
they  call  themselves,  Reformed ;  the  Pa- 
latinate being  about  three  fifths  of  that  sort 
of  people."  There  were,  however,  many 
Lutherans  mixed  with  them,  as  Mr.  A. 
afterward  remarks,  while  he  adds  :  "  In 
other  parts  of  the  country  they  are  chiefly 
Reformed,  so  that,  I  suppose,  the  Presby- 
terian party  are  as  numerous  as  the  Qua- 
kers, or  near  it."f  In  the  year  1749, 
12,000  Germans  arrived  in  that  colony, 
and  for  several  years  thereafter  nearly 
the  same  number  came. J 

From  Pennsylvania  they  spread  into 
Maryland  and  Virginia.  "The  year  1713 
was  rendered  memorable  by  an  act  of 
kindness  shown  to  certain  emigrants,  sim- 
ilar to  that  which  had  been  manifested 
towards  the  French  refugees.  It  seems 
that  a  small  body  of  Germans  had  settled 
above  the  falls  of  the  Rappahannock,  on 
the  southern  branch  of  the  river,  in  the 
county  of  Essex.  This  was  at  that  period 
the  frontier  of  civilization  ;  and,  therefore, 
it  was  alike  the  suggestion  of  interest  and 
humanity  to  afford  protection  and  encour- 
agement to  these  foreigners.  According- 
ly, they  were  exempted,  as  the  French  had 
been,  from  all  ordinary  taxes  for  the  term 
of  seven  years,  and  were  formed  into  the 
"  Parish  of  St.  George,"  with  power  to 
employ  their  own  minister  and  upon  their 
own  terms. "§ 

Many  Germans  emigrated  to  the  Caro- 
linas also.  In  1709  above  600  arrived,  and 
from  the  name  of  their  settlement,  New- 
bern,  they  are  supposed  to  have  been 
Swiss-Germans  from  the  canton  of  Berne.|| 
From  1730  to  1750,  South  Carolina  receiv- 
ed large  accessions  from  Switzerland,  Hol- 
land, and  Germany,  and  a  great  many  "  Pal- 
atines" arrived  every  year.off     In  1764,  500 


*  Proud's  "  History  of  Pennsylvania,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  273. 

t  Dr.  Hodge's  "  Constitutional  History  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,"  vol.  i.,  p.  50. 

t  Proud's  "  History  of  Pennsylvania,"  vol.  ii.,  p. 
273,  274. 

^  Dr.  Hawks's  "  History  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  Virginia,"  p.  81. 

I!  Williamson's  "  History  of  North  Carolina,"  vol, 
i.,  p.  184. 

IT  Ramsay's  "  History  of  South  Carolina,"  vol.  i., 
p.  11. 


Chap.  XIV.]         CHARACTER  OF    THE    EARLY   COLONISTS. 


81 


or  600  were  sent  over  from  London,  and 
had  a  township  set  apart  for  them.*  Some 
years  later  a  considerable  number  of  Ger- 
man families,  after  having  settled  in  Maine, 
left  that  province  to  join  their  countrymen 
at  Londonderry  in  South  Carolina,  but  most 
of  these  repented  having  taken  that  step, 
and  returned  to  Maine,  where  their  descend- 
ants are  to  be  found  at  this  dayf. 

Georgia  had  Germans  among  its  very 
first  colonists.  A  band  of  these  were  led 
thither  by  Colonel  Oglethorpe,  and  re-en- 
forcements from  time  to  time  arrived  from 
Europe. 

The  Germans  who  emigrated  to  Ameri- 
ca during  the  colonial  era,  being  almost 
all  Protestants,  organized  upon  their  arri- 
val two  Communions  or  Churches,  upon 
the  great  doctrinal  principles  which  had 
divided  them  into  two  denominations  in 
Germany — the  Reformed,  or  the  Calvin- 
ists,  and  the  Church  of  the  Augsburg 
Confession,  or  Lutherans.  The  history 
of  these  churches  down  to  the  present 
day  will  fall  under  our  notice  elsewhere. 
But  although  difference  of  language  com- 
pelled them  in  the  first  instance  to  have 
churches  of  their  own,  many  of  their  de- 
scendants, partly  from  having  adopted  the 
English  tongue,  partly  from  their  wide 
dispersion  over  the  country,  are  now 
members  of  the  Presbyterian,  Episcopal, 
Methodist,  and  Baptist  Churches. 

Among  the  Germans  who  settled  in 
America  were  two  small,  but  interesting 
portions  of  the  ancient  Sclavonic  churches 
of  Bohemia,  as  if  to  show  that  even  the 
great  Eastern  branch  of  the  Christian 
Church  was  to  have  its  representatives 
also  in  the  New  World,  and  to  contribute  to 
lay  the  foundations  of  a  Christian  empire 
there.  These  were  the  United  Brethren, 
or  Moravians,  as  they  are  more  commonly 
called,  and  some  members  of  the  church- 
es of  Bohemia.  The  Moravians  came  di- 
rectly from  Herrnhut,the  mother  city  of  the 
whole  fraternity  that  adopt  the  renovating 
system,  received  by  some  of  the  remains 
of  the  ancient  race  from  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf,  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century. 
The  Bohemians  came  in  a  dispersed  state 
by  way  of  Holland,  but  not  having  organ- 
ized themselves  as  a  distinct  commu- 
nion, these  children  of  John  Huss  and  Je- 
rome of  Prague  were  soon  merged  in  the 
Protestant  churches  of  the  land  of  their 
adoption.     Not  so  with  the  United  Breth- 


*  Holmes's  "American  Annals,"  vol.  if,  p.  268. 

+  There  is  an  interesting  account  of  this  colony 
in  the  American  Quarterly  Register  for  Nov.,  1840. 
It  was  commenced,  it  would  seem,  in  1739,  and 
received  several  accessions  from  Germany,  but  never 
became  very  strong.  It  suffered  much  in  its  early 
days  Jrom  the  Indians,  and  also  from  lawsuits  about 
the  titles  to  the  lands  occupied  by  the  emigrants. 
The  chief  place  in  the  colony  is  called  Waldobor- 
ough,  where  there  is  a  church  and  a  pastor,  but  the 
German  language  is  now  disused. 


ren,  who  preserve  their  own  organization 
and  peculiar  institutions  to  this  day.  Be- 
sides a  few  churches  in  such  large  cities 
as  Philadelphia  and  New- York,  and  some 
scattered  throughout  the  interior,  they  are 
chiefly  to  be  found  in  the  three  settlements 
of  Bethlehem,  Nazareth,  and  Lititz  in  Penn- 
sylvania, and  Salem  in  North  Carolina. 
But  I  shall  speak  of  their  history  and  pres- 
ent number  in  another  part  of  this  work. 

Previous  to  the  Revolution,  the  German 
emigration  was  not  only  extensive,  but 
also,  to  a  considerable  degree  at  least, 
pure.  The  emigrants  had  left  Europe  on 
account  of  their  religion,  and  brought  with 
them  into  America  the  simple  and  tranquil 
habits,  and  the  frugal  industry  that  char- 
acterize the  nation  from  which  they  came. 
Not  only  was  their  general  standard  of 
morality  high,  but  there  was  not  wanting 
among  them  a  goodly  number  of  sincere 
Christians,  distinguished  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  all  the  Christian  virtues.  But  ever 
since  the  Revolution,  and  especially  during 
the  last  thirty  years,  a  very  numerous  em- 
igration from  Germany  to  the  United  States 
has  taken  place,  consisting  both  of  Protest- 
ants and  Roman  Catholics,  influenced  in 
expatriating  themselves  chiefly  by  worldly 
considerations,  and  much  inferior  in  point 
of  religious  character  to  those  godly  emi- 
grants of  the  same  race  who  had  been 
driven  to  our  shores  by  persecution  and 
oppression  at  home. 

The  descendants  of  German  settlers  are 
very  numerous  in  Pennsylvania,  Maryland, 
Virginia,  and  the  other  Southern  States,  as 
well  as  in  New-York,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illi- 
nois, Michigan,  Missouri,  and  the  Territo- 
ries of  Wisconsin  and  Iowa.  Indeed,  they 
are  by  far  the  most  numerous  of  all  the 
emigrants  to  America  that  are  not  of  the 
British  stock.  But  their  influence  on  the 
religious  character  of  the  nation  has  not 
been  equal  to  that  of  the  Puritans,  the 
Scotch,  or  the  Huguenots.  The  first  Bi- 
ble printed  in  America  was  Luther's  ver- 
sion. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

RELIGIOUS    CHARACTER    OF    THE     EARLY    COLO- 
NISTS.  EMIGRANTS    FROM    POLAND. 

Even  Poland  was  called  upon  to  furnish 
her  contingent  towards  the  colonization 
of  America,  and  sent  over  some  excellent 
people,  whose  descendants  are  now  dis- 
persed over  the  country. 

I  know  not  whether  the  fact  I  am  about 
to  mention  stands  recorded  in  any  history, 
but  it  may,  without  hesitation,  be  received 
as  true  in  all  material  points.  I  received 
it  myself  from  some  excellent  ministers 
of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  who  are 
personally  acquainted  with  a  considerable 
number  of  the  descendants  of  the  colonists 


82 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  IL 


to  whom  it  relates.  They  state  that  in  the 
early  part  of  the  18th  century,  a  Count  So- 
bieski,  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  famous 
John  Sobieski  III.,  who  routed  the  Turks 
at  the  battle  of  Choczin  in  1673,  and  cha- 
sed them  from  the  walls  of  Vienna  in  1683, 
led  a  colony  of  about  200  Protestants  from 
Poland  to  the  shores  of  America,  there  to 
enjoy  a  religious  freedom  which  was  not 
to  be  found  in  their  native  country. 

In  this  tradition  there  is  nothing  strange. 
The  doctrines  of  the  Reformation  made  a 
considerable  progress  for  a  time  in  Poland, 
and  one  or  two  of  the  kings  of  that  coun- 
try were  well  disposed  towards  it.  Stipu- 
lations somewhat  like  the  Edict  of  Nantes 
were  even  made,  for  securing  liberty  of 
conscience  and  of  worship  to  the  Protest- 
ants. But  these  were  afterward  disregard- 
ed, the  Protestants  persecuted,  and  their 
doctrines  so  effectually  suppressed,  that  a 
Protestant  Pole  is  hardly  to  be  found  now 
in  the  whole  kingdom ;  for  those  Protest- 
ants whom  one  meets  with  there  are  of 
the  German,  not  of  the  Polish  race.  Thus 
there  is  nothing  incredible  in  Poland,  too, 
being  represented  in  a  country  where  the 
persecuted  of  every  land  have  found  a 
home. 

This  Polish  colony  settled  in  the  valleys 
of  the  Passaic  and  Karitan  Rivers  in  New- 
Jersey,  where  there  are  some  of  their  de- 
scendants at  the  present  day,  while  others 
are  dispersed  over  various  parts  of  the 
country.  The  name  of  Sobieski,  corrupt- 
ed into  that  of  Zabriskie,  is  retained  by  a 
highly  respectable  family,  some  members 
of  which  are  to  be  found  in  one  district  of 
New-Jersey,  and  others  in  the  city  of  New- 
York. 

How  wonderful  are  the  ways  of  God ! 
Poland  chose  to  cleave  to  Romanism  and 
rejected  the  Protestant  Reformation,  and 
how  has  Romanism  served  her  in  her  re- 
cent dreadful  struggle  for  national  inde- 
pendence ?  This  question  is  best  answered 
by  the  pope's  bull,*  addressed  to  the  bish- 
ops of  the  kingdom  in  relation  to  that  war. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

RELIGIOUS     CHARACTER    OF    THE    EARLY    COLO- 
NISTS.  EMIGRANTS  FROM   THE   VALLEYS   OF 

PIEDMONT. 

While  even  Bohemia,  Moravia,  and  Po- 
land thus  sent  forth  their  little  bands  of 
faithful  men  to  America,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  we  should  find  some  wit- 
nesses to  the  Truth  proceeding  from  the 
valleys  of  Piedmont,  to  place  themselves 
in  the  ranks  of  those  whom  God  was  thus 
calling  from  so  many  nations  to  take  part 
in  peopling  the  New  World  with  profes- 
sors of  the  pure  Gospel.     It  was  most  fit- 


*  This  bull  is  given  at  length  in  the  work  of  the 
Abbe  de  la  Mennais  entitled  "  Rome." 


ting  that  among  those  there  should  be  somer 
at  least,  to  represent  that  martyr-people, 
veritable  living  relics  of  those  churches  in 
the  north  of  Italy  and  southwest  of  France, 
which  had  remained  faithful  to  the  Truth 
during  long  ages  of  apostacy,  and  whose 
preservation  was  so  appropriately  symbol- 
ized by  "  the  bush  unconsumed  in  the  midst 
of  the  flames." 

These  had  heard,  in  the  recesses  of  their 
valleys,  of  the  wonderful  movement  of 
the  Reformation  in  Germany  and  France. 
They  sent  a  deputation  to  Basel  to  learn 
from  CEcolampadius  what  were  the  senti- 
ments of  the  Reformers,  and  what  those 
doctrines  which  were  turning  the  world 
upside  down.  They  heard  with  joy  that 
the  faith  of  the  Reformers  was  the  same 
as  their  own,  and  hastened,  accordingly, 
to  unite  themselves  to  the  general  body  of 
faithful  men,  who,  through  much  tribula- 
tion, were  casting  off  the  yoke  of  that 
spiritual  Babylon,  drunk  with  the  blood  of 
saints,  which  had  been  endeavouring  for 
so  many  ages  to  crush  their  forefathers. 

But  before  long  the  persecution,  which 
was  to  fall  upon  the  whole  Protestant 
body,  reached  them  also,  and  with  fresh 
violence.  Neither  the  seclusion  of  their 
valleys,  nor  the  insignificance  of  their  num- 
bers, could  save  them  from  this  stroke. 
Then  it  was  that  the  voice  of  Cromwell 
spoke  for  them  with  a  power  which  even 
the  Emperor  of  Germany  dared  not  disre- 
gard. And  then  the  pen  of  England's  great- 
est poet  was  no  less  ready  to  teach  a  per- 
secuting prince  the  duty  that  he  owed  to 
suffering  humanity,  than  it  was  "  to  assert 
eternal  providence,  and  justify  the  ways 
of  God  to  man."  Those  valleys  contain 
enduring  monuments  of  British  benevo- 
lence ;  the  fund  contributed  at  that  time 
by  the  Christians  of  England  has  aided  the- 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  to  their  poor  in- 
habitants ever  since.  But  those  who  had 
fled  from  persecution  before  the  voice  of 
Britain  was  thus  lifted  up,  had  to  be  pro- 
vided with  an  asylum,  and  for  this  they 
were  indebted  to  the  city  of  Amsterdam, 
which  offered  them  a  free  passage  to 
America.  There  the  few  hundreds  that 
embraced  the  offer  found  a  welcome  re- 
ception awaiting  them.* 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

SUMMARY. 

Such,  as  respects  the  religious  charac- 
ter of  the  colonists,  was  the  early  coloniza- 
tion of  the  United  States;  and  well  may  it 
excite  our  wonder  as  altogether  without  a 


*  "Albany  Records,"  vol.  iv.,  p.  223.  Lambrecht- 
sten,  p.  65,  without  quoting  his  authority,  says  600 
came  over.  Mr.  Bancroft,  vol.  ii.,  p.  322,  thinks  this 
an  over-statement.  A  second  emigration  was  pro- 
posed in  1663,  but  the  project  failed. 


Chap.  XVI.l 


CHARACTER  OF   THE   EARLY   COLONISTS. 


83 


parallel  in  the  history  of  the  world.  What 
were  the  colonies  of  Egypt,  of  Phoenicia, 
of  Greece,  and  Rome  1  what  the  colonies 
of  Spain  and  Portugal,  when  compared 
with  those  we  have  been  considering? 
Before  leaving  the  subject,  let  us  take  a 
general  survey  of  their  character. 

1.  They  were  not  composed  of  the  rich, 
the  voluptuous,  the  idle,  the  effeminate,  and 
the  profligate,  neither  were  they,  generally 
speaking,  composed  of  poor,  spiritless,  de- 
pendant, and  helpless  persons.  They  rath- 
er came  from  that  middle  class  of  socie- 
ty, which  is  placed  in  the  happy  medium 
between  sordid  poverty  and  overgrown 
wealth.  They  knew  that  whatever  com- 
fort or  enjoyment  they  could  look  for  in 
the  New  World,  was  only  to  be  attained 
by  the  blessing  of  God  upon  their  indus- 
try, frugality,  and  temperance. 

2.  They  were  not  an  ignorant  rabble, 
such  as  many  ancient  and  some  modern 
states  have  been  obliged  to  expel  from 
their  borders.  Taken  in  the  mass,  they 
were  well  informed — many  of  them  re- 
markably so  for  the  age  in  which  they 
lived — and  which  in  the  case  of  none  of 
them  was  an  age  of  darkness.  Letters 
had  revived  ;  the  art  of  printing  had  dif- 
fused a  great  amount  of  valuable  knowl- 
edge among  the  middle  ranks  of  society, 
and  was  fast  carrying  it  down  to  the  low- 
est. With  few  exceptions,  they  had  ac- 
quired the  elements  of  a  good  education. 
There  were  few  persons  in  any  of  the  col- 
onies that  could  not  read.  They  were, 
moreover,  a  thinking  people,  and  very  un- 
fit to  be  the  slaves  of  despotic  power. 

3.  They  were  a  virtuous  people  ;  not  a 
vicious  herd,  such  as  used  to  be  sent  out 
by  ancient  states,  and  such  as  chiefly  col- 
onized South  America  and  Mexico,  men 
of  unbridled  passions  and  slaves  to  the  ba- 
sest lusts.  The  morality  of  the  early  col- 
onists of  the  United  States  was  unrivalled 
in  any  community  of  equal  extent,  and  has 
been  lauded  by  almost  all  who  have  writ- 
ten about  them,  as  well  as  by  those  who 
governed  them. 

4.  They  were  religious  men.  They  be- 
lieved and  felt  that  Christianity  is  no  vain 
fancy— a  fact  that  holds  true  even  as  re- 
spects those  of  them  with  whom  religious 
motives  were  not  the  chief  inducement  for 
expatriating  themselves.  The  overwhelm- 
ing majority  stood  acquitted  of  the  slight- 
est approach  to  infidelity.  Neither  were 
they  what  are  called  "  philosophers,"  at- 
tempting to  propagate  certain  new  theo- 
ries respecting  human  society,  and  sug- 
gesting new  methods  for  rendering  it  per- 
fect. By  far  the  greater  number  of  them 
were  simple  Christians,  who  knew  of  no 
way  by  which  men  can  be  good  or  happy 
but  that  pointed  out  by  God  in  his  Word. 
There  was  not  a  single  St.  Simon  or  Owen 
to  be  found  among  them.     Some  of  them, 


indeed,  were  irreligious  men ;  some  were? 
even  openly  wicked,  and  opposed  to  all 
that  is  good.  But  these,  in  most  of  the? 
colonies,  formed  a  very  small  minority. 

Nor  was  their  religion  inoperative,  ft 
produced  the  fruits  of  righteousness.  They 
have  been  blamed  for  their  conduct  to  the 
Indians,  but  not  with  so  much  justice  as 
has  been  supposed.  No  doubt  there  were 
instances  of  individual  wrong,  but  they  can- 
not be  charged  with  any  general  want  of 
justice  or  kindness  to  the  Aborigines.  Ira 
almost  every  case  they  bought  from  those- 
prior  occupants  the  lands  on  which  they 
settled.  But  on  this,  and  some  other 
points  of  a  general  nature,  I  shall  have 
more  to  say  in  another  place. 

5.  With  few  exceptions,  the  first  colo- 
nists were  Protestants  ;  indeed,  Lord  Bal- 
timore's was  the  only  Roman  Catholic  col- 
ony, and  even  in  it  the  Romanists  formed 
only  a  small  minority  long  before  the  Rev- 
olution of  1775.  The  great  mass  had  sacri- 
ficed much,  some  their  all,  for  the  Protest- 
ant faith.  They  were  Protestants  in  the 
sense  of  men  who  took  the  Bible  for  their 
guide,  who  believed  what  it  taught,  not 
what  human  authority  put  in  its  place, 
"What  saith  the  Lord'!"  this  was  what 
they  desired  first  of  all,  and  above  all,  to 
know.  And  it  was  the  study  of  the  Bible 
that  opened  their  eyes  to  truths  which: 
bore  upon  every  possible  relation  of  life, 
and  upon  every  duty.  There  they  learned 
to  look  upon  all  men  as  children  of  the- 
same  heavenly  Father,  as  redeemed  by 
the  same  Saviour,  as  going  to  the  same  bar 
of  judgment,  before  which  all  must  stands 
stripped  of  the  factitious  distinctions  of 
this  world.  They  saw  no  reason,  there- 
fore, why  one  man  should  lord  it  over  an- 
other, since  all  "  are  of  one  flesh,"  and  if 
Christians,  brethren  in  Christ.  And  they 
learned  from  the  Bible  that  obedience  is 
due  to  rulers,  not  because  they  are  differ- 
ent in  blood  or  rank  from  other  men,  but 
because  government  is  "  an  ordinance  of 
God."  Obedience  to  God  secured  their 
obedience  to  civil  rulers.  As  God  cannot 
command  what  is  wrong,  no  ruler  can  be 
justified  in  doing  so,  nor  can  expect  obe- 
dience if  he  does.  And  while  they  learned: 
from  the  Bible  what  were  their  duties,  so 
they  learned  there  also  what  were  their 
rights.  This  led  them  at  once  to  do  the 
former  and  to  demand  the  latter. 

6.  The  great  majority  of  them  had  suf- 
fered much  oppression  and  persecution* 
and  in  that  severe  but  effectual  school  had 
learned  lessons  not  to  be  acquired  in  any 
other.  It  led  them  to  question  many- 
things  to  which  otherwise  their  thoughts 
might  never  have  been  directed,  and  it 
gave  them  irresistible  power  of  argument 
in  favour  of  the  right  of  the  human  rrrincli 
to  freedom  of  thought.  Indeed,  it  is  re- 
markable how  large  a  proportion  of  th4 


Q4 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


early  colonists  of  the  United  States  were 
driven  from  Europe  by  oppression.  Al- 
though Virginia  and  the  Carolinas  were 
not  expressly  established  as  asylums  for 
the  wronged,  yet  during  the  Common- 
wealth in  England  they  afforded  a  refuge 
to  the  "  Cavalier"  and  the  "  Churchman," 
as  they  did  afterward  to  the  Huguenot  and 
German  Protestant.  Georgia  was  colo- 
nized as  an  asylum  for  the  imprisoned  and 
';  persecuted  Protestants  ;"  Maryland,  as 
the  home  of  persecuted  Roman  Catholics  ; 
and  the  colony  of  Gustavus  Adolphus  was 
to  be  a  general  blessing  to  the  "  whole 
Protestant  world,"  by  offering  a  shelter  to 
all  who  stood  in  need  of  one.  Even  New- 
York,  though  founded  by  Dutch  merchants, 
with  an  eye  to  trade  alone,  opened  its  arms 
to  the  persecuted  Bohemian,  and  to  the  in- 
habitant of  the  Italian  valleys.  So  that, 
in  fact,  all  these  colonies  were  originally 
peopled  more  or  less,  and  some  of  them 
exclusively,  by  the  victims  of  oppression 
and  persecution  ;  hence  the  remark  of  one 
of  our  historians  is  no  less  just  than  elo- 
quent, that  "  tyranny  and  injustice  peopled 
America  with  men  nurtured  in  suffering 
and  adversity.  The  history  of  our  colo- 
nization is  the  history  of  the  crimes  of 
Europe."* 

7.  Though  incapable  as  yet  of  emanci- 
pating themselves  from  all  the  prejudices 
and  errors  of  past  ages,  with  respect  to  the 
rights  of  conscience,  they  were  at  least  in 
advance  of  the  rest  of  the  world  on  these 
points,  and  founded  an  empire  in  which 
religious  liberty  is  at  this  day  more  fully 
enjoyed  than  anywhere  else — in  short,  is 
in  every  respect  perfect. 

8.  Lastly,  of  the  greater  number  of  the 
early  colonists  it  may  be  said,  that  they  ex- 
patriated themselves  from  the  Old  World, 
not  merely  to  find  liberty  of  conscience  in 
the  forests  of  the  New,  but  that  they  might 
extend  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  by  founding 
states  where  the  Truth  should  not  be  im- 
peded by  the  hinderances  that  opposed  its 
progress  elsewhere.  This  was  remarka- 
bly the  case  with  the  Puritans  of  New- 
England  ;  but  a  like  spirit  animated  the  pi- 
ous men  who  settled  in  other  parts  of  the 
country.  They  looked  to  futurity,  and 
caught  glimpses  of  the  glorious  progress 
which  the  Gospel  was  to  make  among  their 
children  and  children's  children.  This 
comforted  them  in  sorrow,  and  sustained 
ihem  under  trials.  They  lived  by  faith, 
and  their  hope  was  not  disappointed. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

RELATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  CHURCHES  AND  THE 
CIVIL  POWER  IN  THE  COLONIES  OF  AMERICA. 
1.    IN  NEW-ENGLAND. 

In  treating  of  the  religious  character  of 


*  Bancroft's  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  vol. 
LL,  p.  251. 


the  early  Anglo-American  colonies,  I  have 
spoken  incidentally  only  respecting  their 
forms  of  Church  government,  and  even 
now  proceed  to  consider  these  only  in  so 
far  as  is  required  for  a  right  understanding 
of  the  established  relations  between  their 
Churches  and  the  civil  government.  I 
shall  elsewhere  treat  of  the  various  reli- 
gious communions  in  the  United  States, 
or,  rather,  of  the  diverse  forms  in  which 
the  Church  presents  itself  to  the  world, 
and  the  doctrines  peculiar  to  each.  We 
have  here  to  do  only  with  the  relations 
which  the  State  bore  in  the  different  colo- 
nies to  the  Church ;  and  where  these  two 
bodies  were  united,  we  shall  see  what 
were  the  nature  and  extent  of  that  union. 

Many  persons  whom  I  have  met  with  in 
Europe  seem  to  have  been  altogether  una- 
ware of  the  existence  of  any  such  union  in 
any  part  of  the  United  States,  and,  still 
more,  have  had  no  correct  idea  of  what  the 
nature  of  that  union  was  in  the  different 
parts  of  the  country  where  it  was  to  be 
found.  To  both  these  classes  I  desire  to 
give  all  the  information  they  may  require. 

If  we  consider  for  a  moment  what  was 
the  state  of  the  Christian  world  when  these 
colonies  were  first  planted,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  we  must 
see  that  the  mass  of  the  colonists  would  be 
very  little  disposed  to  have  the  Church 
completely  separated  from  the  State  in 
their  infant  settlements,  and  the  former 
deriving  no  support  from  the  latter.  The 
Church  and  the  State  were  at  that  time  in- 
timately united  in  all  the  countries  of  Eu- 
rope ;  and  the  opinion  was  almost  univer- 
sally entertained  that  the  one  could  not 
safely  exist  without  the  direct  counte- 
nance of  the  other.  It  is  not  even  certain 
that  England,  or  any  other  country,  would 
have  granted  charters  for  the  founding  of 
permanent  colonies,  unless  upon  the  con- 
dition expressed,  or  well  understood,  that 
religion  was  to  receive  the  public  sanction 
and  support.  Assuredly,  James  1.,  at  least, 
was  not  likely  to  consent  to  anything  else. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  the  first  colonists 
themselves  had  no  idea  of  abolishing  the 
connexion  which  they  saw  everywhere 
established  between  the  civil  powers  and 
the  Church  of  Christ.  To  begin  with  New- 
England,  nothing  can  be  more  certain  than 
that  its  Puritan  colonists,  whether  we  look 
to  their  declarations  or  their  acts,  never 
contemplated  the  founding  of  communities 
in  which  the  Church  should  have  no  alli- 
ance with  the  State.  Their  object,  and  it 
was  one  that  was  dearer  to  them  than  life 
itself,  was  to  found  such  civil  communities 
as  should  be  most  favourable  to  the  cause 
of  pure  religion.  They  had  left  England 
in  order  to  escape  from  a  government 
which,  in  their  view,  hindered  the  progress 
of  divine  truth,  oppressed  the  conscience, 
and  was  inexpressibly  injurious  to  the  im- 


Chap.  XVII.]         THE   CHURCHES   AND   THE   CIVIL  POWER. 


85 


mortal  interests  of  men's  souls.  "  They 
had  seen  in  their  native  country  the  entire 
subjection  of  the  Church  to  the  supreme 
civil  power ;  reformation  beginning  and 
ending  according  to  the  caprices  of  the 
hereditary  sovereign ;  the  Church  neither 
purified  from  superstition,  ignorance,  and 
scandal,  nor  permitted  to  purify  itself; 
ambitious,  time-serving,  tyrannical  men, 
the  minions  of  the  court,  appointed  to  the 
high  places  of  prelacy  ;  and  faithful,  skil- 
ful, and  laborious  preachers  of  the  Word 
of  God  silenced,  imprisoned,  and  deprived 
of  all  means  of  subsistence,  according  to 
the  interests  and  aims  of  him  or  her  who, 
by  the  law  of  inheritance,  happened  to  be 
at  the  head  of  the  kingdom.  All  this 
seemed  to  them  not  only  preposterous,  but 
intolerable  ;  and,  therefore,  to  escape  from 
such  a  state  of  things,  and  to  be  where 
they  could  freely  practise  '  Church  Ref- 
ormation,' they  emigrated."* 

In  the  formation,  likewise,  of  their  civil 
institutions  in  the  New  World,  they  deter- 
mined that,  whatever  else  might  be  sacri- 
ficed, the  purity  and  liberty  of  their  church- 
es should  be  inviolate.  Bearing  this  in  mind, 
they  founded  commonwealths  in  which  the 
churches  were  not  to  be  subordinate  to  the 
state.  Not  that  they  were  "  Fifth  mon- 
archy men  ;"  they  had  no  wish  that  the 
Church  should  engross  to  itself  the  powers 
of  the  State,  and  so  rule  in  civil  as  well  as 
in  ecclesiastical  matters.  But  they  thought 
it  better  that  the  State  should  be  accom- 
modated to  the  Church,  than  the  Church 
to  the  State.  "  It  is  better,"  said  Mr.  Cot- 
ton, "  that  the  commonwealth  be  fashioned 
to  the  setting  forth  of  God's  house,  which 
is  his  Church,  than  to  accommodate  the 
Church  frame  to  the  civil  state. "f 

With  this  in  view,  they  sought  to  avail 
themselves  of  all  the  lights  furnished  by 
the  experience  of  ancient  as  well  as  mod- 
ern states,  and  looking  especially  to  the 
Constitution  of  England  as  it  then  stood, 
they  framed  civil  governments  in  which, 
as  they  hoped,  not  only  the  temporal,  but, 
still  more,  the  spiritual  interests  of  mankind 
might  best  be  promoted.  They  considered 
that  they  had  a  right  to  do  so,  and  held 
opinions  on  this  point  directly  at  variance 
with  those  of  the  age  in  which  they  lived. 
The  fashion  then  was  to  deduce  all  author- 
ity from  the  divine  right  of  kings,  and  the 
theory  of  civil  power  was  that  of  uninter- 
rupted hereditary  succession.  But  the  Pu- 
ritan founders  of  New-England  thought  that 
"  they  were  free  to  cast  themselves  into 
that  mould  and  form  of  commonwealth 
which  appeared  best  for  them,"  in  reference 


*  Bacon's  "  Historical  Discourses  on  the  Comple- 
tion of  200  Years  from  the  beginning  of  the  first 
Church  in  New-Haven,"  p.  17,  18. 

t  Cotton's  "  Letter  to  Lord  Say  and  Seal,  in 
Hutchinson's  History  of  New-England,"  vol.  i.,  p. 
497. 


to  their  grand  purpose  ;  nor  did  they  doubt 
that  a  government  thus  originating  in  vol- 
untary compact  would  have  equal  right  to 
the  exercise  of  civil  authority  with  that  of 
any  earthly  potentate  whatever. 

Whatever  were  the  details  of  their  poli- 
cy, and  whatever  the  results  of  some  parts" 
of  it,  it  is  most  certain  that  they  intended 
that  the  Church  should  in  no  sense  be  sub- 
ject to  the  State.  They  held  the  great  and 
glorious  doctrine  that  Christ  is  the  only- 
Head  and  Ruler  of  the  Church,  and  that 
no  human  legislation  has  a  right  to  inter- 
fere with  His.  It  has  been  said  that  they 
took  the  Hebrew  commonwealth  for  their 
model  in  civil  politics,  and  this  is  so  far 
true.  But  it  holds  as  to  their  penal  code 
more  than  with  respect  to  the  forms  of 
their  civil  governments.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  first  few  years  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay  and  New-Haven  colonies,  there 
was  no  such  blending  of  civil  and  religious 
authority  as  existed  in  the  Jewish  Republic. 
There  was  much,  however,  in  the  Hebrew 
commonwealth  and  laws  that  seemed 
adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  men  who 
had  just  exchanged  what  they  considered  a 
worse  than  Egyptian  bondage  for  a  Canaan 
inhabited  by  the  "  heathen,"  whom  they 
were  soon  to  be  compelled  "  to  drive  out." 
The  two  cases  were  more  alike  than  at  first 
strikes  a  superficial  observer.*  There  were 


*  "  The  laws  of  Moses  were  given  to  a  communi- 
ty emigrating  from  their  native  country  to  a  land 
which  they  were  to  acquire  and  occupy  for  the  great 
purpose  of  maintaining  in  simplicity  and  purity  the 
worship  of  the  one  true  God.  The  founders  of  this 
colony  came  hither  for  the  self-same  purpose.  Their 
emigration  from  their  native  country  was  a  religious 
emigration.  Every  other  interest  of  their  communi- 
ty was  held  subordinate  to  the  purity  of  their  reli- 
gious faith  and  practice.  So  far,  then,  as  this  point  of 
comparison  is  concerned,  the  laws  which  were  givers 
to  Israel  in  the  wilderness  may  have  been  suited  to 
the  wants  of  a  religious  colony  planting  itself  in 
America. 

"  The  laws  of  Moses  were  given  to  a  people  who 
were  to  live  not  only  surrounded  by  heathen  tribes 
on  every  frontier  save  the  seaboard,  but  also  with  the 
heathen  inhabitants,  worshippers  of  the  devil,  inter- 
mixed among  them,  not  fellow-citizens,  but  men  of  an- 
other and  barbarous  race;  and  the  laws  were  therefore 
framed  with  a  special  reference  to  the  corrupting  in- 
fluence of  such  neighbourhood  and  intercourse.  Sinv 
ilar  to  this  was  the  condition  of  our  fathers.  The  Ca- 
naanite  was  in  the  land,  with  his  barbarian  vices,  with 
his  heathenish  and  hideous  superstitions ;  and  their 
servants  and  children  were  to  be  guarded  against  the 
contamination  of  intercourse  with  beings  so  degraded. 

"  The  laws  of  the  Hebrews  were  designed  for  a 
free  people.  Under  those  laws,  so  unlike  all  the  in 
stitutions  of  Oriental  despotism,  there  was  no  abso 
lute  power,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  hereditary 
priesthood,  whose  privileges,  as  a  class,  were  well 
balanced  by  their  labours  and  disabilities,  no  pnvi 
leged  classes.  The  aim  of  those  laws  was  '  equal 
and  exact  justice  ;'  and  equal  and  exact  justice  is  the 
only  freedom.  Equal  and  exact  justice,  in  the  laws 
and  in  the  administration  of  the  laws,  infuses  free- 
dom into  the  being  of  a  people,  secures  the  widest 
and  most  useful  distribution  of  the  means  of  enjoy- 
ment, and  affords  scope  for  the  activity  and  health- 
ful stimulus  to  the  affections  of  every  individual. 
The  people  whose  habits  and  sentiments  are  formed 


•86 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


parts  of  the  Mosaic  law,  excluding,  of 
course,  all  that  was  typical,  ceremonial, 
and  local,  which  the  colonists  thought  they 
might  do  well  to  adopt,  until,  in  the  course 
of  time,  they  should  find  reasons  tor  chan- 
ging to  something  better.  Had  it  been  the 
laws  of  Solon,  Lycurgus,  Numa,  or  Alfred 
that  they  adopted,  some  who  now  ridicule 
would  perhaps  have  applauded  them,  as  if 
Moses  were  inferior  to  any  of  those  law- 
givers. There  are  men  who  know  more  of 
the  laws  of  Solon,  and  even  of  Minos,  than 
about  Moses,  and  who,  in  their  ignorance, 
talk  of  the  Jews  of  the  days  of  Moses  as  if 
almost,  if  not  altogether,  savages  ;  not 
knowing  that  they  were  quite  as  much  civ- 
ilized as  any  of  their  contemporaries,  and 
had  institutions  prescribed  to  them  by  the 
Supreme  Ruler  and  Lawgiver. 

It  is  remarkable  that,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Plymouth  settlers,  all  the  first  New- 
England  colonists — all  who  founded  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay,  New-Hampshire,  Maine, 
Connecticut,  New-Haven,  Providence,  and 
Rhode  Island — up  to  their  leaving  England, 
were  members  of  the  Established  Church. 
The  Plymouth  people  alone  were  Inde- 
pendents,* had  had  their  church  organized 
on  that  principle  for  years,  and  were  such 
even  before  they  went  to  Holland.  If  any 
of  the  other  original  colonists  of  New-Eng- 
land had  been  thrust  out  from  the  Estab- 
lished Church  of  the  mother-country,  they 
nad  not  organized  themselves  on  any  other 
principle  ;  and,  however  opposed  to  the 
spirit  of  its  rulers  and  to  some  of  its  cere- 
monies and  usages,  that  they  were  attached 
to  the  Church  itself,  as  well  as  to  many  of 
those  whom  they  had  left  within  its  pale,  is 
3nanifest  from  the  letter  of  Governor  Win- 
throp and  his  associates,  just  after  embark- 
ing for  America. 

But  on  arriving  there  they  immediately 
proceeded  to  the  founding  of  an  ecclesias- 
tical economy  upon  the  Independent  plan, 
having  for  its  essential  principles,  "  That, 
according  to  the  Scriptures,  every  church 
ought  to  be  confined  within  the  limits  of  a 
^single  congregation,  and  that  the  govern- 
ment should  be  democratical ;  that  church- 
es should  be  constituted  by  such  as  desired 
to  be  members,  making  a  confession  of 
their  faith  in  the  presence  of  each  other, 
and  signing  a  covenant ;  that  the  whole 
power  of  admitting  and  excluding  mem- 


under  such  an  administration  of  justice  will  he  a 
free  people."  —  Baco/i's  "  Historical  Discourses,"  p. 
.30,31. 

*  They  were  not,  properly  speaking,  Separatists, 
in  the  distinctive  sense  in  which  that  word  was  used 
at  that  epoch,  viz.,  those  who  not  only  refused  to 
liave  any  sort  of  communion  with  the  Established 
Church,  but  denounced  all  who  did.  The  Separa- 
tists were  exceedingly  bitter  in  their  hostility  to  eve- 
rything which  bore  the  name  of  the  Established 
Church  of  England.  The  farewell  address  of  John 
Robinson,  to  the  Pilgrims  who  left  Leyden  to  plant 
the  colony  at  Plymouth,  breathed  a  very  different 
spirit. 


bers,  with  the  deciding  of  all  controversies, 
was  in  the  brotherhood ;  that  church-offi- 
cers, for  preaching  the  Word  and  taking 
care  of  the  poor,  were  to  be  chosen  by 
the  free  suffrages  of  the  brethren ;  that  in 
church  censures,  there  should  be  an  entire 
separation  of  the  ecclesiastical  from  the 
civil  sword  ;  that  Christ  is  the  Head  of  the 
Church ;  that  a  liturgy  is  not  necessary  ; 
and  that  all  ceremonies  not  prescribed  by 
the  Scriptures  are  to  be  rejected." 

But  how  are  we  to  account  for  a  change 
in  their  views  so  sudden  and  so  great? 
Even  when  Winthrop  left  England  in  1630, 
neither  the  Presbyterian  nor  the  Independ- 
ent doctrines  as  to  Church  government  had 
made  that  progress  in  public  opinion  which 
they  had  made  when  the  Long  Parliament, 
and  Cromwell  and  his  army,  began  to  play 
their  parts.  It  is  quite  possible,  or,  rather, 
all  but  certain,  that  several  of  the  ministers 
in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  colony  were  low 
Episcopalians,  and  friends  of  Archbishop 
Usher's  scheme  ;  but  if  all  of  the  leading 
colonists  were  as  much  inclined  to  Presby- 
terianism  as  has  been  thought  by  some,  it 
is  hard  to  imagine  why  they  did  not  estab- 
lish that  form  of  government.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  make  out,  on  the  other  hand,  why 
they  diverged  so  widely,  and  at  once,  from 
the  Episcopal  economy,  as  to  adopt  Inde- 
pendency, which  is  almost  antipodal. 

This,  it  appears  to  me,  may  be  referred 
to  two  or  three  causes.  First,  it  is  natural 
that,  on  quitting  England,  where  they  had 
suffered  so  much  from  Prelacy,  they  should 
renounce  an  ecclesiastical  system  that  con- 
ferred upon  any  men  powers  so  capable  of 
being  abused  ;  nor  can  it  be  thought  surpri- 
sing that  in  such  circumstances  they  should 
run  to  the  opposite  extreme,  and  prefer  an 
ecclesiastical  government  of  the  most  dem- 
ocratical sort.  Another,  and  much  more 
powerful  reason,  for  their  rejecting  Epis- 
copacy would  be,  that  they  might  escape 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  bishops,  which  would 
otherwise  unquestionably  have  followed 
them.  And,  lastly,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  they  were  much  influenced  by  what 
they  saw  and  heard  of  the  Plymouth  colo- 
ny. It  will  be  remembered  that  the  first 
division  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  settlers, 
under  Endicott,  reached  Salem  in  1628,  and 
that  the  main  body,  under  Winthrop,  fol- 
lowed in  1630,  and  founded  Boston.  It 
would  seem  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Higginson, 
the  distinguished  minister  in  Endicott's  col- 
ony, led  the  way  in  effecting  the  change, 
he  having,  upon  his  arrival  at  Salem,  or 
soon  afterward,  introduced  the  Independ- 
ent plan  among  his  people,  though  not  with- 
out much  difficulty,  being  opposed  by  the 
two  Brownes,  John  and  Samuel,  who,  in 
•consequence  of  this  opposition,  had  to  re- 
turn to  England.  Mr.  Higginson  was  dis- 
posed to  receive  very  favourably  the  ac- 
counts transmitted  from  the  Plymouth  col- 


Chaf.  XYIL]       the  churches  and  the  civil  power. 


87 


ony  on  the  other  side  of  the  bay.  It  is  true 
that  Edward  Winslow,  in  his  "  Brief  Nar- 
rative," as  well  as  Cotton,  in  his  "  Way," 
&c,  undertake  to  prove  that  Plymouth  did 
not  exert  the  influence  that  has  been  as- 
cribed to  it,  and  which  has  even  by  Gorton 
and  his  accomplices  been  charged  against 
it  as  a  crime.  But  I  think  it  clear  that  they 
admit  the  substance  of  the  charge.* 

The  Church,  then,  that  was  established 
in  all  the  New-England  colonies,  with  the 
exception  of  Providence  and  Rhode  Isl- 
and,! was  what  is  termed  in  the  United 
States,  Congregational,  and  in  England, 
Independent ;  though  there  is  some  differ- 
ence between  the  Congregational  churches 
in  the  former  of  these  countries,  and  the 
Independent  in  the  latter,  as  I  shall  show 
in  another  part  of  this  work.  I  speak  here 
of  the  form  of  government.  As  for  doc- 
trines, they  were  essentially  those  of  the 
Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land ;  in  other  words,  Calvinistic. 

Let  us  now  see  what  were  the  relations 
between  the  Church  and  the  State,  or 
"  Commonwealth,"  in  New-England.  In 
every  colony  there,  except  the  two  above 
mentioned,  the  object  of  one  of  the  first 
acts  of  civil  legislation  was  to  provide  for 
the  support  of  public  worship,  and  other 
laws  followed  from  time  to  time  to  the 
same  effect,  as  circumstances  required. 
Without  going  into  unnecessary  details, 
suffice  it  to  say,  that  parishes  or  "  towns" 
of  a  convenient  size  were  ordered  to  be 
laid  out,  and  the  people  were  directed  to 
levy  taxes  by  the  proper  authorities  of 
their  respective  towns,  for  erecting  and 
keeping  in  due  repair  a  suitable  "  meeting- 


*  Winslow  says,  "  It  is  true,  I  confess,  that  some 
of  the  chief  of  them,"  referring  to  the  colony  of  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay,  "  advised  with  us  how  they  should 
do  to  fall  upon  a  right  platform  of  worship,  and  de- 
sired to  that  end,  since  God  had  honoured  us  to  lay 
-the  foundation  of  a  commonwealth,  and  to  settle  a 
church  in  it,  to  show  them  whereupon  our  practice 
was  grounded ;  and  if  they  found,  upon  due  search, 
it  was  built  upon  the  Word  of  God,  they  would  be 
willing  to  take  up  what  was  from  God."  He  then 
goes  on  to  say,  that  they  of  Plymouth  showed  them 
the  warrant  for  their  government  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  the  Epistles,  and  the  Gospels ;  and  that  their 
friends,  the  other  colonists,  were  well  pleased  there- 
with, and  also  agreed  to  walk  in  the  same  way,  so  far 
as  God  should  reveal  his  will  to  them,  from  time  to 
time,  in  his  Word.  As  for  Cotton,  he  says,  "Thedis- 
suader  is  much  mistaken  when  he  saith,  '  The  con- 
gregation of  Plymouth  did  incontinently  leaven  all 
the  vicinity,'  seeing  for  many  years  there  was  no  vi- 
cinity to  be  leavened.  And  Salem  itself,  that  was 
gathered  into  church  order  seven  or  eight  years  after 
them,  was  above  forty  miles  distant  from  them.  And 
though  it  be  very  likely  that  some  of  the  first-comers 
(meaning  Endicott  and  Higginson)  might  help  their 
theory  by  hearing  and  discerning  their  practice  at 
Plymouth, yet  therein  is  theScripture  fulfilled,  "The 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  leaven,  which  a  wom- 
an took  and  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal  till  all  was 
.  leavened.' " 

t  And  it  too  may  be  called  Congregational,  for  it 
avas  founded  by  Baptists,  whose  churches  are  essen- 
tially independent  in  form  of  government. 


house,"  for  the  maintenance  of  a  pastor  or 
minister,  and  for  all  other  necessary  ex- 
penses connected  with  public  worship.  I 
am  not  aware  of  any  exemption  from  this 
law  being  allowed  for  a  long  time  after  the 
colonies  were  founded.  Such  was  the  fun- 
damental union  of  Church  and  State  in  the 
colonies  that  now  form  the  States  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, Connecticut,  New-Hampshire, 
and  Maine. 

The  next  law  adopted  in  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay  colony  dates  from  1631,  the  year 
after  the  arrival  of  Winthrop  and  his  com- 
pany, and,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  it 
was  pregnant  at  once  with  evil  and  with 
good.  It  ran  thus  :  "  To  the  end  that  the 
body  of  the  commons  may  be  preserved  of 
honest  and  good  men,  it  is  ordered  and 
agreed,  that  for  the  time  to  come,  no  man 
shall  be  admitted  to  the  freedom  of  this 
body  politic  but  such  as  are  members  of 
some  of  the  churches  within  the  limits  of 
the  same."*  In  other  words,  no  one  was 
to  vote  at  elections,  or  could  be  chosen  to 
any  office  in  the  commonwealth,  without 
being  a  member  of  one  of  the  churches. 
This  law  was  long  in  force  in  Massachu- 
setts and  in  Maine,  which,  until  1820,  was 
a  part  of  that  state  ;  but  it  never  prevailed, 
I  believe,  in  New-Hampshire,  and  was  un- 
known, of  course,  in  Rhode  Island.  But  a 
like  law  existed  from  the  first  in  New- 
Haven,  and  when  that  colony  was  united, 
in  1662,  with  Connecticut,  where  this  had 
not  been  the  case,  it  became,  I  believe, 
part  of  the  legislation  of  the  united  colony. 

Thus  we  find  two  fundamental  laws  on 
this  subject  prevailing  in  New-England — 
the  one  universal,  with  the  exception  of 
Rhode  Island  ;  the  other  confined  to  Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut,  and  Maine.  In  re- 
stricting the  exercise  of  political  power  to 
men  who,  as  members  of  the  Church,  were 
presumed  to  be  loyal  to  the  grand  princi- 
ple of  the  colony  to  which  they  belonged, 
namely,  the  maintenance  of  purity  of  doc- 
trine and  liberty  of  worship,  as  the  first 
consideration,  and  of  free  political  govern- 
ment as  necessary  to  it,  the  authors  of 
that  law  doubtless  contemplated  rather  the 
protection  of  their  colonists  from  appre- 
hended dangers  than  the  direct  promotion 
of  piety. 

This  principle,  in  fact,  down  to  the  found- 
ing of  these  colonies,  seems  to  have  been 
adopted  substantially  by  all  nations,  Popish 
and  Protestant,  Mohammedan  and  Hea- 
then ;  so  much  so  that  Davenport  said, 
"  These  very  Indians,  that  worship  the 
devil,"  acted  on  the  same  principle,  so  that, 
in  his  judgment,  "it  seemed  to  be  a  prin- 
ciple imprinted  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
all  men  in  the  equity  of  it."f    We  need 


*  Bancroft's  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  vol. 
i.,  p.  360. 

t  "  Discourse  about  Civil  Goverment,"  p.  24,  as 
quoted  in  Bacon's  "  Historical  Discourses." 


83 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


hardly  remind  the  reader  that  this  allegi- 
ance to  the  Christian  Faith  was,  until  very 
lately,  indispensable  to  the  holding  of  any 
office  under  the  crown  in  England,  and 
that  receiving  the  sacrament  in  the  Es- 
tablished Church  was  the  legal  test  of  a 
man's  possessing  it. 

In  conclusion,  I  ought  to  state,  that  in 
the  New-England  colonies  the  ministers 
of  the  Gospel  had  no  part,  as  such,  in  the 
civil  government.  They  were  confined  to 
their  proper  office  and  work.  Yet  no  men 
had  more  influence,  even  in  affairs  of  state. 
As  a  body  of  enlightened  patriots,  whose 
opinion  it  was  important  to  obtain,  they 
were  consulted  by  the  political  authorities 
in  every  hour  of  difficulty ;  and  although 
cases  might  be  found  in  which  the  leading 
men  among  them,  at  least,  did  not  advise 
their  fellow-citizens  wisely,  it  was  much 
otherwise  in  the  great  majority  of  instan- 
ces. Such  was  the  state  of  things  through- 
out the  whole  colonial  age  ;  and  to  this 
day,  in  no  other  country  is  the  legitimate 
influence  of  the  clergy  in  public  affairs — 
an  influence  derived  from  their  intelli- 
gence, united  with  religion,  virtue,  and 
public  spirit — more  manifest,  or  more  sal- 
utary, than  in  New-England.  If  these  col- 
onies might  be  compared,  in  their  earlier 
periods,  to  the  Hebrew  commonwealth,  it 
is  certain  that,  wherever  there  was  a  Mo- 
ses, there  was  also  an  Aaron  ;  and  the  in- 
fluence of  Winthrop,  and  Haynes,  and 
Bradford,  and  Eaton,  was  not  greater  or 
happier  than  that  of  their  compeers  and 
coadjutors,  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Cotton,  and 
Hooker,  and  Brewster,  and  Davenport. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

RELATIONS    BETWEEN    THE    CHURCH    AND    THE 

CIVIL    POWER    IN    THE    COLONIES.  2.    THE 

SOUTHERN    AND    MIDDLE    PROVINCES. 

Virginia,  too,  like  New-England,  was 
first  colonized  by  members  of  the  Church 
of  England ;  but  there  was  a  vast  differ- 
ence between  the  views  of  the  admirers 
of  the  English  Prelacy  of  that  time  and 
those  of  the  Puritans.  The  Established 
Church  was  then  composed,  in  fact,  of  two 
great  divisions,  which  in  spirit,  at  least, 
have  more  or  less  existed  ever  since,  and 
were  represented  in  the  colonization  of 
America  by  the  High  Churchmen  and  Cav- 
aliers of  the  South,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  Puritans  of  the  North  on  the  other. 
While  the  latter  left  England  in  order  to 
escape  from  the  oppressions  inflicted  on 
them  by  the  Prelacy,  abetted  by  the  Crown, 
the  former  had  no  complaint  against  either, 
but  carried  with  them  a  cordial  attach- 
ment to  both. 

In  the  original  charter  of  James  I.  to 
Virginia,  it  was  specially  enjoined  that  re- 


ligion should  be  established  according  to 
the  doctrines  and  rites  of  the  Church  of 
England  ;  every  emigrant  was  bound  to 
allegiance  to  the  king,  and  to  conformity 
with  the  royal  creed.*  Still,  it  does  not 
appear  that  any  provision  was  made  for 
the  clergy  until  1619,  that  is,  twelve  years 
after  the  commencement  of  the  colony. 
A  Legislative  Assembly,  elected  by  tho 
colonists,  met  that  year  for  the  first  time, 
and  passed  laws  for  the  formation  of  par- 
ishes and  the  regular  maintenance  of  the 
clergy  ;  accordingly,  the  establishment  of 
the  Episcopal  Church  dates  formally,  if 
not  really,  from  that  year. 

Previously  to  this,  however,  and  during 
the  governorship  of  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  the 
London  Company  sent  over  to  Virginia  a 
set  of  "  laws,  divine,  moral,  and  martial," 
being,  apparently,  the  first  fruits  of  Sir 
Thomas  Smith's  legislation ;  and  from 
their  Draconian  character,  they  give  us 
some  idea  of  the  notions  entertained  in 
those  times  of  the  ways  whereby  religion 
might  be  promoted  by  the  civil  power. 
They  were  so  bad,  it  is  true,  as  to  be  little, 
if  at  all  enforced.  In  short,  they  soon  fell 
into  complete  desuetude,  and  were  dis- 
claimed, at  length,  by  the  company,  with- 
out whose  sanction  they  seem  to  have  been 
prepared  and  sent.  Yet  there  is  ample  ev- 
idence to  prove  that  they  breathed  very 
much  the  spirit  of  the  times  that  produced 
them,  and  of  the  party  in  the  Church  of 
England  to  which  their  author  belonged — 
a  spirit  which,  thank  God !  has  long  since 
ceased  to  exist  in  that  or  any  other  portion 
of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  that  country. 

The  first  of  those  laws  that  bears  upon 
religion  enjoins  on  the  officers  of  the  col- 
ony, of  every  description,  to  have  a  care 
that  "  the  Almightie  God  bee  duly  and  dai- 
ly served,"  that  the  people  "heare  ser- 
mons," that  they  themselves  set  a  good 
example  therein,  and  that  they  punish  such 
as  shall  be  often  and  wilfully  absent,  "ac- 
cording to  martial  law  in  the  case  provi- 
ded." 

The  second  law  forbids,  upon  pain  of 
death,  speaking  against  the  sacred  Trinity, 
or  any  Person  of  the  same,  or  against  the 
known  articles  of  the  Christian  Faith. 

The  third  law  forbids  blasphemy  of  God's 
holy  name,  upon  pain  of  death  ;  and  the 
use  of  all  unlawful  oaths,  upon  severe  pun- 
ishment for  the  first  offence,  the  boring  of 
the  tongue  with  a  bodkin  for  the  second, 
and  death  for  the  third. 

The  fourth  law  forbids  speaking  disre- 
spectfully of  the  Word  of  God,  upon  pain 
of  death,  as  well  as  the  treating  of  minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel  with  disrespect;  and  en- 
joins the  "  holding  of  them  in  all  reverent 
regard  and  dutiful  entreatie,"  under  penal- 
ty of  being  whipped  three  times,  and  of 


*  Bancroft's  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  vol. 
i.,  p.  123. 


Chap.  XVIII.]  THE    CHURCHES    AND    THE    CIVIL    POWER. 


89- 


"  asking  forgiveness  in  the  assembly  of  the 
congregation  three  severall  Saboth  daies." 

The  fifth  law  enjoins  upon  all  to  attend 
morning  and  evening,  every  week-day,  in 
the  church  for  service,  at  the  tolling  of 
the  bell,  upon  pain  of  losing  their  daily  al- 
lowance* for  the  first  omission,  to  be  whip- 
ped for  the  second,  sent  to  the  galleys  for 
six  months  for  the  third.  It  also  forbids 
all  violation  of  the  Sabbath  by  gaming,  and 
commands  the  people  to  prepare  them- 
selves by  private  prayer  for  the  proper  at- 
tendance upon  the  public  worship,  fore- 
noon and  afternoon,  upon  pain  of  losing 
their  week's  allowance  for  the  first  omis- 
sion, the  same  and  a  whipping  for  the  sec- 
ond, and  death  for  the  third. 

The  sixth  enjoins  upon  every  minister 
within  the  colony  to  preach  every  Sabbath 
morning,  and  catechise  in  the  afternoon  ;  to 
have  a  service  morning  and  evening  every 
day,  and  preach  on  Wednesday  ;  "  to  chuse 
unto  him  foure  of  the  most  religious  and 
better  disposed"  to  maintain  a  sort  of  spir- 
itual police,  and  to  see  that  the  church  be 
kept  in  a  good  and  decent  state,  and  that 
he  keep  a  register  of  births,  deaths,  bap- 
tisms, &c,  "  upon  the  burthen  of  a  neglect- 
full  conscience,  and  upon  paine  of  losing 
their  entertainment." 

The  seventh  law  commands  "  all  who 
were  then  in  the  colony,  or  who  shall 
thenceforth  arrive,  to  repair  to  the  minis- 
ter, that  he  may  know,  by  conference  had, 
their  religious  knowledge ;  and  if  any  be 
deficient,  they  are  enjoined  to  go  to  him, 
at  times  which  he  shall  appoint,  to  receive 
farther  instruction,  which,  if  they  refuse  to 
do,  the  governor,  upon  representation  of 
the  fact,  shall  order  the  delinquent  to  be 
whipped  once  for  the  first  omission,  twice 
for  the  second,  and  every  day  till  acknowl- 
edgment be  made  and  forgiveness  asked 
for  the  third ;  and  also  commands  every 
man  to  answer,  when  catechised  respect- 
ing his  faith  and  knowledge  upon  the  Sab- 
bath, upon  pain  of  the  same  peril. "f 

Such  was  Sir  Thomas  Smith's  code,  and 
truly  it  may  be  said  to  promote  religion 
with  a  vengeance.  To  the  credit  of  the 
governor  and  council,  it  seems  never  to 
have  been  enforced. 

Previously  to  the  dissolution  of  the  com- 
pany, in  1624,  the  Colonial  Legislature 
passed  a  number  of  laws  relating  to  the 
Church ;  three  of  the  most  important  were 
as  follows : 

1.  That  in  every  plantation  where  the 

*  For  some  time  after  the  colony  of  Virginia  was 
planted,  all  provisions  were  served  out  from  the  com- 
mon storehouse.  It  was  not  long,  however,  before 
this  plan  of  having  all  things  in  common  gave  place 
to  the  "  individual  principle"  of  each  having  what  he 
could  gain  by  his  personal  exertions. 

t  These  laws  must  be  considered  far  more  intol- 
erant and  abhorrent  to  the  spirit  of  Christianity  than 
any  of  the  statutes  taken  by  the  New-England  Puri- 
tans from  those  of  the  Hebrew  Commonwealth. 


people  were  wont  to  meet  for  the  worship 
of  God,  there  should  be  a  house  or  room 
set.  apart  for  that  purpose,  and  not  convert- 
ed to  any  temporal  use  whatsoever ;  and 
that  a  place  should  be  impaled  and  seques- 
tered only  for  the  burial  of  the  dead. 

2.  That  whosoever  should  absent  him- 
self from  Divine  service  any  Sunday,  with- 
out an  allowable  excuse,  should  forfeit  a 
pound  of  tobacco  ;  and  that  he  who  absent- 
ed himself  a  month,  should  forfeit  fifty 
pounds  of  tobacco.* 

3.  That  there  should  be  a  uniformity  in 
the  Church  as  near  as  might  be,  both  in 
substance  and  circumstance,  to  the  canons 
of  the  Church  of  England ;  and  that  all 
persons  should  yield  a  ready  obedience  to 
them  upon  pain  of  censure. f 

Upon  the  company  being  dissolved,  the 
colony  fell  under  the  immediate  govern- 
ment of  the  crown,  which  thenceforth  ap- 
pointed the  governors,  as  well  as  decided, 
in  the  last  instance,  upon  all  laws  passed 
by  the  Assembly,  the  Council,  and  the  gov- 
ernor. And  from  about  the  year  1629,  the- 
laws  requiring  conformity  to  the  Estab- 
lished Church  were  strictly  enforced,  and 
infractions  of  them  visited  with  severe  pen- 
alties. 

During  the  period  of  the  "  Grand  Rebel- 
lion" in  England,  and  while  the  Common- 
wealth lasted,  Virginia  sympathized  strong- 
ly with  the  cause  of  the  tottering,  andr 
eventually,  fallen  throne  and  altar,  and 
many  of  the  friends  of  both  found  refuge 
there  during  Cromwell's  Protectorate.  It 
may  be  remarked,  however,  that  the  colony 
did  not  meet,  with  such  a  recompense  from 
the  restored  royal  house  as  its  loyalty  just- 
ly merited. 

In  1662,  in  obedience  to  instructions  from 
the  crown,  the  Virginia  Legislature  enact- 
ed several  laws  for  the  more  effectual  sup- 
port of  the  Established  Church,  the  promo- 
tion of  the  education  of  youth  generally, 
and  of  candidates  for  the  ministry  in  partic- 
ular. But  it  was  long  before  the  "  college" 
contemplated  by  these  laws  was  actually 
established. 

Early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  if  not 
even  sooner,  the  laws  of  Virginia,  requi- 
ring strict  conformity  to  the  Established 
Church,  must  either  have  been  modified, 
or  had  begun  to  fall  into  neglect,  there  be- 
ing positive  evidence  that  Presbyterian 
meetings  were  held  for  public  worship  in 
1722.     From  that  period  until  the  Revolu- 


*  Tobacco  was  the  chief  article  of  traffic  which 
the  country  produced  at  that  time,  and  was  often, 
used  as  a  substitute  for  a  monetary  circulating  me- 
dium. 

f  It  will  be  seen,  from  these  laws,  that  the  actual' 
legislation  of  the  more  liberal  "  Cavaliers"  of  the 
South  was  not  a  whit  more  tolerant  than  that  of 
the  bigoted  "  Roundheads"  of  New-England.  So  it 
ever  is  ;  the  religion  of  the  world,  with  all  its  vaunt- 
ed liberality,  is  found  to  be  more  intolerant,  wherever 
it  has  a  chance,  than  serious,  earnest,  evangelical' 
piety. 


■90 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


lion,  avowed  dissenters  increased  steadily 
and  rapidly,  and  previously  to  1775  there 
were  many  Baptist,  Presbyterian,  Luther- 
.an,  and  Quaker  churches  within  the  colo- 
ny. Still,  the  Episcopal  Church  predomi- 
nated, and  it  alone  was  supported  by  law. 

Maryland,  founded  by  Roman  Catholics, 
had  no  union  of  Church  and  State,  no  legal 
provision  for  any  religious  sect,  and  toler- 
ated all  until  1692,*  when  Protestant  Epis- 
copacy was  established  by  law,  the  coun- 
try divided  into  parishes,  and  the  clergy, 
as  in  Virginia,  supported  by  a  tax  upon  the 
inhabitants.  This  was  one  of  the  results 
of  the  Revolution  of  1688  in  England,  and 
of  the  wide-spread  abhorrence  of  popery 
which  prevailed  at  that  time,  and  long  af- 
terward, both  in  the  mother-country  and 
her  colonies.  Gradually,  and  not  without 
encountering  many  obstacles,  the  Episco- 
pal Church  advanced  in  the  number  of  its 
parishes  and  clergy  until  the  American 
Revolution,  and  though  all  other  sects  had 
ever  been  tolerated,  was  the  only  one  sup- 
ported by  the  State.  Of  the  good  and  bad 
effects  of  that  establishment  we  shall  speak 
hereafter. 

In  South  Carolina,  all  sects  were  at  first 
protected  by  the  Proprietaries.  In  1704, 
however,  the  friends  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  having,  by  the  arts  of  Nathaniel 
Moore,  obtained  a  majority  of  one  in  the 
Representative  Assembly  of  a  colony  two 
thirds  of  whose  inhabitants  were  not  Epis- 
copalians, abruptly  disfranchised  all  but 
themselves,  and  gave  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land a  monopoly  of  political  power.  But 
the  dissenters  having  appealed  to  the 
House  of  Lords  in  England,  the  acts  com- 
plained of  were  annulled  by  the  crown,  and, 
consequently,  repealed  by  the  Colonial  As- 
sembly, two  years  afterward.  Neverthe- 
less, although  the  dissenters  were  tolera- 
ted, and  admitted  to  a  share  in  the  civil 
government,  the  Church  of  England  re- 
mained the  Established  Church  of  the  prov- 
ince until  the  Revolution.! 

In  the  same  year,  1704,  influenced  by 
zeal  or  bigotry,  the  Proprietaries  forced  a 
Church  Establishment  upon  the  people  of 
North  Carolina,  though  presenting  at  that 
time  an  assemblage  of  almost  all  religious 
denominations — Quakers.  Lutherans,  Pres- 
byterians, Independents,  &c.  But,  accord- 
ing to  the  royalists,  the  majority  were 
"  Quakers,  Atheists,  Deists,  and  other  evil- 


*  Strictly  speaking,  it  might  be  said  that  this 
statement  is  not  quite  exact.  For  when  Cromwell's 
commissioners  came  into  possession  of  the  colony, 
an  1654,  the  Legislature,  which  was  wholly  subservi- 
ent to  Clayborne,  a  tool  of  the  Protector,  passed  a 
law  suppressing  public  worship  among  Roman  Cath- 
olics and  Episcopalians.  And  four  years  afterward, 
Fendall,  acting  as  governor,  at  first  in  the  name  of 
the  Proprietaries,  and  afterward  by  his  own  usurpa- 
tion, undertook  to  persecute  the  Quakers.  But  both 
these  exceptions  were  of  short  duration. 

t  Bancroft's  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  vol. 
iii.,  p.  18,  19. 


disposed  persons."  From  that  time  glebes 
and  a  clergy  began  to  be  spoken  of,  and 
churches  were  ordered  to  be  erected  at  the 
public  cost.  But  we  shall  see  that  the 
Established  Church  made  slow  progress  in 
North  Carolina. 

As  long  as  New- York  was  under  the 
Dutch  government,  the  churches  of  that 
colony  supported  their  pastors  by  volun- 
tary contributions,  and  there  was  no  union 
of  Church  and  State.*  But  on  its  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  English,  as  the  royal 
governors  and  other  officers  sent  over  to 
administer  public  affairs  were  all  admirers 
of  the  Established  Church  of  England,  they 
very  naturally  wished  to  see  it  supersede 
the  Dutch  Church,  while,  at  the  same  time, 
the  English  tongue  supplanted  the  Dutch 
as  the  language  of  the  colony.  Governor 
Fletcher,  accordingly,  in  1693,  prevailed  on 
the  Legislature  to  pass  an  act  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  certain  churches  and  ministers, 
reserving  the  right  of  presentation  to  the 
vestrymen  and  church-wardens.  This  act 
was  so  construed,  two  years  after,  that 
Episcopal  ministers  alone  received  the 
benefit  of  it,  although  this  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  the  expectation  or  the  inten- 
tion of  the  Legislature.  From  that  period 
till  the  Revolution,  the  Episcopal  was  the 
Established  Church,  although,  at  the  time 
of  its  becoming  so,  it  was  reckoned  that 
nine  tenths  of  the  population  belonged  to 
other  communions. 

East  and  West  New-Jersey,  united  into 
one  province,  and  placed  under  the  admin- 
istration of  the  crown  in  170-2,  had  its  future 
government  laid  down  in  the  commission 
and  instructions  to  Lord  Cornbury.  Toler- 
ation being  allowed  by  these  to  all  but  pa- 
pists, and  special  "  favour"  invoked  for  the 
Church  of  England,  that  church  was  so  far 
established  there,  seventy-three  years  be- 
fore the  American  Revolution.  In  Penn- 
sylvania there  never  was  any  union  of 
Church  and  State,  nor,  so  far  as  I  know, 
any  attempt  to  bring  it  about.  Delaware 
was  separated  from  Pennsylvania  in  1691, 
and  from  that  time  had  its  own  governors, 
under  the  immediate  control  of  the  crown. 
But  in  Delaware,  as  well  as  in  New-Jersey 
and  in  Georgia,  the  colony  of  the  good 
cavalier,  James  Oglethorpe,  who  loved 
"  the  King  and  the  Church,"  there  can  hard- 
ly be  said  to  have  been  an  establishment, 
as  the  "  favour"  shown  to  the  Episcopal 
Church  secured  a  maintenance  for  a  very 

*  It  cannot  be  said,  I  fear,  that  the  early  Dutch 
colonists,  or,  rather,  their  colonial  governors,  were 
very  tolerant.  Though  there  was  no  union  of  the 
Church  and  State,  they  were  very  jealous  of  allow- 
ing any  other  than  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  to 
exist  among  them.  A  little  band  of  Lutherans,  who 
joined  the  colony  almost  at  its  commencement,  were 
not  allowed  to  hold  their  worship  publicly  until  the 
countrv  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  English. — Pro- 
fessor Schmiicker's  "  Retrospect  of  Lutheranism  in  the 
United  States,"  p.  6. 


Chap.  XIX.] 


UNION   OF   CHURCH   AND   STATE. 


91 


small  number  of  ministers  only,  and  that 
more  for  the  benefit  and  gratification  of  the 
officers  connected  with  the  government, 
and  their  families,  than  with  the  view  of 
reaching  the  bulk  of  the  people,  who  pre- 
ferred other  m<ves  of  worship. 

In  fine,  as  the  colonial  period  drew  to  a 
close,  there  were  only  two  colonies  in 
which  the  civil  power  did  not  employ  its 
influence  in  supporting  one  or  other  of  two 
Communions  or  Churches.  In  New-Eng- 
land it  gave  its  support  to  Congregational- 
ism, or,  as  it  is  called  in  Britain,  Inde- 
pendency, that  being  established  in  all  the 
colonies  of  that,  province,  with  the  single 
small  exception  of  Rhode  Island.  In  the 
colonies  to  the  south  of  these,  from  New- 
York  to  Georgia,  with  the  exception  of 
Pennsylvania,  Episcopacy  was  the  favour- 
ed form.  Even  in  these  last,  however, 
there  were  material  differences  in  the  ex- 
tent to  which  the  principle  of  a  church  es- 
tablishment was  carried  out.  In  New- 
Jersey,  Delaware,  North  Carolina,  and 
Georgia,  that  establishment  was  quite  in- 
considerable, whereas  in  Virginia,  Mary- 
land, New- York,  and  South  Carolina,  it 
may  be  regarded  as  having  been  widely 
and  powerfully  influential. 

Were  we  to  select  two  colonies  from 
each  of  these  divisions  as  examples  of  the 
two  favoured  types  of  Church  government, 
so  diverse,  yet  about  equally  favoured  by 
legal  enactments  and  a  public  provision, 
we  should  take  Massachusetts  and  Connec- 
ticut in  the  North,  and  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land in  the  South.  In  these  we  may  com- 
pare and  contrast  the  nature  and  influence 
of  Independency,  or  the  most  popular  form 
of  church  organization,  with  Episcopacy  ; 
or  Puritanism  with  High-churchism,  among 
the  descendants  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  and 
the  Normans  of  the  New  World. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  INFLUENCES  OF  THE  UNION  OF  CHURCH 
AND  STATE  AS  IT  FORMERLY  EXISTED  IN 
AMERICA. 1.    IN    NEW-ENGLAND. 

In  entering  upon  this  part  of  my  work,  I 
should  like  my  readers  to  understand  that 
1  wish  simply  to  state  the  results,  good  or 
evil,  of  the  union  of  Church  and  State  in 
America,  in  so  far  as  these  were  the  proper 
fruits  of  the  particular  sort  of  union  exist- 
ing in  one  or  other,  respectively,  of  the 
two  important  sections  of  the  country 
above  mentioned ;  and  that  I  have  no  in- 
tention of  discussing  the  advantages  or  dis- 
advantages of  a  union  of  Church  and  State 
in  the  abstract.  We  have  to  do,  therefore, 
with  the  actual  results  in  America,  not  with 
what  they  might  have  been  in  other  cir- 
cumstances. And  as  the  union  between 
Church  and  State  in  the  Northern  section 


differed  in  some  important  respects  from 
that  which  prevailed  in  the  South,  I  shall 
give  a  separate  consideration  to  each,  and 
begin  with  New-England. 

Let  us  first  consider  what  were  the  ad- 
vantages resulting  from  this  union. 

1.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  it  proved 
beneficial,  by  securing  the  ministrations  of 
the  Gospel  to  the  colonial  settlements,  as 
fast  as  these  were  formed.  The  law  pro- 
vided that  the  country  occupied  should  be 
divided  into  "  towns,"  or  parishes,  with  well- 
defined  boundaries,  and  that  as  soon  as  a 
certain  number  of  families  should  be  found 
residing  within  these  boundaries,  a  meeting 
should  be  called  by  the  proper  local  officers, 
and  steps  taken  for  the  establishment  of 
public  worship.  The  expense  of  building 
such  a  church  as  the  majority  of  the  inhab- 
itants, or  legal  voters,  might  choose  to 
erect,  was,  like  other  taxes,  to  be  levied  on 
the  people  of  the  township,  according  to 
their  properties  and  polls,  and  the  pastor's 
stipend  was,  in  like  manner,  to  be  fixed  by 
the  decision  of  the  majority  at  a  like  meet- 
ing of  legal  voters,  and  raised  by  a  general 
yearly  tax. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  township 
was  left  to  decide  what  sort  of  building 
should  be  erected,  how  much  should  be  ex- 
pended upon  it,  and  the  amount  of  the  pas- 
tor's stipend.  As  the  pastor  was  chosen 
by  the  people,  without  any  interference  on 
the  part  of  the  civil  authorities,  or  any  other 
person,  individual  or  corporate,  the  evils  of 
patronage  were  unknown.  In  the  choice 
of  a  pastor,  however,  be  it  observed,  that  it 
was  the  invariable  rule  from  the  first,  that 
he  should  be  called  by  the  "  church,"  that 
is,  by  the  body  of  believers  or  actual  mem- 
bers of  the  church — the  communicants — 
and  afterward  by  the  "  town,"  that  is,  by 
the  legal  voters,  the  vote  of  a  majority  of 
them  being  requisite  to  the  validity  of  a 
call.  This  plan,  so  eminently  Democratical, 
seemed  calculated  to  give  all  parties  their 
rights.  In  case  of  the  "church"  and  the 
"  town"  disagreeing  as  to  the  choice  of  a 
pastor,  some  means  were  almost  always 
found  for  bringing  about  unanimity.  Such, 
in  brief,  was  the  plan  pursued  for  above 
150  years  in  Massachusetts,  and,  if  I  am 
not  mistaken,  in  all  the  other  New-Eng- 
land States,  where  the  civil  power  was  in 
union  with  the  Church. 

Such  a  law  as  this,  if  enforced,  it  will 
be  admitted,  must  have  made  the  estab- 
lishment of  public  worship  keep  pace  with 
the  increase  of  the  population,  wherever 
that  became  numerous  enough,  in  any  given 
direction,  for  the  building  of  churches,  and 
also  must  have  secured  to  ministers  of  the 
Gospel  a  steadier,  and  possibly,  too,  an  am- 
pler support  than  otherwise.  But  it  may 
be  questioned  whether  the  New-England 
Puritans,  with  the  dispositions  and  the  ob- 
jects they  had  in  view  in  coming  to  the 


02 


RELIGION   IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  IL 


New  World,  would  not  have  accomplished 
of  their  own  accord,  and  on  what  is  called 
the  voluntary  plan,  very  nearly  the  same 
results,  as  we  see  is  now  done  in  Maine  and 
elsewhere,  since  the  union  between  Church 
and  State  has  ceased.  I  am  willing-,  how- 
ever, to  allow  that  the  system  I  have  de- 
scribed was  in  this  respect  decidedly  bene- 
ficial. The  mere  support  of  public  wor- 
ship was  certainly  never  provided  for  in  a 
more  popular  or  less  exceptionable  man- 
ner. I  speak  of  the  law  as  it  stood  at  the 
outset,  and  for  a  long  while  thereafter. 
We  shall  see  presently  what  evils  flowed 
from  it. 

2.  I  have  already  stated  that  in  Massa- 
chusetts, and  if  not  in  the  Connecticut 
colony,  at  least  in  that  of  New-Haven, 
political  trust  and  power  were  confined  to 
members  of  the  churches.  It  were  absurd 
to  suppose  that  this  law  was  adopted  as  a 
means  of  promoting  religion ;  its  authors 
were  too  well  acquainted  with  human  na- 
ture to  have  any  such  expectation.  Their 
grand  object  was  to  confine  the  exercise 
of  political  power  to  persons  in  whom  they 
could  confide.  As  they  have  been  severe- 
ly censured  for  their  intolerance  in  this 
respect,  very  much  from  ignorance,  I  con- 
ceive, of  their  peculiar  position,  I  may  be 
allowed  to  dwell  for  a  moment  on  the  sub- 
ject. They  had  made  a  long  voyage  to 
establish  a  colony  in  the  wilderness,  where 
they  and  their  children  might  enjoy  liberty 
of  conscience,  and  worship  God  in  purity. 
Being  all  of  one  mind  on  the  subject  of 
religion,  as  well  as  other  great  points,  they 
thought  that  they  were  fully  authorized  to 
establish  such  a  colony,  and  certainly  it 
would  be  hard  to  prove  that  they  were  not. 
In  these  circumstances,  what  more  natu- 
ral than  their  endeavouring  to  prevent  per- 
sons from  coming  in  among  them  to  defeat 
their  object 1  Desiring,  above  all  things, 
that  their  institutions  should  continue  to 
be  pervaded  in  all  time  coming  with  the 
spirit  in  which  they  had  been  commenced, 
they  determined,  in  order  to  secure  this, 
ihat  none  but  the  members  of  their  church- 
es should  enjoy  the  rights  and  privileges 
•of  citizens,  and  by  this  they  hoped  to  guard 
against  both  internal  and  external  ene- 
mies. Dreading  interference  on  the  part 
of  Eng'and,  alarmed  lest  the  partisans  of 
the  Prelacy,  from  which  they  had  just  es- 
caped, should  come  among  them  and  over- 
throw their  institutions,  both  civil  and  re- 
ligious, their  object  was  to  put  an  impas- 
sable gulf  between  themselves  and  persons 
who  had  no  sympathy  with  their  views 
and  feelings.  And  this  object  they  cer- 
tainly accomplished.  They  rescued  their 
institutions  from  the  clutches  of  Charles  I. 
and  Archbishop  Laud.*     But  in  doing  so 

*  It  is  well  known  that  Winthrop  and  his  com- 
jany  were  scarcely  settled  three  years  in  Massachu- 
setts before  King  Charles  began  to  repent  that  he 


they  exposed  themselves  to  the  greatest 
of  evils — evils  whose  disastrous  influence 
on  Truth  have  not  ceased  to  be  felt  down 
to  this  day. 

3.  While  the  above  law,  no  doubt,  had 
the  effect  of  keeping  out  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  colony  all  influences  which  in 
those  trying  times  might  militate  against 
its  best  interests,  it  is  no  less  certain  that 
it  kept  away  men  of  a  troublesome  char- 
acter. Many,  in  fact,  who  made  the  ex- 
periment, speedily  became  weary  of  a  col- 
ony where  their  restless  spirits  found  little 
or  no  scope  for  interference,  and  accord- 
ingly soon  left,  either  for  some  other  col- 
ony, or  for  England. 

Such,  I  consider,  were  the  most  impor- 
tant advantages  resulting  from  the  union  of 
Church  and  State  in  Massachusetts,  and 
some  other  of  the  New-England  colonies  ; 
and  I  am  not  disposed  to  deny  that  these 
advantages  were  of  no  small  moment  in 
the  circumstances  in  which  the  colonists 
were  placed.  I  have  next  to  point  out 
some  of  the  evils  resuming  from  it. 

1.  It  gave  rise  to  internal  difficulties  of 
the  gravest  nature  with  such  of  the  colo- 
nists as  were  not  disposed  to  agree  to  all 
the  measures  by  which  it  was  carried  out, 
and  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  harshest 
proceedings  against  those  persons.  One 
of  the  first  cases  of  this  kind  was  that  of 
Roger  Williams,  in  1633-35,  and  it  shook 
the  colony  to  its  centre.  That  remarkable 
man  had  been  educated  for  the  English 
bar  under  the  patronage  of  Sir  Edward 
Coke  ;  but  influenced  by  the  conviction 
that  he  was  called  to  the  ministry,  he  took 
orders  in  the  Established  Church.  Expel- 
led from  that  Church  by  the  bishops,  on 
account  of  his  Puritanical  principles,  he 
came  to  Boston  in  1631. 


had  consented  to  the  charter.  The  success  of  the 
Puritans  in  America  awakened  the  jealousy  of  Laud 
and  all  the  High  Church  party  among  the  clergy. 
Proof  was  produced  of  marriages  having  been  per- 
formed in  the  colony  by  civil  magistrates ;  and  it 
was  discovered  that  the  whole  colonial  system  of 
Church  government  was  at  variance  with  the  laws 
of  England.  A  most  formidable  conspiracy  was 
formed  against  New-England,  and  never  were  colo- 
nies in  greater  danger.  Even  the  letters  patent  were 
ordered,  by  the  royal  council,  to  be  produced  in  Eng- 
land ;  and  nothing  but  the  greatest  adroitness  on  the 
part  of  the  colonists  postponed  a  compliance  with 
the  measure,  for  the  primate,  Archbishop  Laud,  and. 
his  associates  actually  received  full  power  over  the 
American  plantations,  to  establish  the  government, 
dictate  laws,  govern  the  Church,  &c,  &c.  Every- 
thing seemed  to  threaten  ruin.  In  the  mean  while 
the  colonists  remonstrated,  defended  themselves  in 
their  letters  as  well  as  they  could,  and  raised  money 
to  fortify  Boston.  They  had  great  need,  truly,  to 
be  vigilant  in  respect  to  the  admission  of  persons  to 
authority  among  them.  As  it  was,  nothing  saved 
them,  probably,  but  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war 
in  Great  Britain,  which  gave  Charles  1.  enough  to  do 
at  home.  For  the  details  of  these  matters  the  read- 
er is  referred  to  the  writings  of  Winthrop,  Savage, 
Hubbard,  Hutchinson,  Hazzard,  and  the  excellent 
statement  in  Bancroft's  "  History  of  the  United 
States,"  vol.  i.,  p.  405-414. 


Chap.  XIX.] 


UNION   OF   CHURCH   AND   STATE. 


93 


Taught  by  persecution  to  examine  how 
far  human  governments  are  authorized  to 
legislate  for  the  human  mind,  and  to  bind 
its  faculties  by  their  decisions,  Williams 
soon  perceived  that  a  course  was  pursued 
in  America  which  he  could  not  but  con- 
demn as  repugnant  to  the  rights  of  con- 
science. Regarding  all  intolerance  as  sin- 
ful, he  maintained  that  "  the  doctrine  of 
persecution  for  cause  of  conscience  is 
most  evidently  and  lamentably  contrary 
to  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ."  The  law 
required  the  attendance  of  every  man  at 
public  worship  ;  Williams  pronounced  this 
to  be  wrong,  for  to  drag  the  unwilling  to 
public  worship  looked  like  requiring  hy- 
pocrisy. Not  less  did  he  oppose  the  law 
that  taxed  all  men  for  the  support  of  a 
system  of  religious  worship  which  some 
might  dislike  and  conscientiously  disap- 
prove. li  What !"  exclaimed  his  antago- 
nists, "is  not  the  labourer  worthy  of  his 
hire  V  "  Yes,"  he  replied,  "  from  them 
that  hire  him."  Public  functionaries  were 
to  be  taken  only  from  among  members  of 
the  Church ;  Williams  argued  that,  with 
like  propriety,  "  a  doctor  of  physic,  or  a 
pilot,"  might  be  selected  according  to  his 
skill  in  theology  and  his  standing  in  the 
Church.*  In  the  end,  Roger  Williams  was 
banished  from  the  colony,  and  having  re- 
tired to  Narragansett  Bay,  there  he  be- 
came a  Baptist,  and  founded  what  is  now 
the  state  called  Rhode  Island.  Absolute 
religious  liberty  was  established  there  from 
the  first. 

The  next  case  occurred  in  1G37,  and 
ended  in  the  expulsion  of  Wheelwright, 
Anne  Hutchinson,  and  Aspinwall,  who,  al- 
though they  held  some  very  extravagant 
notions  on  certain  points,  would  have  been 
harmless  persons  had  the  only  weapon 
employed  against  them  been  Truth. 

Testimony  to  the  like  effect  is  borne  by 
the  history  of  the  colony  in  subsequent 
years.  "  Since  a  particular  form  of  wor- 
ship had  become  a  part  of  the  civil  estab- 
lishment, irreligion  was  now  to  be  punish- 
ed as  a  civil  offence.  The  state  was  a 
model  of  Christ's  kingdom  on  earth  ;  trea- 
son against  the  civil  government  was  trea- 
son against  Christ ;  and  reciprocally,  as 
the  Gospel  had  the  right  paramount,  blas- 
phemy, or  whatever  a  jury  might  call  blas- 
phemy, was  the  highest  offence  in  the  cat- 
alogue of  crimes.  To  deny  any  book  of 
the  Old  or  New  Testament  to  be  the  writ- 
ten and  infallible  Word  of  God,  was  pun- 
ishable by  fine  or  by  stripes,  and  in  case 
of  obstinacy,  by  exile  or  death.  Absence 
from  the  ministry  of  the  Word  was  pun- 
ished by  fine."f  Everything  indicated  that 
this  union  between  Church  and  State  was 
operating  in  such  a  manner  as  rapidly  to 


undermine  the  rights  and  principles  of  both. 
The  Anabaptists  were  treated  in  some 
cases  with  great  harshness,  and  when,  in 
1651,  the  Quakers  made  an  attempt  to  es- 
tablish themselves  in  the  colony,  they  were 
expelled,  and  prohibited  from  returning 
upon  pain  of  death  ;  a  penalty  actually 
inflicted  on  four  of  them  who  returned  in 
contravention  of  this  enactment. 

These  Quakers,  it  is  true,  behaved  in  the 
most  fanatical  and  outrageous  manner. 
They  attacked  the  magistrates  with  the 
grossest  insults,  and  interrupted  public 
worship  with  their  riotous  proceedings. 
Even  women  among  them,  forgetting  the 
proprieties  and  decencies  of  their  sex,  and 
claiming  Divine  direction  for  their  absurd 
and  abominable  caprices,  smeared  their 
faces  and  ran  naked  through  the  streets  ! 
It  were  absurd  to  compare  them  with  the 
peaceable  and  excellent  people  who  bear 
that  name  in  our  day.  They  gave  no  evi- 
dence whatever  of  knowing  what  true  re- 
ligion means.  Still,  their  punishment  ought 
not  to  have  been  so  extreme,  and  should 
have  been  inflicted  for  violating  the  deco- 
rum of  society,  not  for  their  supposed  he- 
retical opinions.*  Now.  measures  so  dis- 
graceful and  injurious  to  the  colony,  and 
so  contrary  to  what  ©ne  would  expect 
from  men  of  such  excellence  in  other  re- 


*  Bancroft's  '« History  of  the  United  States,"  vol. 
i,  p.  370.  t  Ibid.,  p.  450. 


*  Penalties  involving  mutilation,  such  as  boring 
the  tongue  with  a  hot  iron,  and  cutting  off  the  ears, 
were  enacted  against  the  Quakers  in  1657,  and  thus 
found  a  place  in  the  statute-book  of  Massachusetts, 
but  were  soon  repealed,  the  colony  being  ashamed  of 
them.  The  fact  was,  as  Mr.  Bancroft  says,  vol.  i., 
p.  451,  "the  creation  of  a  national  and  uncompro 
sing  Church  led  the  Congregationalists  of  Massachu 
setts  to  the  indulgence  of  the  passions  which  dis- 
graced their  English  persecutors,  and  Laud  was  jus- 
tified by  the  men  whom  he  wronged." 

But  before  the  reader  pronounces  sentence,  with- 
out mitigation,  upon  the  Puritans  of  Massachusetts, 
he  should  refresh  his  remembrance  of  what  was  go- 
ing on  in  England  about  the  year  1C33.  There  was 
William  Prynne,  Esq.,  barrister-at-law,  who  was 
condemned  for  writing  a  constructive  libel  oh  the 
queen,  by  attacking  the  theatre,  to  be  excluded  from 
his  profession,  to  lose  both  his  ears,  stand  in  the  pil- 
lory, pay  a  fine  of  5000/.,  and  to  suffer  imprisonment 
for  the  rest  of  his  life  !  Dr.  Bastwick,  a  physician, 
about  the  same  time,  was  condemned  by  the  High 
Commission  to  be  excluded  from  his  profession,  ex- 
communicated, fined  1000/.,  and  imprisoned  till  he 
should  recant,  for  having  published  a  book  in  which 
he  denied  that  bishops  are  superior  to  presbyters ! 
And  then  there  was  Dr.  Alexander  Leighton,  a 
Scotch  divine,  the  father  of  the  celebrated  Arch- 
bishop Leighton,  who  was  condemned  in  1630,  if  I 
mistake  not,  to  pay  a  fine  of  10,000/.,  to  be  whipped 
at  the  pillory  at  Westminster,  to  have  one  of  his 
ears  cut  off,  and  one  side  of  his  nose  slit ;  then  to  be 
taken  to  the  prison  for  a  few  days ;  then  brought 
to  the  pillory  at  Cheapside  to  be  whipped,  have  the 
other  ear  cut  off,  and  the  other  side  of  his  nose  slit, 
and  be  shut  up  in  prison  the  rest  of  his  days  !  These 
are  unquestionable  facts.  And  what  shall  we  say  of 
the  wholesale  massacres  of  the  Protestants  in  France, 
in  Belgium,  in  Bohemia,  and  in  Moravia  '.  To  say 
nothing  of  scenes  in  Scotland  in  the  days  of  the  last 
two  Stuarts'?  Verily,  religious  liberty  was  but  ill 
understood  in  those  days  !  And  is  it  well  under- 
stood, even  now,  in  most  countries  of  Europe  1 


94 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


spects,  would  never  have  been  adopted  had 
it  not  been  for  laws  unhappily  dictated  by 
the  colonial  union  between  Church  and 
State. 

Forty  years  later,  twenty  persons  were 
put  to  death  for  witchcraft !  Now  it  is 
obvious  that  so  absurd  a  spectacle  would 
never  have  taken  place  among  so  enlight- 
ened a  people  as  the  colonists  of  Massa- 
chusetts, within  the  bounds  of  which  all 
these  executions  took  place,  had  not  the 
union  of  the  Church  and  the  State  led  the 
government  so  often  to  act  on  grounds 
purely  religious,  and  to  take  cognizance 
of  subjects  which  no  political  government 
is  capable  of  deciding  upon.*  At  all  events, 
the  embarrassment  created  by  Roger  Will- 
iams, the  "  Antinomian  controversy,"  as 
the  contest  with  Wheelright,  Anne  Hutch- 
inson, and  Aspinwall  was  called,  and  the 
persecution  of  the  Anabaptists  and  Qua- 
kers, unquestionably  arose  from  the  en- 
forcement of  the  laws  passed  in  favour  of 
the  theocratic  institutions  of  the  colony, 
and  were  the  legitimate  results  of  the  es- 
tablished union  between  Church  and  State. 
They  had  a  special  reference  to  the  law 
compelling  every  man  to  attend  the  public 
worship  of  the  colony. 

2.  Much  more  disastrous  were  the  con- 
sequences flowing  from  another  and  still 
more  fundamental  law,  passed  by  the  Con- 
script Fathers  of  Massachusetts  and  Con- 
necticut— that  of  making  church  member- 
ship requisite  to  the  enjoyment  of  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  citizenship.  Nor 
was  it  long  before  these  consequences  ap- 
peared. Not  only  did  many  persons  find 
admission  into  the  colonies  as  settlers 
who  were  not  members  of  any  church  in 
the  sense  almost  invariably  attached  to  the 
term  in  America — that  is,  communicants, 
or,  as  they  are  sometimes  called,  "  full 
members"' — but,  what  the  worthy  founders 
seem  not  to  have  anticipated,  some  of  their 
own  children  grew  up  manifestly  "  uncon- 
verted," and,  consequently,  did  not  become 
communicants ;  the  churches  planted  by  the 
New-England  Fathers  having  maintained 
at  first  the  strictest  discipline,  and  allowed 

*  The  putting  of  witches  to  death  in  Massachu- 
setts was  a  legitimate  result  of  the  attempt  to  build 
up  a  sort  of  theocracy,  having  for  its  basis  the  civil 
institutions  of  the  Jewish  commonwealth.  But  were 
witches  nowhere  put  to  death  in  those  days  save  in 
New-England  I    Let  the  reader  search  and  see. 

I  ought  to  add,  that  the  rulers  of  Massachusetts 
put  the  Quakers  to  death,  and  banished  the  "  Anti- 
nomians"  and  "  Anabaptists,"  not  because  of  then- 
religious  tenets,  but  because  of  their  violations  of 
the  civil  laws.  This  is  the  justification  which  they 
pleaded,  and  it  was  the  best  they  could  make.  Mis- 
erable excuse !  But  just  so  it  is  :  wherever  there  is 
such  a  union  of  Church  and  State,  heresy  and  heret- 
ical practices  are  apt  to  become  violations  of  the 
civil  code,  and  are  punished  no  longer  as  errors  in 
religion,  but  infractions  of  the  laws  of  the  land.  So 
the  defenders  of  the  Inquisition  have  always  spo- 
ken and  written  in  justification  of  that  awful  and 
most  iniquitous  tribunal. 


none  to  become  communicants  until  they 
had  satisfied  the  proper  church  authorities 
that  they  were  converted  persons,  and 
had  the  religious  knowledge  without  which 
they  could  not  fitly  come  to  the  Lord's 
Supper.  Persons  who  had  not  these  re- 
quisites, as  might  be  expected,  thought  it 
very  hard  to  be  excluded  from  the  privi- 
leges of  citizenship,  although,  as  was  gen- 
erally the  case,  their  lives  were  perfectly 
regular  and  moral.  They  therefore  com- 
plained, and  their  complaints  were  felt  to 
be  reasonable,  and  such  as  parental  love, 
even  in  the  breast  of  a  Brutus,  could  not 
long  resist. 

In  these  circumstances,  what  was  the 
course  pursued  by  the  colonial  legislators, 
after  taking  council  of  their  spiritual 
guides '?  Instead  of  abolishing  the  law, 
they  decided  that  all  baptized  persons 
might  be  regarded  as  members  of  the 
Church,  thus  directly  interfering  with  mat- 
ters wholly  beyond  the  sphere  of  civil  le- 
gislation, and  contravening,  likewise,  a  for- 
mer decision  of  the  Church  ;  for  although 
there  is  a  sense  in  which  all  persons  bap- 
tized in  infancy  are  in  their  youth  mem- 
bers of  the  Church,  it  is  only  as  pupils  or 
wards,  and  must  not  be  confounded  with 
the  membership  of  persons  who  have  made 
a  profession  of  their  faith  after  conversion, 
and  at  an  age  that  qualifies  them  for  taking 
such  a  step.  Such,  at  least,  is,  I  apprehend, 
the  opinion  of  all  churches  that  maintain  a 
strict  discipline.  The  New-England  Fa- 
thers felt  this  difficulty,  and  accordingly  it 
was  not  to  all  baptized  persons  that  they 
gave  the  rights  of  citizens,  but  to  baptized 
persons  of  good  moral  deportment,  who 
came  publicly  forward  and  owned  in  the 
Church  the  covenant  made  for  them  by 
their  parents  at  baptism.  I  give  the  sub- 
stance, if  not  the  exact  words  of  the  law. 
This  compromise  settled  the  matter  for  a 
time,  by  providing  for  the  case  of  their 
own  young  men. 

This  law  was  not  so  hurtful  in  its  con- 
sequences to  the  State  as  it  was  to  Reli- 
gion. The  churches  were  filled  with  bap- 
tized persons  who  "  owned  the  covenant," 
and  with  the  lapse  of  time  the  number  of 
"  full  members,"  or  communicants,  dimin- 
ished. Many  now  enjoyed  civil  privileges 
in  virtue  of  a  less  intimate  connexion  with 
the  Church  ;  this  was  all  that  they  desired, 
and  with  this  they  were  too  apt  to  be  con- 
tent. But  the  evil  went  far  beyond  this. 
To  escape  from  a  state  of  things  in  which 
the  churches,  though  filled  with  baptized 
people,  had  comparatively  few  "  commu- 
nicants," many  of  the  pastors  were  led 
into  the  dangerous,  I  may  say  the  fatal 
error,  of  considering  the  Lord's  Supper  to 
be  a  means  of  grace,  in  the  same  sense 
that  the  preaching  of  the  Word  is  such, 
and  that  all  well-disposed  persons  may  be 
admitted  to  it  as  a  means  of  conversion  to> 


Chap.  XIX.] 


UNION    OF    CHURCH  AND   STATE. 


95 


the  unconverted,  as  well  as  of  edification 
to  "  believers,"  or  converted  persons. 

Not  that  this  was  enjoined  on  the  church- 
es as  a  law  of  the  state.  But  it  was  the 
natural  and  almost  inevitable,  though  indi- 
rect, consequence  of  the  law  adjudging  all 
baptized  persons  who  "  renewed  the  cov- 
enant" to  be  considered  members  of  the 
Church,  and  entitled  to  the  civil  privileges 
attached  to  that  relation.  It  is  easy  to  see 
what  would  follow.  The  former  measure 
filled  the  churches  with  baptized  people 
who  owned  the  covenant ;  the  latter  prac- 
tice filled  the  churches  with  unconverted 
communicants.  In  the  course  of  a  few 
generations  the  standard  of  religious  truth 
and  practice  fell  lower  and  lower.  This 
decline  necessarily  bore  upon  the  charac- 
ter of  the  pastors,  for  upon  the  occurrence 
of  a  vacancy,  the  choice,  in  too  many  cases, 
was  sure  to  fall  upon  a  pastor  equally  low 
in  point  of  religious  character  with  the  par- 
ties by  whom  he  was  chosen.  Such  a 
state  of  things  opened  the  way  effectually 
for  the  admission  of  false  doctrine,  and  the 
more  so,  inasmuch  as  there  was  no  effect- 
ual control  beyond  and  above  what  was  to 
be  found  in  each  individual  church.  But 
this  subject  I  may  dismiss  for  the  present, 
as  I  shall  have  occasion  to  recur  to  it  when 
we  come  to  consider  the  rise  and  progress 
of  Unitarianism  in  the  United  States. 

So  much  for  the  ill  consequences  flow- 
ing from  two  of  the  measures  by  which 
the  New-England  Fathers  endeavoured  to 
carry  into  operation  their  ideas  on  the 
subject  of  the  union  that  should  subsist 
between  the  Church  and  the  State ;  let  us 
now  look  at  the  mischief  produced  by 
a  third  measure — that,  namely,  requiring 
each  "  town"  to  maintain  public  worship 
by  levying  a  tax  on  all  the  inhabitants. 

3.  As  the  people  were  invested  by  law 
with  an  absolute  control  over  the  applica- 
tion of  the  money  so  raised,  no  great  evil 
seemed,  at  first  sight,  likely  to  arise  from 
such  a  mode  of  supporting  the  Church ;  and 
it  may  readily  be  supposed  that  at  the  out- 
set, when  the  colonists  formed  a  homo- 
geneous society,  and  were  all  either  mem- 
bers of  the  established  churches,  or  cor- 
dial friends  and  admirers  of  their  system 
of  doctrine  and  church  polity,  this  assess- 
ment for  their  support  would  be  submitted 
to  without  reluctance.  But  in  process  of 
time,  when,  whether  from  the  accession  of 
fresh  emigrants,  or  from  the  growing  up 
into  manhood  of  the  children  of  the  origi- 
nal colonists,  there  happened  to  be  found 
in  any  particular  town  a  considerable 
number  of  inhabitants  who  either  disliked 
the  services  of  the  parish  church,  or  were 
indifferent  to  religion  altogether,  it  is  clear 
that  such  a  law  would  be  considered  both 
burdensome  and  unjust.  Men  can  never 
be  made  to  feel  that  they  can  with  equity 
be  required  to  pay  taxes,  in  any  shape,  to 


support  a  church  which  they  dislike,  and 
to  which  they  may  have  conscientious  ob- 
jections. Hence  serious  difficulties,  ag- 
gravated afterward  when  the  Legislature 
was  compelled,  by  the  progress  of  true 
principles  of  legislation,  to  extend  the 
rights  of  citizenship,  and  permission  to  have 
a  worship  of  their  own,  to  persons  of  all 
sects.  It  seemed  unjust  that  these,  while 
supporting  their  own  churches,  should  be 
compelled,  in  addition,  to  contribute  to- 
wards the  maintenance  of  the  parish,  or 
town  churches,  which  for  a  long  time  they 
were  called  upon  to  do. 

A  law,  however,  was  passed  at  length, 
not  exempting  those  who  did  not  attend 
the  parish  church  from  all  taxation,  but  al- 
lowing them  to  appropriate  their  propor- 
tion to  the  support  of  public  worship  ac- 
cording to  their  own  wishes.  Fair  as  this 
seemed,  it  proved  most  disastrous  in  its 
consequences  to  the  interests  of  true  reli- 
gion. The  haters  of  evangelical  Christi- 
anity could  now  say,  "  Well,  since  we 
must  be  taxed  in  support  of  religion,  we 
will  have  what  suits  us,"  and  in  many 
places  societies,  for  it  would  be  improper 
to  call  them  churches,  of  Universalists* 
and  Unitarians  began  to  be  formed,  and 
false  preachers  found  support  where,  but 
for  this  law,  no  such  societies  or  preach- 
ers would  ever  have  existed.  It  is  im- 
possible to  describe  the  mischiefs  that 
have  flowed  from  this  unfortunate  meas- 
ure, not  only  and  particularly  in  Massachu- 
setts, but  likewise  in  Connecticut,  Maine, 
and,  I  believe,  in  New-Hampshire  also. 
With  the  aid  of  such  a  law,  thousands, 
who  are  now  indifferent  to  truth  or  error, 
might  easily  be  driven  into  Universalism, 
or  some  other  dangerous  heresy,  in  any 
part  of  the  United  States,  or,  rather,  in  any 
part  of  the  world  where  religious  opinion 
is  unrestrained. 

4.  Only  one  farther  measure  was  re^ 
quired  in  order  to  make  this  law  for  the 
support  of  public  worship  as  fatal  as  possi- 
ble to  the  interests  of  true  religion  in  Mas- 
sachusetts. This  was  a  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  that  state,  pronounced 
some  twenty  or  twenty-five  years  ago,  by 
which  the  distinction  which  had  previously 
existed  between  the  "  Church"  and  the 
"  town,"  or  "  parish,"  was  destroyed  in  the 
view  of  the  law ;  and  the  "  town,"  that  is, 
the  body  of  the  people  who  were  taxed  for 
the  support  of  the  parish  church,  was  al- 
lowed to  exercise  a  control  in  the  calling 
of  a  pastor,  and  in  everything  else.  There 
then  ensued  great  distress  in  not  a  few 
parishes.  In  every  instance  in  which  the 
majority  of  the  "  town"  were  opposed  to 


*  By  Universalists  I  mean  those  professed  Chris- 
tians in  America  who,  with  many  shades  of  difference 
on  the  subject,  agree  in  holding  that  eventually  all 
men  will  be  saved.  I  shall  have  to  speak  of  them 
more  at  large  in  another  place. 


96 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


evangelical  religion,  they  had  it  in  their 
power,  by  stopping  his  salary,  to  turn  away 
a  faithful  pastor,  and  to  choose  a  Univer- 
salis! or  Unitarian  in  his  place.*  This  ac- 
tually took  place  in  numerous  instances, 
and  the  church,  or  at  least  the  faithful  part 
of  it,  which  was  often  the  majority,  was 
compelled  to  abandon  the  edifice  in  which 
their  fathers  had  worshipped,  with  what- 
ever endowments  it  might  have,  and  to 
build  for  themselves  a  new  place  of  wor- 
ship, call  a  pastor,  and  support  him  on  the 
voluntary  plan.  The  evil,  however,  which 
might  have  gone  to  still  greater  lengths, 
was  arrested  in  Massachusetts  in  1833,  by 
the  final  dissolution  of  the  union  between 
Church  and  State,  in  a  way  hereafter  to  be 
described. 

Such  is  a  simple,  brief,  and,  I  trust,  com- 
prehensible view  of  the  chief  consequen- 
ces resulting  in  New-England  from  the 
union  of  Church  and  State,  long  maintain- 
ed in  that  part  of  America.  The  reader 
will  draw  his  own  conclusions  from  this  ex- 
hibition of  facts,  in  all  essential  points  un- 
questionably correct.  That  some  of  these 
consequences  -were  beneficial,  none  will 
deny ;  but  that  these  were  more  than  coun- 
terbalanced by  others  of  an  opposite  ten- 
dency, is,  I  think,  no  less  manifest.! 


— <j>- 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  INFLUENCES  OF  THE  UNION  OF  CHURCH 
AND  STATE. 2.  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  AND  MID- 
DLE STATES. 

Having  seen  what  a  Church  establish- 
ment did  for  Congregationalism  in  New- 
England,  we  have  now  to  see  what  it  did 
for  Episcopacy  in  other  provinces,  and 
particularly  in  the  South.  In  the  case  of 
the  latter,  as.  in  the  former,  the  nature  of 
the  connexion  between  Church  and  State, 
and  the  kind  of  Church  establishment,  were 
very  different  in  different  colonies.  That 
connexion  was  closest,  and  the  support 
given  to  religion  most  effective,  in  Virgin- 
ia ;  next  to  it  in  these  respects  comes  Ma- 
ryland, and  New- York  occupies  the  third 
place. 

In  Virginia,  we  find  that  the  three  main 
laws  connecting  the  Church  and  the  State 
were  substantially  the  same  as  those  of 

*  In  many  cases  there  was  no  great  difficulty  in  get- 
ting such  a  majority,  by  persuading  the  Universalists 
and  others,  who  might  have  ceased  for  years  to  allow 
themselves  to  be  considered  to  belong  to  the  parish, 
or  congregation,  or  society,  worshipping  at  the  par- 
ish church,  to  return  at  least  for  a  year  or  so,  since 
by  so  doing,  and  paying  again  the  assessment  lor  the 
parish  church,  they  could  vote  at  its  meetings. 

t  The  reader  will  find  in  the  "  Spirit  of  the  Pil- 
grims," vol.  i.  (a  work  published  in  Boston  in  1826- 
1833),  the  fullest  details  on  this  subject  that  have  ap- 
peared as  yet  in  any  one  publication. 


Massachusetts  at  a  later  date.  1.  The 
country  was  divided  into  parishes,  the  in- 
habitants of  which  were  required  to  build, 
furnish,  and  uphold  churches,  and  maintain 
a  pastor,  by  an  assessment  proportioned  to 
their  respective  means,  these  being  esti- 
mated by  the  quantity  of  tobacco  that  they 
raised,  that  being  the  chief  article  of  their 
commerce  and  of  their  wealth.  2.  The 
people  were  required  to  attend  the  estab- 
lished churches,  which  were  for  a  long 
time  the  only  ones  that  existed,  or  that 
were  permitted  to  exist  in  the  colony. 
3.  The  rights  of  citizenship  were  confined 
to  members  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 

Now,  it  is  beyond  dispute  that  the  divis- 
ion of  the  country  into  parishes,  the  erec- 
tion of  churches,  and  the  providing  of 
glebes  for  the  rectors  and  ministers,  was 
useful  both  in  Virginia  and  Maryland.  The 
picture  presented  by  Dr.  Hawks,  in  his  in- 
teresting and  valuable  sketches  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church  in  those  colonies,  is  delight- 
ful as  far  as  relates  to  these  outward  and 
material  matters.  Besides,  there  was  a 
special  necessity  for  some  such  legislation 
in  Episcopalian  colonies  of  the  High  Church 
party,  if  I  may  so  designate  them,  as  was 
the  case  with  Virginia ;  for,  although  it 
would  be  unfair  to  tax  them  with  a  total, 
or  almost  total,  want  of  true  living  piety, 
they  certainly  had  not  the  fervent  zeal,  the 
devoted  enthusiasm  in  the  cause  of  reli- 
gion, which  mingled  with  all  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Puritans.  If,  in  fact,  in  any 
part  of  America,  the  union  of  Church  and 
State  was  beneficial,  or  even  indispensable 
in  securing  the  formation  of  parishes  and 
the  building  of  churches,  it  was  in  the 
Southern  colonies,  planted  as  these  were 
by  the  friends  of  Prelacy  par  excellence, 
men  afraid  of  fanaticism  in  religion,  what- 
ever they  might  think  of  it  in  some  other 
things.  These  advantages  were,  in  pro- 
cess of  time,  secured  at  intervals  along  the 
banks  of  the  noble  rivers  of  Virginia,  until, 
at  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution, 
that  colony  could  boast  of  ninety-seven 
parishes,  more  than  that  number  of  church- 
es, if  we  include  chapels  of  ease,  and  above 
a  hundred  ministers. 

This  is  the  chief,  or,  rather,  the  only 
benefit  conferred  on  Virginia  by  the  con- 
nexion of  the  Church  with  the  State ;  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  clergy,  as  Dr. 
Hawks  remarks,  can  hardly  be  reckoned 
one,  inasmuch  as  that  was  nearly,  if  not 
altogether,  voluntary  on  the  part  of  the 
parishioners,  and  was  by  no  means  en- 
forced as  the  law  contemplated.  During  a 
large  part  of  the  colonial  period,  too,  the 
want  of  ministers  greatly  diminished  the 
advantages  that  might  have  accrued  from 
having  parishes  marked  out  and  churches 
built  in  them.  Thus,  in  1619,  there  were 
eleven  parishes  and  only  five  ministers ; 
and  in  1661,  the  parishes  in  Virginia  were 


Chap.  XX.] 


UNION   OF  CHURCH  AND   STATE. 


97 


about  fifty,  and  the  ministers  only  about 
a  fifth  part  of  that  number.* 

But  granting  that  the  support  secured  by 
law  to  Episcopacy  was  ample,  which  in 
Virginia  it  was  not,  let  us  notice  some  of 
the  evils  attending  on  this  union  of  Church 
and  State,  and  see  whether  they  did  not 
counterbalance  all  the  admitted  good.  The 
first  of  these,  and  it  was  no  trifling  one, 
was  the  antipathy  which  such  compulsory 
measures  created  towards  the  favoured 
Church.  Men  were  displeased,  and  felt 
aggrieved  at  being  taxed  for  the  support  of 
a  church  whose  services  they  did  not  fre- 
quent, but  to  which  they  might  otherwise 
Have  felt  no  hostility,  nay,  to  which  they 
might  by  a  different  course  have  been 
Avon.  This  was  particularly  the  case  in 
those  colonies  where  the  favour  shown  to 
the  Episcopal  Church  did  not  exclude  the 
toleration  of  other  religious  bodies,  that  is, 
in  all  in  which  Episcopacy  was  established 
except  Virginia.  Episcopacy,  in  fact,  be- 
came influential  and  powerful,  in  most  ca- 
ses, long  after  the  colonies  were  founded, 
and  owed  its  pre-eminence  purely  to  the 
favour  of  the  state,  as  we  have  seen  in  the 
colonies  of  Maryland,,  the  Carolinas,  New- 
York,  New-Jersey,  &c.  In  all  these,  tax- 
es for  the  support  of  a  dominant  church, 
representing  in  some  instances  but  a  mere 
fraction  of  the  population,  were  extremely 
offensive  to  those  who  were  members  of 
other  churches  or  of  none,  and  proved 
hurtful,  in  the  end,  to  the  Episcopal  Church 
itself.  It  attached  a  stigma  to  it  which  it 
took  a  long  time  to  efface;  the  more  so  as, 
when  the  Revolution  was  drawing  on,  it 
began  to  be  viewed  as  the  Church  favoured 
of  the  mother-country,  with  which  the  col- 
onists were  about  to  enter  into  a  war  for 
what  they  deemed  to  be  their  rights. 
Thus  the  cause  of  that  Church  became 
identified  so  far  with  that  of  the  enemies 
of  the  country,  as  they  were  called.  This 
twofold  animosity  long  prevailed  in  the 
very  states  where  the  Episcopal  Church 
was  once  predominant,  and  no  doubt  con- 
tributed to  retard  its  progress  in  later 
times,  so  that  any  former  favours  received 
from  the  state  may  be  regarded  as  having 
been  very  dearly  purchased. 

2.  As  respects  Virginia  at  least,  the  inter- 
ests of  true  religion  and  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  were  seriously  injured  by  the  com- 
pulsory attendance  upon  the  services  of  the 
churches,  &c,  noticed  in  a  former  chapter. 
In  the  justness  of  the  following  remarks 
every  well-informed  man  must  heartily 
concur :  "  To  coerce  men  into  the  outward 
exercise  of  religious  acts  by  penal  laws  is 
indeed  possible ;  but  to  make  them  love 
either  the  religion  which  is  thus  enforced, 
or  those  who  enforce  it,  is  beyond  the 
reach  of  human  power.     There  is  an  in 


man  power.     There  is  an  in- 

*  Dr.  Hawks's  "  History  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
Vircrinin."  n.  64. 

a 


herent  principle  of  resistance  to  oppres- 
sion seated  in  the  very  constitution  of  most 
men,  which  disposes  them  to  rebel  against 
the  arbitrary  exercise  of  violence  seeking 
to  give  direction  to  opinions ;  and  it  is 
not,  therefore,  to  be  wondered  at,  that  one 
sanguinary  law  to  compel  men  to  live 
piously  should  beget  the  necessity  for 
more."* 

3.  Another  evil  resulting  from  the  union 
between  Church  and  State  in  the  Southern 
colonies,  and  particularly  in  Virginia  and 
Maryland,  is  to  be  found  in  the  almost  inces- 
sant disputes  that  long  prevailed  between 
the  colonial  governors  and  the  parish  ves- 
tries respecting  the  right  of  presentation, 
which  was  claimed  by  botli  parties.  In  this 
contest  the  Virginia  vestries  were,  upon  the 
whole,  successful ;  still,  as  the  governor 
claimed  the  right  of  inducting,  there  were 
often  serious  collisions.  In  order  to  evade 
the  force  of  that  principle  in  English  law, 
which  gives  a  minister,  when  once  install- 
ed as  pastor,  a  sort  of  freehold  interest  in 
the  parish,  and  renders  his  ejectment  al- 
most impossible,  unless  by  deposition  from 
the  sacred  office  altogether,  in  conse- 
quence of  his  being  found  guilty  of  some 
flagrant  enormity,  instead  of  presenting  a 
minister,  the  vestries  often  preferred  em- 
ploying him  from  year  to  year,  so  as  to 
have  it  in  their  power  to  dismiss  him 
when  they  thought  fit ;  and  this  refusal  to 
present  involved,  of  course,  an  inability 
on  the  governors  part  to  induct.  In  Mary- 
land the  governors  long  insisted  on  exer- 
cising the  right  of  presentation,  a  right 
that  put  it  into  their  power  to  thrust  very 
unworthy  pastors  into  the  Church.  But 
the  case  was  not  much  better  when  left  to 
the  vestries,  these  being  often  composed 
of  men  by  no  means  fit  to  decide  upon  the 
qualifications  of  a  pastor.  In  no  case  does 
it  appear  that  the  Church  itself,  that  is,  the 
body  of  the  communicants,  possessed  the 
privilege  of  choosing  a  pastor  for  them- 
selves. 

4.  A  fourth  evil  resulting  from  the  union 
of  Church  and  State  in  the  colonies  where 
the  Episcopal  Church  was  established,  lay 
in  this,  that  the  ministers  required  from 
time  to  time  by  the  churches  behooved  to 
come  from  England,  or,  if  Americans  by 
birth,  to  receive  ordination  from  some  bish- 
op in  England,  generally  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don, to  whose  superintendence  and  gov- 
ernment the  Episcopal  Church  in  America 
seems  to  have  been  intrusted.  As  there 
was  no  bishop  in  America  during  the  whole 
colonial  period,  this  disadvantage  contin- 
ued down  to  the  Revolution. 

No  doubt,  many  worthy  men,  endued 
with  the  true  spirit  of  their  calling  and  of- 
fice, were  sent  over  by  the  bishops  who 
successively  occupied  the  See  of  London, 


in  Virginia,"  p 


*  Dr.  Hawks's  "  History  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  Virginia,"  p.  49. 


OS 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


some  of  whom  took  a  deep  interest  in 
the  Colonial  Church.  Still,  it  is  no  less 
true  that  many  of  a  very  different  stamp 
were  sent  over,  or  came  of  their  own  ac- 
cord, and  these,  after  being  once  inducted 
into  a  parish,  it  was  found  almost  impos- 
sible to  remove.  At  a  distance  from  Eng- 
land, and  beyond  the  immediate  inspection 
of  the  only  bishop  that  seemed  to  have 
any  authority  over  them,  they  generally 
contrived  to  secure  impunity,  not  only  for 
the  neglect  of  their  duties,  but  even  for 
flagrant  crimes.  Some  cases  of  the  most 
shocking  delinquency  and  open  sin  occur- 
red both  in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  with- 
out the  possibility,  it  would  seem,  of  their 
being  reached  and  punished.  All  that 
could  be  done  by  persons  commissioned  by 
the  Bishop  of  London  to  act  for  him,  under 
the  name  of  commissaries,  was  done  by 
such  men  as  Drs.  Blair  and  Bray,  and  their 
successors,  but  the  evil  was  too  deep  to  be 
effectually  extirpated  by  anything  short  of 
the  exercise  of  full  Episcopal  authority  on 
the  spot.  Besides  traditional  evidence  of 
the  immoralities  of  some  of  the  established 
clergy  in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  we  learn 
their  existence  and  character  from  indu- 
bitable histories  written  by  Episcopalians 
themselves,  and  they  were  such  as  even 
to  call  for  the  interference  of  the  colonial 
legislatures.  The  General  Assembly  of 
Virginia,  in  1631,  enacted  that  "  Mynisters 
shall  not  give  themselves  to  excess  in 
drinkinge  or  riott,  spendinge  theire  tyme 
idellye  by  day  or  night,  etc."*  The  fact 
is,  that  worthless  and  incapable  men  in 
every  profession  were  wont  to  leave  the 
mother-country  for  the  colonies,  where 
they  thought  they  might  succeed  better 
than  in  England  ;  and  such  of  them  as  be- 
longed to  the  clerical  profession  very  nat- 
urally supposed  that  they  might  find  com- 
fortable "  livings"  in  those  colonies,  where 
their  own  church  was  established,  and 
where  they  heard  that  there  was  so  great 
a  deficiency  of  clergymen. f 

5.  And,  lastly,  one  of  the  greatest  evils 
of  the  Establishment  we  are  speaking  of, 
is  to  be  found  in  the  shameful  acts  of  in- 
tolerance and  oppression  to  which  it  led. 
Although  the  Quakers  were  in  no  instance  j 

*  Hening's  "  Laws  of  Virginia,"  7th  Car.,  i.  At  a 
much  later  period,  Sir  William  Berkeley,  governor  j 
of  Virginia,  in  reply  to  this  inquiry  from  the  Lords 
of  Plantations,  "  What  provision  is  there  made  for 
the  paying  of  your  ministers?"  stated,  "We  have 
forty-eight  parishes,  and  our  ministers  are  well  paid. 
But  as  of  all  other  commodities,  so  of  this,  the  worst 
are  sent  to  us." — See  "Appendix  to  Hening's  Collec- 
tion. " 

t  Even  so  late  as  1751,  the  Bishop  of  London, 
in  a  letter  to  the  well-known  Dr.  Doddridge,  says 
upon  this  subject,  "  Of  those  that  are  sent  from 
hence,  a  great  part  are  of  the  Scotch-Irish,  who  can 
get  no  employment  at  home,  and  enter  into  the  ser- 
vice more  out  of  necessity  than  choice.  Some  oth- 
ers are  willing  to  go  abroad  to  retrieve  either  lost 
fortunes  or  lost  character." — See  Biblical  Repertory 
and  Princeton  Review  for  April,  1840." 


put  to  death  in  Virginia,  yet  they  were 
subjected  to  much  persecution  and  annoy- 
ance, and  were  glad  in  many  cases  to  es- 
cape into  North  Carolina.  The  Puritans, 
too,  were  much  disliked,  and  severe  laws 
were  passed  "  to  prevent  the  infection  from 
reaching  the  country."*  Archbishop  Laud's 
authority  stood  as  high  in  Virginia  as  in 
England.  An  offender  against  that  author- 
ity, of  the  name  of  Reek,  was,  in  1642,  pil- 
loried for  two  hours,  with  a  label  on  his 
back  setting  forth  his  offence,  then  fined 
j£50,  and  imprisoned  during  the  pleasure 
of  the  governor.! 

It  would  appear,  however,  either  that 
all  this  vigilance  could  not  keep  out  the 
Puritans,  or  else  that  some  of  the  Virgini- 
ans themselves  had  become  so  disgusted 
with  their  own  as  to  wish  for  Puritan 
preachers.  Be  that  as  it  may,  certain  it 
is  that  in  1642  there  was  transmitted  to 
Boston  from  certain  persons  in  Virginia 
an  application  for  preachers,  and  that  two 
actually  went  from  Massachusetts  and  one 
from  Connecticut,  but  were  dismissed  by 
the  governor.  Governor  Winthrop,  speak- 
ing of  this  affair  in  his  Journal,  says  that, 
though  the  state  did  silence  the  ministers, 
because  they  would  not  conform  to  the 
order  of  England,  yet  the  people  resorted 
to  them  in  private  houses  to  hear  them. J 
In  fact,  it  was  not  until  the  lapse  of  a 
century  after  those  times  that  toleration 
was  established  in  Virginia,  through  the 
persevering  efforts  of  the  Presbyterians 
and  other  non-established  denominations, 
whose  friends  and  partisans  had  by  that 
time  greatly  increased,  partly  in  conse- 
quence of  this  very  intolerance  on  the  part 
of  the  government,  but  chiefly  by  immi- 
gration, so  far  as  to  outnumber  the  Epis- 
copalians of  the  province  when  the  war  of 
the  Revolution  commenced. 

As  for  Maryland,  although  the  Quakers 
were  greatly  harassed  in  that  colony  for 
some  time,  and  Roman  Catholics  were 
treated  with  grievous  injustice,  yet  there 
never  was  the  same  intolerance  manifest- 
ed towards  those  who  were  called  Dissent- 
ers, as  had  been  shown  in  Virginia.  The 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  was  estab- 
lished there  by  law  in  1692,  but  not  in  fact 
until  1702. 

But  in  no  colony  in  which  Episcopacy 
became  established  by  law  was  there  more 
intolerance  displayed  than  in  New- York. 
That  establishment  was  effected  in  1693 
by  Governor  Fletcher,  who  soundly  rated 
the  Legislature  because  not  disposed  to- 
comply  with  all  his  wishes.  But  in  zeal 
for  Episcopacy  he  was  outdone  by  one  of 
his  successors,  Lord  Cornbury,  a  descend- 
ant of  Lord  Clarendon,  who  would  fain 


*  Hening's  "  Virginia  Statutes,"  223. 
+  Ibid.,  552. 

X  Savage's  Winthrop,  p.  92.    Hubbard's  "  History 
of  New-England,"  p.  141. 


Chap.  XXI.] 


RELIGION    DURING    THE    COLONIAL   ERA. 


have  deprived  the  Dutch  of  their  privile- 
ges, and  forced  them  into  the  Episcopal 
Church.  He  had  orders  from  the  govern- 
ment at  home  li  to  give  all  countenance 
and  encouragement  to  the  exercise  of  the 
ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  of 
London,  as  far  as  conveniently  might  be 
in  the  province  ;  that  no  schoolmaster  be 
henceforward  permitted  to  come  from  this 
kingdom,  and  keep  a  school  in  that  our 
said  province,  without  the  license  of  our 
said  Lord  Bishop  of  London."* 

In  what  has  been  said  of  the  intolerance 
manifested  in  several  of  the  colonies  in 
which  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
was  established,  I  would  not  be  under- 
stood as  charging  such  intolerance  upon 
that  Church.  No  doubt  men  of  an  intol- 
erant spirit  were  to  be  found  in  it,  but,  alas ! 
true  religious  liberty,  and  an  enlarged  spir- 
it of  toleration,  were  far  from  being  gen- 
eral in  those  days ;  but  it  had  members 
also  of  a  most  catholic  spirit,  who  neither 
could  nor  did  approve  of  such  acts  as  the 
above.  The  intolerance  was  rather  that  of 
the  colonial  governments,  and  to  them 
properly  belongs  the  credit  or  discredit  at- 
tached to  it. 

In  conclusion,  I  cannot  but  think  that 
the  union  of  the  Episcopal  Church  with  the 
State  in  some  colonies,  and  of  the  Congre- 
gational Church  with  the  civil  power  in  oth- 
ers, was,  upon  the  whole,  far  more  mis- 
chievous than  beneficial  ;  an  opinion  in 
which  I  feel  persuaded  that  the  great  body 
alike  of  the  Episcopal  and  Congregational 
ministers  concur.  Had  the  founders  of 
the  Episcopal  Church  in  Virginia  and  Ma- 
ryland, excellent  men  as  I  believe  they 
were,  gone  to  work  in  reliance  on  the 
blessing  of  God  upon  their  efforts,  and  en- 
deavoured to  raise  up  a  faithful  native  min- 
istry, trusting  to  the  willingness  of  the 
people  to  provide  for  their  support,  I  doubt 
not  that  they  would  have  succeeded  far 
better  in  building  up  the  Episcopal  Church 
than  they  did  with  all  the  advantages  of 
the  State  alliance  which  they  enjoyed. 
They  would  doubtless  have  had  to  encoun- 
ter many  difficulties,  but  they  would  have 
laid  a  surer  foundation  also  for  ultimate 
success.  Dr.  Hawks  gives  a  painfully  in- 
teresting narrative  of  the  struggles  which 
the  established  clergy  of  Virginia  and  Ma- 
ryland had  to  sustain  with  their  parishion- 
ers about  their  salaries  ;  the  one  party  stri- 
ving to  obtain  what  the  law  assigned  to 
them ;  the  other,  aided  even  at  times  by 
legislative  enactments,  availing  themselves 
of  every  stratagem  in  order  to  evade  the 
legal  claims  of  the  clergy.  The  time  and 
anxiety,  the  wearing  out  of  mind  and  body, 
which  these  disputes  cost  faithful  minis- 
ters, not  to  mention  the  sacrifice  of  influ- 
ence, would  have  been  laid  out  better  and 


Yorn. 


"  History  of  the  Evangelical  Churches  of  New- 


more  pleasantly  in  the  unembarrassed 
work  of  their  calling ;  nor  were  they  like- 
ly to  have  been  worse  off  in  respect  of 
this  world's  blessings  than  the  faithful 
among  them  really  were. 

Assuredly  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States  at  the  present  day  furnish- 
es decisive  proof  that  Episcopacy  can  ex- 
ist and  flourish  without  aid  from  the  civil 
government.  Dr.  Hawks  thinks  that  it 
has  even  peculiar  advantages  for  self-sus- 
tentation,  proved,  as  he  conceives,  by  the 
experience  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in 
Scotland,  and  that  of  the  Syrian  Churches 
in  India,  as  well  as  the  history  of  that 
Church  in  the  United  States.  Without  ex- 
pressing an  opinion  on  that  point,  I  hesi- 
tate not  to  say  that  the  Episcopal  Church, 
with  all  the  advantage  of  having  the  peo- 
ple enlisted  on  her  side  in  several  of  the 
colonies  at  the  outset,  and  sustained  as  she 
was  by  the  prestige  of  the  National  Church 
of  the  mother-country,  would  have  done 
far  better  had  she  relied  on  her  own  re- 
sources under  God,  in  the  faithful  minis- 
tration of  his  Word,  and  of  the  ordinances 
of  His  House,  than  in  trusting  to  the  arm 
of  the  State  in  the  colonies  in  which  sh& 
endeavoured  to  plant  herself. 


CHAPTER  XXI.  | 

STATE  OF  RELIGION  DURING  THE  COLONIAL  ERA- 

Before  quitting  the  Colonial  Era  in  the 
history  of  the  United  States,  let  us  take 
a  general  view  of  the  state  of  religion 
throughout  all  the  colonies  during  the  pe- 
riod of  168  years,  from  1607  to  the  com- 
mencement of  the  war  of  the  Revolution 
in  1775. 

As  communities,  the  Anglo-American 
colonies,  from  their  earliest  days,  were 
pervaded  by  religious  influence,  not  equal- 
ly powerful,  yet  real  and  salutary  in  alL 
This  was  especially  true  of  New-England,, 
whose  first  settlers  openly  declared  to  th& 
world  that  they  left  their  native  land  not 
so  much  to  promote  individual  religion  as. 
to  form  Christian  societies.  They  could 
have  maintained  silent,  personal,  individu- 
al communion  with  their  heavenly  Father 
in  Lincolnshire  and  Yorkshire,  or  in  Hol- 
land, as  did  some  recluses  in  the  monastic 
institutions  of  the  earlier  and  Middle  Ages. 
But  they  had  no  such  purpose.  Their 
Christianity  was  of  a  diffusive  kind;  their 
hearts  yearned  for  opportunities  of  extend- 
ing it.  Religion  with  them  was  not  only 
a  concern  between  man  and  God,  but  one 
in  which  society  at  large  had  a  deep  inter- 
est. Hence  some  fruits  of  this  high  and 
holy  principle  might  be  expected  in  the1 
communities  which  they  founded,  and  we- 
not  unreasonably  desire  to  know  how  far 


100 


RELIGION  IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  II. 


the  result  corresponded  with  such  excel- 
lent intentions.  It  were  unfair,  however, 
to  expect  much  in  this  way,  considering 
the  circumstances  of  the  colonists,  settling 
in  a  remote  wilderness,  amid  fierce  and 
cruel  savages,  and  exposed  to  all  the  fa- 
tigues and  sicknesses  incident  to  such  a 
settlement,  and  to  the  anxieties  and  diffi- 
culties attending  the  organization  of  their 
governments,  collisions  with  the  mother- 
country,  and  participation  in  all  that  coun- 
try's wars. 

The  colonial  era  may,  for  the  sake  of 
convenience,  be  divided  into  four  periods. 
The  first  of  these,  extending  from  the  ear- 
liest settlement  of  Virginia  in  1607  to  1660, 
was  one  in  which  religion  greatly  flour- 
ished, notwithstanding  the  trials  incident 
to  settlements  amid  the  forests,  and  the 
troubles  attending  the  establishment  of  the 
colonial  governments.  Peace  with  the 
Aborigines  suffered  few  interruptions,  the 
only  Avars  worth  mentioning  being  that 
with  the  Pequods  in  Connecticut,  in  1637 ; 
that  between  the  Dutch  and  the  Algon- 
quins,  in  1643  ;  and  those  that  broke  out  in 
Virginia  in  1622  and  1644,  which  were  at 
once  the  first  and  the  last,  and  by  far  the 
most  disastrous  of  that  period.  But  these 
wars  were  soon  over,  and  a  few  years  suf- 
ficed to  repair  whatever  loss  they  occa- 
sioned to  the  colonists. 

This  was  the  period  in  which  those  ex- 
cellent men  who  either  came  over  with 
the  first  colonies,  or  soon  afterward  joined 
them,  laboured  long,  and  very  successfully, 
for  the  salvation  of  souls.  Among  these 
were  Wilson,  and  Cotton,  and  Shepard, 
and  Mather  (Richard),  and  Philips,  and 
Higginson,  and  Skelton,  in  the  colony  of 
Massachusetts  Bay;  Brewster  in  Plym- 
outh ;  Hooker  in  Connecticut ;  Davenport 
in  New-Haven ;  and  Hunt  and  Whitaker  in 
Virginia.  Several  of  the  contemporary 
magistrates,  also,  were  distinguished  for 
their  piety  and  zeal ;  such  as  the  governors 
Winthrop  of  Massachusetts,  Bradford  and 
Winslow  of  Plymouth,  Haynes  of  Con- 
necticut, and  Eaton  of  New-Haven.  To 
these  we  must  add  Roger  Williams,  who 
was  pastor,  and,  for  a  time,  governor  in 
Providence. 

This  was  the  golden  Age  of  the  colonial 
cycle.  God  poured  out  his  Spirit  in  many 
places.  Precious  seasons  were  enjoyed  by 
the  churches  in  Boston,  in  Salem,  in  Plym- 
outh, in  Hartford,  and  in  New-Haven.  Nor 
were  the  labours  of  faithful  men  in  Virginia 
without  a  rich  blessing.  Days  of  fasting 
and  prayer  were  frequently  and  faithfully 
observed.  God  was  entreated  to  dwell 
among  the  people.  Religion  was  felt  to  be 
the  most  important  of  blessings,  both  for 
the  individual  man  and  for  the  State.  Re- 
vivals were  highly  prized,  and  earnestly 
sought ;  nor  were  they  sought  in  vain. 
The  journals  of  Governor  Winthrop,  and 


other  good  men  of  that  day,  present  most 
interesting  details  in  proof  of  this.  Amer- 
ica has  seen  more  extensive,  but  never 
more  unequivocal,  works  of  grace,  or  more 
indubitable  operations  of  the  Spirit. 

Nor  were  the  aboriginal  heathen  around 
the  colonies  forgotten  in  those  days.  El- 
liot and  others  laboured  with  great  suc- 
cess among  the  Indians  in  4;he  vicinity  o? 
Boston.  Several  thousand  souls  were  con 
verted.  The  Bible  was  translated  into 
their  tongue.  Nor  was  it  in  Massacln> 
setts  alone  that  men  cared  for  the  souls  of 
the  "  Salvages,''  as  they  were  called.  In 
Virginia,  an  Indian  princess,  Pocahontas, 
received  the  Gospel,  was  baptized,  and  be- 
came a  consistent  member  of  a  Christian 
Church.  Another  convert,  Chanco,  was 
the  instrument,  under  God,  of  saving  the 
colony  from  entire  extirpation. 

The  commencement  of  the  colonization 
of  America  Avas  certainly  auspicious  for 
the  cause  of  true  religion. 

The  second  period  is  one  of  sixty  years, 
from  1660  to  1720. 

This  might  be  called  the  brazen  age  of  the 
colonies.  Almost  all  of  them  experienced 
times  of  trouble.  Massachusetts  suffered 
in  1675  from  a  most  disastrous  war  with 
"  King  Philip,"  the  chief  of  the  Pokanokets, 
and  with  other  tribes  which  afterward 
joined  in  a  general  endeavour  to  expel  or 
exterminate  the  colonists.  Violent  dis- 
putes arose  with  the  government  of  Eng- 
land respecting  the  rights  of  the  colony, 
and  to  these  were  added  internal  dissen- 
sions about  witchcraft,  and  other  exciting 
subjects,  chiefly  of  a  local  nature.  In  Vir- 
ginia, in  1675-76,  there  were  a  serious  In- 
dian war  and  a  "  Grand  Rebellion,"  which 
threatened  ruin  to  the  colony.  And  in  the 
Carolinas  a  desolating  war  with  the  Tus- 
caroras  broke  out  in  1711-12. 

Besides  these  greater  causes  of  trouble 
and  excitement,  there  were  others  which 
it  is  not  necessary  to  indicate.  The  influ- 
ence of  growing  prosperity  may,  however, 
be  mentioned.  The  colonies  had  now  ta- 
ken permanent  root.  They  might  be  sha- 
ken, but  could  not  be  eradicated  or  over- 
thrown by  the  rude  blasts  of  misfortune. 
Their  wealth  was  increasing ;  their  com- 
merce was  already  considerable,  and  at- 
tracted many  youth  to  the  seas.  Every 
war  which  England  had  with  France  or 
Spain  agitated  her  colonies  also. 

These  causes  concurring  with  the  disas- 
trous consequences  of  the  union  of  Church 
and  State  already  described,  led  to  a  great 
decline  of  vital  Christianity,  and  although 
partial  revivals  took  place,  the  all-perva- 
ding piety  that  characterized  the  first  gen- 
eration suffered  a  great  diminution.  The 
light  of  holiness  grew  faint  and  dim,  and 
morality,  in  general,  degenerated  in  a  like 
degree.  The  Fathers  had  gone  to  the 
tomb,  and  were  succeeded,  upon  the  whole, 


Chap.  XXL] 


RELIGION    DURING  THE   COLONIAL   ERA. 


101 


by  inferior  men.  The  second  Governor 
Winthrop,  it  is  true,  showed  himself,  in  the 
administration  of  the  united  colonies  of 
Connecticut,  to  be  a  great  and  good  man, 
and  a  father  alike  to  the  Church  and  the 
State.  Among  the  ministers,  too,  there 
was  a  considerable  number  of  distinguished 
men  ;  but  their  labours  were  not  equally 
blessed  with  those  of  the  Fathers.  Among 
the  best  known  were  the  Mathers,  Increase 
and  Cotton,  father  and  son,  the  latter  more 
distinguished  for  the  extent  and  variety  of 
his  acquirements  than  for  soundness  of 
judgment  ;*  Norton  and  others  in  Massa- 
chusetts ;  Pierpont  in  Connecticut ;  Dr. 
Blair,  who  for  a  long  time  was  the  Bishop 
of  London's  commissary  in  Virginia ;  Dr. 
Bray,  who  held  the  same  office  in  Maryland, 
two  persons  to  whom  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  those  colonies  was  much  indebted  for 
its  prosperity. 

The  faithful  pastors  in  New-England  re- 
ceived an  accession  to  their  number,  in  the 
early  part  of  this  period,  by  the  arrival  from 
England  of  some  of  the  two  thousand  min- 
isters who  were  ejected  there  for  non-con- 
formity, soon  after  the  accession  of  Charles 
II. 

The  third  period,  comprehending  the  thir- 
ty years  from  1720  to  1750,  was  distinguish- 
ed by  extensive  revivals  of  religion,  and 
this,  notwithstanding  the  agitation  produced 
in  the  colonies,  by  the  share  they  had  in 
the  war  between  France  and  England  to- 
wards the  close  of  that  period,  and  other 
unfavourable  circumstances  besides.  The 
Great  Awakening,!  as  it  has  been  called, 
infused  a  new  life  into  the  churches,  more 
especially  in  New-England,  in  certain  parts 
of  New- York,  New-Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
and  some  other  colonies,  and  its  effects 
were  visible  long  afterward  in  many  places. 
It  is  true  that  fanatical  teachers  did  much 
mischief  in  several  quarters  by  associating 
themselves  with  the  work  of  God,  and  in- 
troducing their  own  unwarrantable  meas- 
ures, so  as  to  rob  it,  in  the  end,  of  much  of 
the  glorious  character  that  distinguished  it 
at  first.  Yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that  it 
was  a  great  blessing  to  the  churches.   Some 

*  Cotton  Mather's  acquirements  were  really  pro- 
digious, considering  the  age  and  the  circumstances 
in  which  he  lived.  His  publications  amounted  to  no 
fewer  than  382,  several  of  which,  such  as  his  "  Mag- 
nalia,orthe  Ecclesiastical  History  of  New-England," 
were  large  works.  He  displayed,  however,  such  a 
mixture  of  credulity,  pedantry,  and  bad  taste,  that  he 
was  not  appreciated  as  he  deserved.  The  part  which 
he  took  in  the  affair  of  the  witches,  though  greatly 
misrepresented  by  some  writers,  did  him  vast  injury. 
He  was  singularly  given  to  believe  all  sorts  of  mar- 
vellous stories. 

t  For  a  full  and  able  account  of  this  great  work  of 
grace,  as  well  as  of  other  revivals  of  religion,  of  un- 
usual power  and  extent  in  America,  see  a  work  pub- 
lished at  Boston  in  1842,  entitled  the  "  Great  Awa- 
kening," by  the  Rev.  Joseph  Tracy.  It  is  by  far 
the  fullest  account  of  the  early  revivals  in  America 
that  has  yet  appeared,  and  being  derived  from  au- 
thentic sources,  is  worthy  of  entire  credence. 


important,  though  painful  lessons,  were 
learned,  in  regard  to  the  economy  of  the 
Spirit,  which  have  not  been  wholly  forgot- 
ten to  this  day. 

This  was  the  period  in  which  Edwards 
and  Prince,  Frelinghuysen,  Dickinson,  Fin- 
ley,  and  the  Tennents,  laboured  in  the 
Northern  and  the  Middle  States ;  Davies, 
and  others  of  kindred  spirit,  in  Virginia ; 
the  Wesleys  for  a  while  in  Georgia  ;  while 
Whitfield,  like  the  angel  symbolized  in  the 
Apocalypse  as  flying  through  the  heavens, 
having  the  everlasting  Gospel  to  preach  to 
the  nations,  traversed  colony  after  colony 
in  his  repeated  visits  to  the  New  World, 
and  was  made  an  instrument  of  blessing  to 
multitudes. 

The  fourth  and  concluding  period  of  the 
Colonial  Era  comprehends  the  twenty-five 
years  from  1750  to  1775,  and  was  one  of 
great  public  agitation.  In  the  early  part 
of  it  the  colonies  aided  England  with  all 
their  might  in  another  war  with  France, 
ending  in  the  conquest  of  the  Canadas, 
which  were  secured  to  the  conquerors  by 
the  treaty  of  Paris  in  1763.  In  the  latter 
part  of  it  men's  minds  became  universally 
engrossed  with  the  disputes  between  the 
colonies  and  the  mother-country,  and  when 
all  prospect  of  having  these  brought  to 
an  amicable  settlement  seemed  desperate, 
preparation  began  to  be  made  for  that 
dreadful  alternative — war.  Such  a  state  of 
things  could  not  fail  to  have  an  untoward 
influence  on  religion.  Yet  most  of  those 
distinguished  men  whom  I  have  spoken  of 
as  labouring  in  the  latter  part  of  the  imme- 
diately preceding  period,  were  spared  to 
continue  their  work  in  the  beginning  of 
this.  Whitfield  renewed  from  time  to  time 
his  angel  visits,  and  the  Spirit  was  not 
grieved  quite  away  from  the  churches  by 
the  commotions  of  the  people.  Still,  no 
such  glorious  scenes  were  beheld  during 
this  period  as  had  been  witnessed  in  the 
last ;  on  the  contrary,  that  declension  in 
spiritual  life,  and  spiritual  effort,  which  war 
ever  occasions,  was  now  everywhere  visi- 
ble, even  before  hostilities  had  actually 
commenced. 

Such  is  the  very  cursory  and  imperfect 
review  which  the  limits  of  this  work  per- 
mit us  to  take  of  the  religious  vicissitudes 
of  the  United  States  during  their  colonial 
days.  That  period  of  168  years  was,  com- 
paratively speaking,  one  of  decline,  and 
even  deadness,  in  the  greater  part  of  Prot- 
estant Europe  ;  indeed,  the  latter  part  may 
be  regarded  as  having  been  so  universally. 
Yet,  during  the  same  period,  I  feel  very 
certain  that  a  minute  examination  of  the 
history  of  the  American  Protestant  church- 
es would  show  that  in  no  other  part  of 
Christendom,  in  proportion  to  the  popula- 
tion, was  there  a  greater  amount  of  true 
knowledge  of  the  Gospel,  and  of  practical 
godliness,  among  both  ministers  and  their 


102 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  III. 


flocks.  No  doubt  there  Were  long  intervals 
of  coldness,  or,  rather,  of  deadness,  as  to 
spiritual  things,  during  which  both  pastors 
and  people  became  too  much  engrossed 
with  the  "  cares  of  life."  But,  blessed  be 
God,  he  did  not  abandon  us  forever.  Though 
he  visited  our  transgressions  with  a  rod, 
and  chastised  us  for  our  sins,  yet  he  re- 
membered the  covenant  which  he  made 


with  our  fathers,  and  the  Word  of  his  prom- 
ise wherein  he  had  caused  them  to  trust. 
And  though  our  unworthiness  and  our  un- 
profitableness had  been  great,  he  did  not 
cast  us  away  from  his  sight,  but  deigned 
to  hear  us  when  we  called  upon  him  in  the 
dark  and  gloomy  hour,  and  saved  us  with 
a  great  salvation.  And  this  he  did  "be- 
cause his  mercy  endureth  forever  " 


BOOK    III. 

THE    NATIONAL    ERA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

EFFECTS   OF   THE   REVOLUTION  UPON   RELIGION. 

CHANGES  TO  WHICH  IT  NECESSARILY  GAVE 

RISE. 

From  the  Colonial  we  now  proceed  to 
the  National  period  in  the  history  of  the 
United  States. 

The  first  twenty-five  years  of  the  national 
existence  of  the  States  were  fraught  with 
evil  to  the  cause  of  religion.  First  came 
the  war  of  the  Revolution,  which  literally 
engrossed  all  men's  minds.  The  popula- 
tion of  the  country  at  its  commencement 
scarcely,  if  at  all,  exceeded  3,500,000  ;  and 
for  a  people  so  few  and  so  scattered,  divided 
into  thirteen  colonies,  quite  independent,  at 
the  outset,  of  each  other,  having  no  national 
treasury,  no  central  government  or  power, 
nothing,  in  short,  to  unite  them  but  one 
common  feeling  of  patriotism,  it  was  a  gi- 
gantic undertaking.  The  war  was  followed 
by  a  long  period  of  prostration.  Connex- 
ion with  England  having  been  dissolved,  the 
colonies  had  to  assume  the  form  of  states, 
their  governments  had  to  be  reorganized, 
and  a  general,  or  federal  government,  insti- 
tuted. The  infant  nation,  now  severed 
from  the  mother- country,  had  to  begin  an 
existence  of  its  own,  at  the  cost  of  years 
of  anxiety  and  agitation.  Dangers  threat- 
ened it  on  every  side,  and  scarcely  had  the 
General  Government  been  organized,  and 
the  states  learned  to  know  their  places  a 
little  in  the  federal  economy,  when  the 
French  Revolution  burst  forth  like  a  volca- 
no, and  threatened  to  sweep  the  United 
States  into  its  fiery  stream.  In  the  end  it 
led  them  to  declare  war  against  France  for 
their  national  honour,  or,  rather,  for  their 
national  existence.  That  war  was  happily 
brought  to  an  end  by  Napoleon,  on  his  be- 
coming First  Consul,  and  thus  was  the  in- 
fant country  allowed  to  enjoy  a  little  longer 
repose,  as  far  as  depended  on  foreign  na- 
tions. 

Unfavourable  to  the  promotion  of  religion 
as  were  the  whole  twenty-five  years  from 


1775  to  1800,  the  first  eight,  spent  in  hos- 
tilities with  England,  were  pre-eminently 
so.  The  effects  of  war  on  the  churches  of 
all  communions  were  extensively  and  va- 
riously disastrous.  To  say  nothing  of  the 
distraction  of  the  mind  from  the  subject  of 
salvation,  its  more  palpable  influences  were 
seen  and  felt  everywhere.  Young  men 
were  called  away  from  the  seclusion  and 
protection  of  the  parental  roof,  and  from 
the  vicinity  of  the  oracle  of  God,  to  the  de- 
moralizing atmosphere  of  a  camp  ;  congre- 
gations were  sometimes  entirely  broken 
up  ;  churches  were  burned,  or  converted 
into  barracks  or  hospitals,  by  one  or  other 
of  the  belligerant  armies,  often  by  both 
successively ;  in  more  than  one  instance 
pastors  were  murdered  ;  the  usual  minis- 
terial intercourse  wras  interrupted  ;  efforts 
for  the  dissemination  of  the  Gospel  were, 
in  a  great  measure,  suspended  ;  colleges 
and  other  seminaries  of  learning  were 
closed  for  want  of  students  and  professors ; 
and  the  public  morals  in  various  respects, 
and  in  almost  all  possible  ways,  deterio- 
rated. Christianity  is  a  religion  of  peace, 
and  the  tempest  of  war  never  fails  to  blast 
and  scatter  the  leaves  of  the  Tree  which 
was  planted  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 

A  single  passage  from  a  letter,  written 
by  a  distinguished  and  most  excellent  Ger- 
man clergyman,*  will  give  the  reader  some 
idea  of  the  state  of  things  during  that  war. 
It  was  written  not  long  after  its  commence- 
ment. The  perusal  of  it  cannot  fail  to  im- 
press the  mind  of  every  Christian  with  the 
duty  of  praying  that  the  peace  which  now 
so  happily  reigns  among  the  nations  may 
evermore  continue  : 

"  Throughout  the  whole  country  great 
preparations  are  making  for  the  war,  and 
almost  every  person  is  under  arms.     The 


*  The  Rev.  Dr.  Helmuth,  formerly  pastor  in  Phil- 
adelphia. The  letter  from  which  the  extract  given 
in  the  text  is  taken  is  found  in  the  "  Hallische  Nach 
richten,"  p.  13G7-8,  and  quoted  by  Professor  Schmuck- 
er  in  his  "  Retrospect  of  Lutheranism  in  the  United 
States." 


€hap.  I.] 


EFFECTS   OF   THE   REVOLUTION. 


103 


ardour  manifested  in  these  melancholy  cir- 
cumstances is  indescribable.  If  a  hundred 
men  are  required,  many  more  immediately 
offer,  and  are  dissatisfied  when  they  are 
not  accepted.  I  know  of  no  similar  case 
in  history.  Neighbourhoods,  concerning 
•which  it  would  have  been  expected  that 
years  would  be  requisite  to  induce  them 
voluntarily  to  take  up  arms,  became  strong- 
ly inclined  for  war  as  soon  as  the  battle  of 
Lexington  was  known.  Quakers  and  Men- 
nonists  take  part  in  the  military  exercises, 
and  in  great  numbers  renounce  their  former 
religious  principles.  The  hoarse  din  of 
war  is  hourly  heard  in  our  streets.  The 
present  disturbances  inflict  no  small  injury 
on  religion.  Everybody  is  constantly  on 
the  alert,  anxious,  like  the  ancient  Athe- 
nians, to  hear  the  news,  and,  amid  the  mass 
of  news,  the  hearts  of  men  are,  alas  !  closed 
against  the  good  word  of  God.  The  Lord 
is  chastising  the  people,  but  they  do  not 
feel  it.  Those  who  appear  to  be  distant 
from  danger  are  unconcerned  ;  and  those 
whom  calamity  has  overtaken  are  enraged, 
and  meditating  vengeance.  In  the  Ameri- 
can army  there  are  many  clergymen,  who 
serve  both  as  chaplains  and  as  officers.  I 
myself  know  two,  one  of  whom  is  a  colonel, 
and  the  other  a  captain.  The  whole  coun- 
try is  in  perfect  enthusiasm  for  liberty. 
The  whole  population,  from  New-England 
to  Georgia,  is  of  one  mind,  and  determined 
to  risk  life  and  all  things  in  defence  of 
liberty.  The  few  who  think  differently 
are  not  permitted  to  utter  their  sentiments. 
In  Philadelphia  the  English  and  German 
students  are  formed  into  military  com- 
panies, wear  uniforms,  and  are  exercised 
like  regular  troops.  Would  to  God  that 
men  would  become  as  zealous  and  unani- 
mous in  asserting  their  spiritual  liberty  as 
they  are  in  vindicating  their  political  free- 
dom." 

It  required  some  time  for  the  churches 
to  recover  from  the  demoralizing  effects 
of  a  war  which  had  drawn  the  whole  na- 
tion into  its  circle,  and  lasted  for  eight  long 
years.  But  the  times  immediately  follow- 
ing the  Revolution  were,  as  I  have  remark- 
ed, far  from  being  favourable  to  the  re- 
suscitation of  true  religion,  and  to  the  res- 
toration of  the  churches,  even  to  the  con- 
dition, unsatisfactory  as  it  was,  in  which 
they  stood  previously  to  the  contest. 
Through  God's  blessing,  however,  they 
not  only  shared  in  the  returning  tranquilli- 
ty of  the  country,  but  from  that  time  to 
this,  with  some  short  periods  of  interrup- 
tion, have  steadily  grown  with  its  growth 
and  strengthened  with  its  strength. 

It  is  not  easy  to  ascertain  what  was  the 
exact  number  of  ministers  and  churches  in 
the  United  States  when  these  became  sev- 
ered from  England,  but  the  following  esti- 
mate cannot  be  very  wide  of  the  truth. 
The  Episcopal  clergymen  may  be  reckon- 


ed at  about  250  at  most ;  the  churches  at 
about  300.*  In  1788,  the  Presbyterians  had 
exactly  177  ministers,  and  417  congrega- 
tions.! As  the  Lutherans  had  eleven  min- 
isters in  1748,  and  forty  churches  three 
years  after,  the  former  could  hardly  have 
exceeded  twenty-five,  and  the  latter  sixty, 
at  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution — 
judging  by  the  statistics  of  the  directo- 
ry for  worship  (Kirchenagende),  published 
in  1786.  J  The  German  Reformed  church- 
es were  not  more  numerous.  The  Dutch 
Reformed  churches  had  thirty  ministers 
and  eighty-two  congregations  in  1784. fy  In 
1776,  the  Associate  Church  had  thirteen 
ministers,  and  perhaps  twenty  churches. 
The  Moravians  had  probably  twelve  min- 
isters and  six  or  eight  churches.  The  New- 
England  Congregationalists  could  not,  at 
the  commencement  of  the  Revolution,  have 
had  above  700  churches  and  575  pastors. 
The  Baptists,  in  1784,  had  424  ministers, 
and  471  churches  or  congregations. ||  The 
Methodists,  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution, 
did  not  exist  as  a  body  distinct  from  the 
Established  Episcopal  Church,  and  had  no 
ordained  ministers.  As  for  the  Roman 
Catholics,  according  to  Bishop  England's 
estimate,  their  priests  did  not  exceed  twen- 
ty-six in  number  when  the  war  of  the 
Revolution  commenced,  but  their  congre- 
gations were  at  least  twice  as  numerous.^ 

These  statements,  though  far  from  pre- 
cise, are  from  the  best  sources,  and  suffice 
to  give  a  tolerably  correct  view  of  the  num- 
bers of  the  clergy  and  churches  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  national  existence  of 
the  country,  and  for  the  first  ten  years  af- 
ter the  breaking  out  of  hostilities  with  Eng- 
land. 

From  the  best  estimate  I  can  make,  it 
seems  very  certain  that  in  1775  the  total 
number  of  ministers  of  the  Gospel  in  the 
United  States  did  not  exceed  1441,  nor  the 
congregations  1940.  Indeed,  I  am  convin- 
ced that  this  is  rather  too  large  an  esti- 
mate.**   The  population  of  the  thirteen 


*  The  number  of  the  clergy  and  churches  in  the 
Episcopal  Church,  given  in  the  text,  has  been  esti- 
mated from  various  historical  sketches  and  docu- 
ments. 

t  "History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States,"  by  Dr.  Hodge,  part  ii.,  p.  504. 

t  Dr.  Schmucker's  "Retrospect  of  Lutheranism 
in  the  United  States." 

§  See  the  Historical  sketch  of  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church  in  another  part  of  this  work. 

II  View  of  the  Baptist  churches  in  America,  given 
in  the  "  American  Quarterly  Register,"  vols.  xiii.  and 
xiv. 

Tf  Letter  from  Bishop  England,  of  Charleston,  to 
the  Central  Council  of  the  Society  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Faith,  at  Lyons,  published  in  the  "  Annates 
de  la  Propagation  de  la  Foi,"  for  the  month  of  May, 
1838,  vol.  x. 

**  The  most  exact  approximation  which  I  make 
is  as  follows : 


Episcopalians 250 

Baptists 350 


Churches. 
300 
380 


104 


RELIGION  IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  III. 


colonies  at  that  epoch  did  not  exceed 
3,500,000,  of  whom  about  500,000  were 
slaves. 

If  we  assume  the  number  of  ministers  to 
have  been  1441,  and  the  population  3,500,000 
in  1775,  then  we  have  one  minister  of  the 
Gospel,  on  an  average,  for  every  2429 
souls,  which,  I  apprehend,  is  not  far  from 
the  exact  truth. 

At  that  epoch  there  was  no  bishop  in 
either  the  Protestant  Episcopal  or  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  There  were  at  that  time 
nine  colleges  and  two  medical  schools,  but 
no  schools  of  law  or  theology. 

The  changes  that  took  place  in  the  gen- 
eral and  local  government  of  the  thirteen 
original  colonies,  on  their  achieving  their 
independence,  have  been  already  noticed. 
Religion,  as  well  as  every  other  interest, 
shared  in  the  change  of  relations  that  en- 
sued. Henceforth  it  was  with  Congress  and 
the  State  Legislatures,  or,  rather,  with  the 
National  and  State  Governments,  that  the 
churches  had  to  do,  so  far  as  they  had  any 
political  relations  to  sustain  at  all. 

It  will  be  my  object  in  this  book  to  point 
out  the  changes  that  took  place  in  the  re- 
lations of  the  churches  to  the  civil  power, 
and  to  show  their  actual  position  with  re- 
gard to  it  at  the  present  moment.  This  I 
will  try  to  do  with  all  the  brevity  consist- 
ent with  a  lucid  treatment  of  the  subject. 
We  have  now  to  see  by  what  means  that 
union  of  Church  and  State,  which  con- 
nected the  Congregational  Church  in  the 
North  and  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
Middle  and  South,  with  the  civil  govern- 
ment, was  dissolved ;  what  were  the  re- 
sults of  that  dissolution ;  and  what  the  po- 
sition in  which  the  churches  now  stand  to 
the  civil  power,  whether  as  represented 
by  the  General  Government  or  the  indi- 
vidual States. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  DISSOLUTION  OF  THE  UNION  OF  CHURCH 
AND  STATE  NOT  EFFECTED  BV  THE  GENERAL 
GOVERNMENT,  NOR  DID  IT  TAKE  PLACE  IM- 
MEDIATELY. 

More  than  one  erroneous  idea  prevails, 


Ministers.  Churches. 

Congregationalists*    .     .    .    575  700 

Presbyterians 140  300 

Lutherans 25  60 

German  Reformed  ....      25  60 

Reformed  Dutch    ....      25  60 

Associate 13  20 

Moravians 12  8 

Roman  Catholics  ....      26  52 

1441  1940 


*  The  number  of  Congregational  ministers  in  New-Eng- 
land (and  there  were  few  or  none  in  other  parts  of  the 
country)  was  estimated  by  Dr.  Stiles  to  be,  in  1760,  530  ; 
in  the  fifteen  years  which  followed  they  probably  increased 
to  575,  as  given  in  the  text. 


I  apprehend,  in  Europe,  with  respect  to  the 
dissolution  of  the  union  of  Church  and 
State  in  the  United  States.  First,  many 
seem  to  think  that  it  was  a  natural  and  in- 
evitable result  of  the  separation  of  the  col- 
onies from  the  mother-country,  and  of  the 
independent  position  which  they  had  as- 
sumed. But  that  union  connected  the  es- 
tablished churches  of  America,  not  with 
the  mother-country,  but  with  the  colonial 
governments ;  so  that,  when  the  colonies 
became  states,  the  alliance  that  had  sub- 
sisted between  them  and  certain  church- 
es was  not  necessarily  affected.  These 
churches,  in  fact,  l'emained,  as  before,  part 
and  parcel  of  the  states,  and  upon  these 
they  continued  to  be  as  dependant  as  ever. 
They  never  had  any  ties  with  England, 
beyond  falling  incidentally,  as  did  the  col- 
onies themselves,  under  the  operation  of 
English  laws. 

Again,  many  imagine  that  the  union  of 
Church  and  State  in  America  was  dissolv- 
ed by  an  act  of  Congress ;  that  is,  by  an 
act  of  the  General  Government.  But  this 
was  not  the  case.  An  article  of  the  Con- 
stitution, it  is  true,  restrains  Congress  from 
establishing  any  particular  religion :  but 
this  restriction  is  not  in  the  original  draught 
of  the  Constitution;  it  forms  one  of  certain 
amendments  adopted  soon  after,  and  runs 
as  follows  :  "  Congress  shall  make  no  laws 
respecting  an  establishment  of  religion,  or 
prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof."  That 
is  to  say,  the  General  Government  shall 
not  make  any  law  for  the  support  of  any 
particular  church,  or  of  all  the  churches. 
But  neither  this,  nor  any  other  article  in 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  pro- 
hibits individual  states  from  making  such 
laws.  The  Constitution  simply  declares 
what  shall  be  the  powers  of  the  General 
Government,  leaving  to  the  State  govern- 
ments such  powers  as  it  does  not  give  to 
the  General  Government.  This,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  subject  in  hand,  is  manifest 
from  the  fact  that  "  the  establishment  of 
religion,"  as  we  shall  presently  see,  sur- 
vived for  many  years,  in  some  states,  their 
adhesion  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States. 

Lastly,  many  persons  in  Europe  seem 
to  be  under  the  impression  that  the  union 
of  Church  and  State  was  annihilated  at 
the  Revolution,  or,  at  all  events,  ceased 
upon  the  organization  of  the  State  govern- 
ments being  completed.  This,  however, 
was  not  so  in  all  cases.  The  connexion 
between  the  civil  power  in  all  the  states 
in  which  Episcopacy  had  been  established 
in  the  colonial  period  was  dissolved,  very 
soon  after  the  Revolution,  by  acts  of  their 
respective  Legislatures.  But  the  Congre- 
gational Church  in  New-England  contin- 
ued to  be  united  with  the  State,  and  to  be 
supported  by  it,  long  after  the  Revolution. 
Indeed,  it  was  not  until  1833  that  the  last 


Chap.  III.]      DISSOLUTION   OF  UNION  OF    CHURCH  AND  STATE. 


tie  that  bound  the  Church  to  the  State  in 
Massachusetts  was  severed. 


CHAPTER  III. 

DISSOLUTION    OF    THE    UNION    OF    CHURCH    AND 

.       STATE    IN    AMERICA. WHEN    AND    HOW   EF- 

)       FECTED. 

The  first  State  that  dissolved  its  connex- 
ion with  the  Church  was  Virginia,  a  cir- 
cumstance that  seems  surprising  at  first 
sight,  inasmuch  as  its  early  colonists  were 
all  sincere  friends  of  its  established  Epis- 
copal Church,  and  for  a  long  period  were 
joined  by  few  persons  of  different  senti- 
ments. Indeed,  for  more  than  a  century 
dissent  Avas  scarcely,  if  at  all,  allowed  to 
exist  within  the  commonwealth,  even  in 
the  most  secret  manner. 

Two  causes,  however,  concurred  in  pro- 
ducing an  alteration  of  these  feelings  to- 
wards the  Established  Church.  First,  many 
whose  attachment  to  it  had  been  owing  to 
their  birth,  education,  and  early  preposses- 
sions, became  disgusted  with  the  irreli- 
gious lives  of  many  of  the  clergy,  and  the 
greediness  with  which,  notwithstanding 
that  most  of  their  time  was  spent  in  fox- 
hunting and  other  sports,  in  company  with 
the  most  dissolute  of  their  parishioners, 
they  were  ready  to  contend  for  the  last 
pound  of  tobacco  allowed  them  as  their  le- 
gal salary.  Such,  indeed,  was  the  charac- 
ter of  those  clergymen,  that  any  one  who 
makes  himself  minutely  acquainted  with 
their  doings,  must  feel  amazed  that  the 
church  which  they  dishonoured  should 
have  retained  its  hold  upon  the  respect  of 
the  Virginian  colonists  as  long  as  it  did. 
"What  attachment  to  it  remained,  must  be 
ascribed  to  its  having  at  all  times  had 
some  faithful  and  excellent  ministers  who 
mourned  over  these  scandals,  and  by  their 
personal  worth  redeemed  in  some  meas- 
ure the  body  to  which  they  belonged  from 
the  infamy  brought  upon  it  by  their  repro- 
bate fellow-clergymen,  or  "  parsons,"  as 
they  were  oftener  called.  These  excep- 
tions, however,  did  not  prevent  multitudes 
from  abandoning  the  Church  of  their  fa- 
thers, around  which  their  earliest  and  ten- 
derest  associations  still  clustered.  "  Had 
the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,"  says  one  who 
became  an  honoured  instrument  of  much 
good  in  Virginia,  and  probably  the  most 
eloquent  preacher  of  his  day  in  America, 
"  been  solemnly  and  faithfully  preached  in 
the  Established  Church,  I  am  persuaded 
there  would  have  been  but  few  Dissenters 
in  these  parts  of  Virginia ;  for  their  first 
objections  were  not  against  the  peculiar 
rites  and  ceremonies  of  that  Church,  much 
less  against  her  excellent  articles,  but 
against  the  general  strain  of  the  doctrines 
delivered  from  the  pulpit,  in  which  those 


105 

articles  were  opposed,  or  (which  was  more 
common)  not  mentioned  at  all  ;  so  that, 
at  first,  they  were  not  properly  dissenters 
from  the  original  constitution  of  the  Church 
of  England,  but  the  most  strict  adherents 
of  it,  and  only  dissented  from  those  who 
had  forsaken  it."* 

Prior  to  1740,  there  was  only  one  Pres- 
byterian congregation,  it  is  believed,  in 
Eastern  Virginia,  though  the  Scotch  and 
Irish  emigrants  from  Pennsylvania  must 
have  introduced  several  into  the  Valley. f 
There  were  also  a  few  Quaker  societies, 
some  small  German  congregations,  and  a 
considerable  number  of  Baptist  churches, 
which,  though  small  and  scattered,  em- 
braced, perhaps,  a  larger  number  of  per- 
sons, upon  the  whole,  than  all  the  other 
dissenting  bodies  put  together. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  a  Mr.  Samuel 
Morris,  a  layman,  who  had  been  brought  to 
the  knowledge  of  salvation  by  the  reading 
of  the  Scriptures,  and  by  the  perusal  of 
Flavel's  works,  and  Luther  on  the  Gala- 
tians,  began  to  invite  his  neighbours,  who, 
like  himself,  had  been  living  in  great  igno- 
rance of  the  Gospel,  to  come  to  his  house 
on  the  Sabbath,  and  hear  him  read  his  fa- 
vourite authors.  Such  were  the  crowds 
that  attended,  that  a  house  had  soon  to  be 
built  of  size  sufficient  to  contain  them.  To 
Flavel  and  Luther  there  was  added  a  vol- 
ume of  Whitfield's  sermons,  as  furnishing 
spiritual  food  for  these  hungry  souls.  They 
were  visited  in  1743  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Robin- 
son, a  Presbyterian  sent  from  New-Jersey 
on  a  missionary  tour  to  the  South.  His 
preaching  was  greatly  blessed  to  "  the 
Readers. "J  He  taught  them  to  conduct 
their  worship  in  the  Presbyterian  way,  and 
was  followed  by  other  ministers  of  the 
same  denomination.  Though  they  were 
often  fined  for  not  attending  the  services 
of  the  Established  Church,  these  simple- 
hearted  and  excellent  people  continued 
their  meetings.  In  1747,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Da- 
vies,  mentioned  above,  was  sent  to  them 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Newcastle,  in  Dela- 
ware ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  some 
months  spent  on  a  visit  to  England,  he  la- 
boured among  them  until  1759,  when  he 
was  chosen  President  of  the  College  of 


*  The  Rev.  Samuel  Davies,  in  his  "  Narrative  on 
the  State  of  Religion  among  Dissenters  in  Virginia." 

t  The  "  Valley  of  Virginia"  is  a  fine  district  of 
country  which  lies  west  of  the  first  ridge  of  the  Al- 
leghany Mountains,  and  between  that  ridge  and 
others  which  lie  still  farther  to  the  west.  It  reaches 
quite  across  the  state,  from  northeast  to  southwest, 
and  is  considered  the  best  part  of  it  for  fertility  of 
soil.  It  is  a  part  of  the  same  valley  which  extends 
across  Maryland  into  Pennsylvania.  In  the  latter 
state  it  is  called  Cumberland  Valley.  ^ 

%  A  counterpart  to  these  worthy  inquirers  after 
divine  knowledge  is  found  at  the  present  day  in  the 
northern  parts  of  Sweden  and  in  Norway,  where 
groups  of  persons  meet  on  the  Sabbath  after  church 
service,  which  in  too  many  cases  furnishes  but  poor 
spiritual  nourishment,  to  read  the  Bible  and  other 
good  books. 


106 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  III. 


New-Jersey.  He  succeeded  in  building  up 
seven  churches,  and  from  that  time  Pres- 
byterianism  made  very  considerable  prog- 
ress in  Eastern  Virginia  ;  so  that,  when 
the  war  of  the  Revolution  began,  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Hanover  in  that  colony  was  a 
numerous  body,  and  comprehended  some 
very  able  and  eloquent  ministers.  The 
Scotch  and  Irish  Presbyterians  were  at  the 
same  time  increasing  in  the  western  part 
of  the  province.  The  Baptist  congrega- 
tions increased  even  more  rapidly.  Still, 
it  was  not  always  easy  to  avoid  suffering 
from  the  interference  of  the  civil  authori- 
ties. The  Act  of  Toleration,  passed  in 
England  on  the  28th  of  June,  1687,  extended 
unquestionably  to  the  colonies,  yet  not  a 
few  obstacles  continued  to  be  thrown  in  the 
way  of  dissenters,  almost  down  to  the  open- 
ing scenes  of  the  Revolutionary  drama. 

When  the  Revolution  came  at  last,  the 
Baptists  and  Presbyterians  were,  almost  to 
a  man,  in  its  favour ;  and  many  of  these, 
but  especially  of  the  former,  whose  preach- 
ers had  suffered  by  far  the  most  from  the 
civil  authorities  in  the  earlier  part  of  the 
century,  at  the  instigation,  as  they  believed, 
whether  justly  or  unjustly,  of  the  clergy 
of  the  Established  Church,  were  not  a  little 
influenced  in  the  course  they  then  adopted 
by  the  hope  of  seeing  the  success  of  the 
Revolution  lead  to  the  overthrow  of  an  es- 
tablishment which  they  regarded  with  feel- 
ings of  repugnance,  and  even  of  hostility. 
In  these  circumstances,  it  was  to  be  ex- 
pected that  before  the  Revolution  had  made 
much  progress,  an  assault  would  be  made 
on  the  Established  Church  ;  such  an  as- 
sault was  made,  and  not  without  success. 

As  the  history  of  this  matter  is  not  a  lit- 
tle interesting,  and  almost  quite  unknown 
in  Europe,  I  may  enter  upon  it  at  some 
length. 

A  very  general  impression  prevails  in 
England,  and  perhaps  elsewhere,  that  the 
entire  separation  of  Church  and  State  in 
America  was  the  work  of  Mr.  Jefferson, 
the  third  President  of  the  United  States, 
who  took  a  distinguished  part  in  the  strug- 
gle, and  who,  upon  being  charged  with 
drawing  up  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, executed  the  task  so  much  to  the 
satisfaction  of  his  fellow-citizens.  Now 
none  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  admirers  will  con- 
sider it  slanderous  to  assert  that  he  was  a 
very  bitter  enemy  to  Christianity,  and  we 
may  even  assume  that  he  wished  to  see 
not  only  the  Episcopal  Church  separated 
from  the  State  in  Virginia,  but  the  utter 
overthrow  of  everything  in  the  shape  of  a 
church  throughout  the  country.  Still,  it 
was  not  Jefferson  that  induced  the  State 
of  Virginia  to  pass  the  Act  of  Separation. 
That  must  be  ascribed  to  the  petitions  and 
other  efforts  of  the  Presbyterians  and 
Baptists. 

No  sooner  was  war  declared  than  the 


Synod  of  New- York  and  Philadelphia,  the 
highest  ecclesiastical  body  among  the  Pres- 
byterians of  America  at  that  time,  address- 
ed to  their  churches  a  very  judicious  and 
patriotic  letter,  which,  while  it  displayed  a 
firm  spirit  of  loyalty  towards  the  govern- 
ment of  England,  evidently  and  naturally 
sympathized  with  the  contest  then  begun — 
a  contest  which  it  was  thought  could  not 
be  abandoned  without  the  sacrifice  of  their 
dearest  rights.  Few  persons  supposed  at 
that  time  that  the  struggle  was  to  end  in  a 
separation  from  the  mother-country.  But 
when,  in  the  following  year,  the  Congress 
issued  its  Declaration  of  Independence,  the 
whole  face  of  matters  was  changed,  and 
ministers  of  the  Gospel  had  to  make  their 
election — whether  they  would  recognise 
and  obey  the  act  of  the  Congress,  or  still 
adhere  to  the  sovereignty  of  England. 
Then  it  was  that  the  first  body  of  clergy  of 
any  denomination  in  America  that  openly 
recognised  that  act,  and  thereby  identified 
themselves  with  the  cause  of  freedom  and 
independence,  was  the  comparatively  nu- 
merous and  very  influential  Presbytery  of 
Hanover  in  Virginia.  At  its  first  meeting 
after  the  appearance  of  the  Declaration, 
that  body  addressed  the  Virginia  House  of 
Assembly  in  a  memorial,  recommending 
the  separation  of  Church  and  State,  and. 
the  leaving  of  the  support  of  the  Gospel  to 
the  voluntary  efforts  of  its  friends.  The 
memorial  runs  as  follows  : 

"  To  the  Honourable  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  Virginia.  The  memorial  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Hanover  humbly  represents  : 
That  your  memorialists  are  governed  by 
the  same  sentiments  which  have  inspired 
the  United  States  of  America,  and  are  de- 
termined that  nothing  in  our  power  and  in- 
fluence shall  be  wanting  to  give  success  to 
their  common  cause.  We  would  also 
represent  that  dissenters  from  the  Church 
of  England  in  this  country  have  ever  been 
desirous  to  conduct  themselves  as  peace- 
able members  of  the  civil  government,  for 
which  reason  they  have  hitherto  submitted 
to  various  ecclesiastical  burdens  and  re- 
strictions that  are  inconsistent  with  equal 
liberty.  But  now,  when  the  many  and 
grievous  oppressions  of  our  mother-coun 
try  have  laid  this  Continent  under  the  ne- 
cessity of  casting  off  the  yoke  of  tyranny, 
and  of  forming  independent  governments 
upon  equitable  and  liberal  foundations,  we 
flatter  ourselves  that  we  shall  be  freed  from 
all  the  encumbrances  which  a  spirit  of 
domination,  prejudice,  or  bigotry  has  in- 
terwoven with  most  other  political  sys- 
tems. This  we  are  the  more  strongly  en- 
couraged to  expect  by  the  Declaration  of 
Rights,  so  universally  applauded  for  that 
dignity,  firmness,  and  precision  with  which 
it  delineates  and  asserts  the  privileges  of 
society,  and  the  prerogatives  of  human 
nature  ;   and  which  we   embrace  as  the 


Chap.III.]   dissolution  of  union  of  church  and  state. 


107 


Magna  Charta  of  our  commonwealth,  that 
can  never  be  violated  without  endangering 
the  grand  superstructure  it  was  designed 
to  sustain.  Therefore,  we  rely  upon  this 
Declaration,  as  well  as  the  justice  of  our 
honourable  Legislature,  to  secure  us  the 
free  exercise  of  religion  according  to  the 
ctates  of  our  consciences  ;  and  we  should 
fall  short  in  our  duty  to  ourselves,  and  the 
many  and  numerous  congregations  under 
our  care,  were  we,  upon  this  occasion,  to 
neglect  laying  before  you  a  statement  of 
the  religious  grievances  under  which  we 
have  hitherto  laboured,  that  they  may  no 
longer,  be  continued  in  our  present  form  of 
government. 

"  It  is  well  known  that  in  the  frontier 
counties,  which  are  justly  supposed  to  con- 
tain a  fifth  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  Vir- 
ginia, the  dissenters  have  borne  the  heavy 
burdens  of  purchasing  glebes,  building 
churches,  and  supporting  the  established 
clergy,  where  there  are  very  few  Episco- 
palians, either  to  assist  in  bearing  the  ex- 
pense, or  to  reap  the  advantage  ;  and  that 
throughout  the  other  parts  of  the  country 
there  are  also  many  thousands  of  zealous 
friends  and  defenders  of  our  State,  who, 
besides  the  invidious  and  disadvantageous 
restrictions  to  which  they  have  been  sub- 
jected, annually  pay  large  taxes  to  support 
an  Establishment  from  which  their  con- 
sciences and  principles  oblige  them  to  dis- 
sent ;  all  which  are  confessedly  so  many 
violations  of  their  natural  rights,  and,  in 
their  consequences, 'a  restraint  upon  free- 
dom of  inquiry  and  private  judgment. 

"  In  this  enlightened  age,  and  in  a  land 
where  all  of  every  denomination  are  united 
in  the  most  strenuous  efforts  to  be  free,  we 
hope  and  expect  that  our  representatives 
will  cheerfully  concur  in  removing  every 
species  of  religious  as  well  as  civil  bond- 
age. Certain  it  is,  that  every  argument  for 
civil  liberty  gains  additional  strength  when 
applied  to  liberty  in  the  concerns  of  reli- 
gion ;  and  there  is  no  argument  in  favour 
of  establishing  the  Christian  religion  but 
may  be  pleaded,  with  equal  propriety,  for 
establishing  the  tenets  of  Mohammed  by 
those  who  believe  the  Alcoran  ;  or,  if  this 
be  not  true,  it  is  at  least  impossible  for  the 
magistrate  to  adjudge  the  right  of  prefer- 
ence among  the  various  sects  that  profess 
the  Christian  faith,  without  erecting  a 
claim  to  infallibility,  which  would  lead  us 
back  to  the  Church  of  Rome. 

"  We  beg  leave  farther  to  represent,  that 
religious  establishments  are  highly  injuri- 
ous to  the  temporal  interests  of  any  com- 
munity. Without  insisting  upon  the  am- 
bition and  the  arbitrary  practices  of  those 
who  are  favoured  by  government,  or  the 
intriguing,  seditious  spirit  which  is  com- 
monly excited  by  this,  as  well  as  by  every 
other  kind  of  oppression,  such  establish- 
ments greatly  retard  population,  and,  con- 


sequently, the  progress  of  arts,  sciences, 
and  manufactures.  Witness  the  rapid 
growth  and  improvement  of  the  Northern 
provinces  compared  with  this.  No  one 
can  deny  that  the  more  early  settlement, 
and  the  many  superior  advantages  of  our 
country,  would  have  invited  multitudes  of 
artificers,  mechanics,  and  other  useful 
members  of  society,  to  fix  their  habitation 
among  us,  who  have  either  remained  in 
their  place  of  nativity,  or  preferred  worse 
civil  governments,  and  a  more  barren  soil, 
where  they  might  enjoy  the  rights  of  con- 
science more  fully  than  they  had  a  pros- 
pect o/  doing  in  this.  From  which  we  in- 
fer that  Virginia  might  have  now  been  the 
capital  of  America,  and  a  match  for  the 
British  arms,  without  depending  on  others 
for  the  necessaries  of  war,  had  it  not  been 
prevented  by  her  religious  establishment. 

"  Neither  can  it  be  made  to  appear  that 
the  Gospel  needs  any  such  civil  aid.  We 
rather  conceive  that,  when  our  blessed 
Saviour  declares  his  kingdom  is  not  of  this 
world,  he  renounces  all  dependance  upon 
state  power  ;  and  as  his  weapons  are  spir- 
itual, and  were  only  designed  to  have  in- 
fluence on  the  judgment  and  heart  of  man, 
we  are  persuaded  that  if  mankind  were 
left  in  the  quiet  possession  of  their  inalien- 
able religious  privileges,  Christianity,  as 
in  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  would  con- 
tinue to  prevail  and  flourish  in  the  great- 
est purity  by  its  own  native  excellence, 
and  under  the  all-disposing  providence  of 
God. 

"  We  would  also  humbly  represent,  that 
the  only  proper  objects  of  civil  govern- 
ment are  the  happiness  and  protection  of 
men  in  the  present  state  of  existence  ;  the 
security  of  the  life,  liberty,  and  property 
of  the  citizens,  and  to  restrain  the  vicious 
and  encourage  the  virtuous  by  wholesome 
laws,  equally  extending  to  every  individ- 
ual ;  but  that  the  duty  which  we  owe  to 
our  Creator,  and  the  manner  of  dischar- 
ging it,  can  only  be  directed  by  reason  and 
conviction,  and  is  nowhere  cognizable  but 
at  the  tribunal  of  the  universal  Judge. 

"  Therefore,  we  ask  no  ecclesiastical  es- 
tablishments for  ourselves  ;  neither  can 
we  approve  of  them  when  granted  to  oth- 
ers. This,  indeed,  would  be  giving  exclu- 
sive or  separate  emoluments  or  privileges 
to  one  set  of  men,  without  any  special 
public  services,  to  the  common  reproach 
and  injury  of  every  other  denomination. 
And,  for  the  reasons  recited,  we  are  in- 
duced earnestly  to  entreat  that  all  laws 
now  in  force  in  this  commonwealth,  which 
countenance  religious  domination,  may  be 
speedily  repealed;  that  all,  of  every  reli- 
gious sect,  may  be  protected  in  the  full 
exercise  of  their  several  modes  of  wor- 
ship ;  exempted  from  all  taxes  for  the  sup- 
port of  any  Church  whatsoever,  farther 
than  what  may  be  agreeable  to  their  own 


108 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  III. 


private  choice  or  voluntary  obligation. 
This  being  done,  all  partial  and  invidious 
distinctions  will  be  abolished,  to  the  great 
honour  and  interest  of  the  State,  and  every 
one  be  left  to  stand  or  fall  according  to  his 
merit,  which  can  never  be  the  case  so  long 
as  any  one  denomination  is  established  in 
preference  to  others. 

"  That  the  great  Sovereign  of  the  uni- 
verse may  inspire  you  with  unanimity, 
wisdom,  and  resolution,  and  bring  you  to 
a  just  determination  on  all  the  important 
concerns  before  you,  is  the  fervent  prayer 
of  your  memorialists.'" 

Besides  this  petition  from  the  Presbytery 
of  Hanover,  there  were  others  from  the 
Baptists  and  Quakers.  The  Baptists  had 
suffered  more  than  any  other  class  of  dis- 
senters, and  the  remembrance  of  their 
wrongs,  now  that  their  day  of  power  had 
come,  stimulated  them  to  an  uninterrupted 
opposition  of  seven-  and -twenty  years  to 
the  Established  Church.  Indeed,  they  now 
took  the  lead  in  opposing  its  claims.  In 
1775  they  presented  to  the  General  As- 
sembly an  address,  composed  by  members 
who  had  spontaneously  convened,  in  which 
they  petitioned,  "  that  they  might  be  al- 
lowed to  worship  God  in  their  own  way, 
without  interruption ;  to  maintain  their  own 
ministers,  separate  from  others  ;  and  to  be 
married,  buried,  &c,  without  paying  the 
clergy  of  other  denominations."*  To  this 
the  Assembly  returned  a  complimentary 
answer,  and  an  order  was  made  that  the 
sectarian  clergy  should  have  the  privilege 
of  performing  Divine  service  to  their  re- 
spective adherents  in  the  army,  equally 
with  the  regular  chaplains  of  the  Estab- 
lished Church.f 

The  above  memorial  from  the  Presby- 
terians, and  petitions  from  the  Baptists, 
Quakers,  and  others  opposed  to  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  were  met  by  counter-me- 
morials from  the  Episcopalians  and  Meth- 
odists, appealing  on  behalf  of  the  Estab- 
lishment to  the  principles  of  justice,  wis- 
dom, and  policy.  Public  faith,  it  was  said, 
required  that  the  State  should  abide  by  its 
engagements  ;  and  that  a  system  of  such 
old  standing,  and  which  involved  so  many 
interests  on  the  part  of  persons  who  had 
staked  their  all  upon  its  continued  exist- 
ence, possessed  the  nature  of  a  vested 
right,  and  ought  to  be  maintained  inviolate. 
The  wisdom  of  this  course  was  argued 
from  the  past,  experience  of  all  Christian 
lands,!  and  from  the  influence  of  religious 
establishments  in  giving  stability  to  virtue 
and  the  public  happiness.  Policy  required 
it,  for  it  was  insisted  that,  were  there  to 


*  Semple's  "  History  of  the  Baptists  in  Virginia," 
p.  25-27,  62. 

t  Burk's  "  History  of  Virginia,"  p.  59. 

j  This  was  not  difficult,  for  church  establishments 
had  existed  throughout  Christendom  since  the  days 
tif  Constantine. 


be  no  establishment,  the  peace  of  the  com- 
munity would  be  destroyed  by  the  jealou- 
sies and  contentions  of  rival  sects.  And, 
finally,  the  memorialists  prayed  that  the 
matter  might  be  referred,  in  the  last  resort, 
to  the  people  at  large,  as  they  had  the  best 
of  reasons  for  believing  that  a  majority  of 
the  citizens  would  be  in  favour  of  continu- 
ing the  establishment. 

From  this  it  would  seem  that,  in  the 
conviction  of  these  memorialists,  a  major- 
ity of  the  population  of  Virginia  were  Epis- 
copalians ;  yet  it  was  confidently  main- 
tained in  other  quarters  that  two  thirds  of 
the  people  were  at  that  time  dissenters. 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  greater  part 
professed,  or  favoured  Episcopacy,  but  that 
a  decided  majority  was  opposed  to  its  civil 
establishment.  The  memorials  led  to  a 
long  and  earnest  discussion.  The  Church 
had  for  her  champions  Messrs.  Pendleton 
and  R.  C.  Nicolas,  and  for  her  great  oppo- 
nent Mr.  Jefferson,  who  speaks  of  the  con- 
test as  the  severest  in  which  he  was  ever 
engaged.*  After  discussing  the  subject  for 
nearly  two  months,  the  Assembly  repealed 
all  the  colonial  laws  attaching  criminality 
to  the  profession  of  any  particular  reli- 
gious opinions,  requiring  attendance  at  the 
parish  churches,  and  forbidding  attendance 
elsewhere,  with  the  penalties  attached 
thereto.  Dissenters  were  to  be  exempted 
in  future  from  compulsory  contributions 
in  support  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  The 
clergy,  however,  were  to  have  their  sti- 
pends continued  until'  the  first  day  in  the 
ensuing  year,  and  had  all  arrears  secured 
to  them.  The  churches,  chapels,  glebes, 
books,  plate,  &c,  belonging  to  the  Epis- 
copal Church,  were  to  remain  in  its  pos- 
session.! This  law  was  passed  on  the  5th 
of  December,  1776.  The  question  of  hav- 
ing a  general  assessment  for  the  support  of 
religion  was  at  the  same  time  discussed, 
but  the  determination  of  it  was  put  off  to 
a  future  day. 

In  the  course  of  1777  and  1778,  petitions 
and  counter-petitions  continued  to  be  ad- 
dressed to  the  Legislature  on  the  subject 
of  religion.  Some  of  the  petitions  prayed 
for  the  preservation  of  all  that  remained 
of  the  Establishment ;  others  advocated  a 
general  assessment  for  the  support  of  all 
denominations  ;  others  opposed  that  sug- 
gestion. Some,  again,  called  for  the  sup- 
pression by  law  of  the  irregularities  of  the 
"  sectaries,"  such  as  their  holding  meet- 
ings by  night,  and  craved  that  none  but 
"  licensed  preachers"  should  be  allowed  to 
conduct  the  public  worship  of  God.  Among 
the  memorials  was  one  from  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Hanover,  opposing  the  plan  of  a 
general  assessment.  After  reverting  to 
the  principles  laid  down  in  their  first  peti- 
tion, and  insisting  that  the  only  proper  ob- 


*  Jefferson's  Works,  vol.  i,  p.  32. 

f  Hening's  "  Statutes  of  Virginia,"  p.  34. 


Chap.  III.]    DISSOLUTION    OF    UNION    OF   CHURCH    AND    STATE. 


jects  of  civil  governments  are  the  happi- 
ness and  protection  of  men  in  their  present 
state  of  existence  ;  the  security  of  the  life, 
liberty,  and  property  of  the  citizens  ;  the 
restraint  of  the  vicious,  and  the  encourage- 
ment of  the  virtuous,  by  wholesome  laws, 
equally  extending  to  every  individual ;  and 
that  the  duty  which  men  owe  to  their  Cre- 
ator, and  the  manner  of  discharging  it,  can 
only  be  directed  by  reason  and  conviction, 
and  is  nowhere  cognizable  but  at  the  tribu- 
nal of  the  universal  Judge,  the  presbytery 
express  themselves  as  follows  : 

'•  To  illustrate  and  confirm  these  asser- 
tions, we  beg  leave  to  observe,  that  to 
judge  for  ourselves,  and  to  engage  in  the 
exercise  of  religion  agreeably  to  the  dic- 
tates of  our  own  consciences,  is  an  inal- 
ienable right,  which,  upon  the  principles  on 
which  the  Gospel  was  first  propagated, 
and  the  Reformation  from  Popery  carried 
on,  can  never  be  transferred  to  another. 
Neither  does  the  Church  of  Christ  stand 
in  need  of  a  general  assessment  for  its 
support ;  and  most  certain  we  are  that  it 
would  be  of  no  advantage,  but  an  injury  to 
the  Society  to  Which  we  belong ;  and  as 
every  good  Christian  believes  that  Christ 
has  ordained  a  complete  system  of  laws 
for  the  government  of  His  kingdom,  so  we 
are  persuaded  that  by  His  providence  He 
will  support  it  to  its  final  consummation. 
In  the  fixed  belief  of  this  principle,  that 
the  kingdom  of  Christ  and  the  concerns 
of  religion  are  beyond  the  limits  of  civil 
control,  we  should  act  a  dishonest,  incon- 
sistent part,  were  we  to  receive  any  emol- 
uments from  human  establishments  for  the 
support  of  the  Gospel. 

"  These  things  being  considered,  we  hope 
that  we  shall  be  excused  for  remonstra- 
ting against  a  general  assessment  for  any 
religious  purpose.  As  the  maxims  have 
long  been  approved,  that  every  servant  is 
to  obey  his  master,  and  that  the  hireling 
is  accountable  for  his  conduct  to  him  from 
whom  he  receives  his  wages  ;  in  like  man- 
ner, if  the  Legislature  has  any  rightful  au- 
thority over  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel 
in  the  exercise  of  their  sacred  office,  and 
if  it  is  their  duty  to  levy  a  maintenance 
for  them  as  such,  then  it  will  follow  that 
they  may  revive  the  old  Establishment  in 
its  former  extent,  or  ordain  a  new  one  for 
any  sect  that  they  may  think  proper ;  they 
are  invested  with  a  power  not  only  to  de- 
termine, but  it  is  incumbent  on  them  to 
declare  who  shall  preach,  what  they  shall 
preach,  to  whom,  when,  and  in  what  places 
they  shall  preach ;  or  to  impose  any  reg- 
ulations and  restrictions  upon  religious  so- 
cieties that  they  may  judge  expedient. 
These  consequences  are  so  plain  as  not 
to  be  denied,  and  they  are  so  entirely  sub- 
versive of  religious  liberty,  that  if  they 
should  take  place  in  Virginia,  we  should 
be  reduced  to  the  melancholy  necessity  of 


109 

saying  with  the  apostles  in  like  cases, 
'  Judge  ye  whether  it  is  best  to  obey  God 
or  men,'  and  also  of  acting  as  they  acted. 

"  Therefore,  as  it  is  contrary  to  our  prin- 
ciples and  interest,  and,  as  we  think,  sub- 
versive of  religious  liberty,  we  do  again 
most  earnestly  entreat  that  our  Legisla- 
ture would  never  extend  any  assessment 
for  religious  purposes  to  us,  or  to  the  con- 
gregations under  our  care." 

This  memorial,  and  probably  still  more, 
the  strenuous  efforts  of  the  Baptists,  led, 
in  1779,  to  the  abandonment  of  the  pro- 
posed "general  assessment,"  after  a  bill 
to  that  effect  had  been  ordered  a  third 
reading. 

With  the  return  of  peace,  the  Legisla- 
ture of  Virginia  resumed  the  subject  of 
legislating  in  behalf  of  religion ;  and  in 
the  sessions  of  1784  two  important  matters 
were  much  debated.  One  was  to  provide 
by  law  for  the  incorporation  of  "  all  soci- 
eties of  the  Christian  religion  which  may 
apply  for  the  same ;"  the  other  was  the 
old  project  of  a  general  assessment  for 
the  support  of  religion.  The  celebrated 
Patrick  Henry*  was  the  great  advocate 


*  This  gentleman,  one  of  the  most  eloquent  men 
that  America  has  ever  produced,  was  for  many  years 
a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  and  govern- 
or, also,  for  several  terms.  He  distinguished  him- 
self in  opposing  the  taxation  of  the  colonies  by  Eng- 
land without  their  consent,  and  in  the  course  of  a 
very  animated  speech  on  that  subject  hi  the  Legisla- 
ture of  Virginia,  said,  in  his  emphatic  manner,  "  Cae- 
sar had  a  Brutus,  Charles  I.  had  a  Cromwell,  and 
George  III." — here  he  was  interrupted  by  cries  of 
"  Treason !  treason !" — "  and  George  III.,"  he  repeat- 
ed, "  should  profit  by  their  example ;  if  this  be  trea- 
son, gentlemen,  you  may  make  the  most  of  it." 

It  has  been  said  that  in  his  younger  days  Mr.  Hen- 
ry was  inclined  to  infidelity.  But  this  is  not  true ; 
he  was  a  firm  believer  in  Christianity,  and  for  many 
years  before  his  death  a  devout  Christian.  "  He  ever 
had  a  great  abhorrence  of  infidelity,"  says  a  private 
letter  from  a  member  of  Mr.  Henry's  family,  given 
in  Dr.  Hawks's  "  Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church  in  Virginia,"  p.  160,  161,  "and  actu- 
ally wrote  an  answer  to  '  Paine's  Age  of  Reason,' 
but  destroyed  it  before  his  death.  He  received  the 
communion  as  often  as  an  opportunity  offered ;  and 
on  such  occasions  always  fasted  until  after  he  had  re- 
ceived the  sacrament,  and  spent  the  day  in  the  great- 
est retirement.  This  he  did  both  while  he  was  gov- 
ernor and  afterward." 

The  following  affecting  anecdote  is  related  of  him. 
When  very  old,  he  was  induced  to  be  a  candidate 
for  the  House  of  Delegates,  in  a  time  of  great  politi- 
cal excitement.  "  On  the  day  of  the  election,"  says 
Mr.  Wirt,  in  his  Life  of  Patrick  Henry,  p.  408,  "  as 
soon  as  he  appeared  on  the  ground,  he  was  sur- 
rounded by  the  admiring  and  adoring  crowd,  and 
whithersoever  he  moved  the  concourse  followed 
him.  A  preacher  of  the  Baptist  Church,  whose  pie- 
ty was  wounded  by  this  homage  paid  to  a  mortal, 
asked  the  people  aloud,  why  they  thus  followed 
Mr.  Henry.  'Mr.  Henry,'  said  he,  'is  not  a  god.' 
'No!'  said  Mr.  Henry,  deeply  affected,  both  by  the 
scene  and  the  remark  :  '  no,  indeed,  my  friend ;  I  am 
a  poor  worm  of  the  dust,  as  fleeting  and  as  unsub- 
stantial as  the  shadow  of  the  cloud  that  flies  over 
your  fields,  and  is  remembered  no  more.'  The  tone 
with  which  this  was  uttered,  and  the  look  which  ac- 
companied, affected  every  heart  and  silenced  every 
voice." 


110 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  IIL 


of  both  measures.  The  Hanover  Pres- 
bytery soon  reappeared  upon  the  field,  and 
opposed  the  latter  of  these  proposals,  al- 
though it  would  have  proved  as  favoura- 
ble to  the  Presbyterian  Church  as  any  oth- 
er. But  on  this  occasion  there  was  an  ev- 
ident wavering  on  the  part  of  the  presby- 
tery, probably  owing  to  an  expectation 
that  the  measure  would  be  sure  to  be  adopt- 
ed, and  from  their  desire  to  secure  the 
least  injurious  plan  of  giving  it  effect.  It 
has  also  been  alleged  as  one  cause  of  the 
temporary  abatement  of  their  zeal,  that 
Mr.  Henry  had  won  over  to  his  opinions 
the  Rev.  Dr.  John  B.  Smith,  one  of  the 
ablest  members  of  the  presbytery.  Cer- 
tain it  is,  that  an  act  to  incorporate  the 
churches  passed  by  a  large  vote,  and  a 
bill  in  favour  of  a  general  assessment  pass- 
ed two  readings,  was  ordered  to  be  read  a 
third  time,  and  was  then  sent  forth  to  be 
submitted  to  the  people  for  their  opinion 
before  being  passed  into  a  law.  On  the 
same  day,  likewise,  on  which  an  act  was 
passed  for  the  incorporation  of  such  church- 
es as  might  apply  for  the  same,  leave  was 
granted  to  introduce  a  bill  for  the  incorpo- 
ration of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 
Mr.  Henry  introduced  the  bill.  It  had  for 
its.  object  the  securing  to  that  church  all 
the  property  that  it  had  ever  had,  both  in 
those  parishes  which  had  churches  in  use, 
and  in  the  still  greater  number  which  had 
no  ministers,  and  not  even  vestries,  and 
where  the  church  edifices  had  become  di- 
lapidated during  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. This  bill  was  approved  by  the  Le- 
gislature, and  promised  permanent  peace 
and  protection  to  the  Episcopal  Church. 
But  the  prospect  was  not  of  long  contin- 
uance. The  incorporation  of  the  Episco- 
pal clergy  was  strongly  opposed  in  a  me- 
morial from  the  Presbytery  of  Hanover, 
under  the  influence  of  which  the  Legisla- 
ture delayed  farther  proceedings,  in  order 
that  public  opinion  might  have  time  to  ex- 
press itself.  Meanwhile,  petitions  against 
the  measure  were  sent  in.  from  all  parts 
of  Virginia,  signed  by  no  fewer  than  10,000 
persons.  Still,  as  the  Legislature  seemed 
disposed  to  pass  the  bill  in  question,  the 
Presbyterian  churches  held  a  convention, 
at  which  another  memorial  was  drawn  up, 
and  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  B.  Smith,  who  had 
now  become  more  confirmed  in  his  oppo- 
sition to  the  contemplated  measure,  was 
appointed  to  accompany  the  presentation 
of  the  memorial  with  his  personal  advo- 
cacy at  the  bar  of  the  Assembly,  and  was 
heard  there  for  three  successive  days. 
This  decided  the  matter ;  the  whole  scheme 
was  abandoned. 

Thus,  it  was  mainly  owing  to  the  exer- 
tions of  the  Presbyterians,  Baptists,  and 
Quakers  that  the  union  of  Church  and 
State  in  Virginia  was  dissolved,  and  the 
scheme  of  having  a  general  assessment 


for  the  support  of  all  Protestant  denomi- 
nations defeated.*  Mr.  Jefferson,  it  is  true, 
when  a  member  of  the  Assembly  in  1776, 
rendered  all  the  aid  in  his  power,  and 
would  have  been  very  well  pleased  to  have 
had  such  parties  to  co-operate  with  him  in 
some  other  schemes,  if  he  could.  But  they, 
not  he,  began  the  movement  in  this  case, 
and  they  persevered  in  their  endeavours 
to  render  the  churches  altogether  independ- 
ent of  the  civil  power,  and  to  have  all  placed 
precisely  on  the  same  footing,  as  respect- 
ed the  civil  government. 

Mr.  Jefferson's  grand  achievement,  in 
the  line  of  legislating  about  religious  rights, 
was  the  famous  act  "  for  establishing  reli- 
gious freedom,"  drawn  up  by  him,  and 
adopted  by  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  in 
1785. f     That  act  in  itself,  however,  con- 


*  A  general  assessment  bill  would  have  done  in- 
finite mischief.  It  never  could  have  been  confined 
to  the  Evangelical  Churches,  and  would  have  end- 
ed in  building  up  Unitarianism,  Universalism,  &c, 
in  Virginia,  just  as  a  similar  measure  did  afterward 
in  New-England. 

t  As  the  reader  may  wish  to  see  this  famous  or- 
dinance, which  Mr.  Jefferson  challenged  so  much 
credit  to  himself  for  having  written  and  advocated, 
we  give  it  in  this  note :  "  Whereas  Almighty  God 
hath  created  the  mind  free  ;  that  all  attempts  to  in- 
fluence it  by  temporal  punishments  or  burdens,  or 
by  civil  incapacitations,  tend  only  to  beget  habits  of 
hypocrisy  and  meanness,  and  are  a  departure  from 
the  plan  of  the  holy  Author  of  our  religion,  who,  be 
ing  Lord  both  of  body  and  mind,  yet  chose  not  to 
propagate  it  by  coercions  on  either,  as  was  in  his  al- 
mighty power  to  do ;  that  the  impious  presumption 
of  legislators  and  rulers,  civil  as  well  as  ecclesiasti- 
cal, who,  being  themselves  but  fallible  and  unin- 
spired men,  have  assumed  dominion  over  the  faitli 
of  others,  setting  up  their  own  opinions  and  modes  of 
thinking  as  the  only  true  and  infallible,  and  as  such 
endeavouring  to  impose  them  on  others,  hath  estab- 
lished or  maintained  false  religions  over  the  greatest 
part  of  the  world,  and  through  all  time  ;  that  to  com- 
pel a  man  to  furnish  contributions  of  money  for  the 
propagation  of  opinions  which  he  disbelieves,  is  sin- 
ful and  tyrannical ;  that  even  the  forcing  him  to  sup- 
port this  or  that  preacher  of  his  own  religious  per- 
suasion, is  depriving  him  of  the  comfortable  liberty 
of  giving  his  contributions  to  the  particular  pastor 
whose  morals  he  would  make  his  pattern,  and  whose 
powers  he  feels  most  persuasive  to  righteousness, 
and  is  withdrawing  from  the  ministry  those  tempo- 
ral rewards,  which,  proceeding  from  an  approbation 
of  their  personal  conduct,  are  an  additional  incite- 
ment to  earnest  and  unremitting  labours  for  the  in- 
struction of  mankind ;  that  our  civil  rights  have  no 
dependance  on  our  religious  opinions,  any  more  than 
on  our  opinions  in  physic  and  geometry  ;  that  there- 
fore the  proscribing  any  citizen  as  unworthy  of  the 
public  confidence,  by  laying  upon  him  an  incapacity 
of  being  called  to  offices  of  trust  and  emolument, 
unless  he  profess  or  renounce  this  or  that  religious 
opinion,  is  depriving  him  injuriously  of  those  privi- 
leges and  advantages  to  which,  in  common  with  his 
fellow-citizens,  he  has  a  natural  right ;  that  it  tends 
only  to  corrupt  the  principles  of  that  religion  it  is 
meant  to  encourage,  by  bribing  with  a  monopoly  of 
worldly  honours  and  emoluments  those  who  will 
externally  profess  or  conform  to  it ;  that  though,  in- 
deed, those  are  criminal  who  do  not  withstand  such, 
temptation,  yet  neither  are  those  innocent  who  lay 
the  bait  in  their  way ;  that  to  suffer  the  civil  magis- 
trate to  intrude  his  powers  into  the  field  of  opinion, 
and  to  restrain  the  profession  or  propagation  of  prin- 
ciples on  suspicion  of  their  ill-tendency,  is  a  danger- 


Chap.  III.]    DISSOLUTION   OF  UNION    OF    CHURCH    AND    STATE. 


tains  nothing  to  which  a  friend  of  full  and 
equal  liberty  of  conscience  would  perhaps 
object ;  but  it  gave  its  author  great  satis- 
faction, not  because  it  imbodied  the  prin- 
ciples of  eternal  justice,  but  because,  by 
putting  all  religious  sects  on  an  equality, 
it  seemed  to  degrade  Christianity,  and  "  to 
comprehend,"  to  use  his  own  words,  "  with- 
in the  mantle  of  protection  the  Jew  and 
the  Gentile,  the  Christian  and  the  Moham- 
medan, the  Hindoo  and  infidel  of  every  de- 
nomination." It  was  this  that  made  the 
arch-infidel  chuckle  with  satisfaction— not, 
we  repeat,  that  the  great  principles  im- 
bodied in  the  measure  were  right. 

I  have  now  gone  through  the  history  of 
the  dissolution  of  the  union  of  Church  and 
State  in  Virginia* — a  dissolution  effected, 
in  reality,  by  the  act  of  the  6th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1776,  which  repealed  all  former  acts 
relating  to  that  union.  What  followed  had 
no  necessary  connexion  with  that  act,  but 
bore  only  upon  certain  measures,  designed 
to  guard  against  what  was  deemed  by  the 
majority  to  be  an  injurious  legislation  for 
promoting  the  interests  of  religion. 

This  early  discussion  of  the  propriety  of 

ous  fallacy,  which  at  once  destroys  all  religious  lib- 
erty ;  because,  he  being,  of  course,  judge  of  that 
tendency,  will  make  his  opinions  the  rule  of  judg- 
ment, and  approve  or  condemn  the  sentiments  of 
others  only  as  they  shall  square  with  or  differ  from 
his  own  :  that  it  is  time  enough,  for  the  rightful  pur- 
poses of  civil  government,  for  its  officers  to  inter- 
fere when  principles  break  out  into  overt  acts  against 
peace  and  good  order:  and,  finally,  that  Truth  is 
great,  and  will  prevail  if  left  to  herself;  that  she  is 
the  proper  and  sufficient  antagonist  to  error,  and  has 
nothing  to  fear  from  the  conflict,  unless  by  human 
interposition  disarmed  of  her  natural  weapons — free 
argument  and  debate — errors  ceasing  to  be  danger- 
ous when  it  is  permitted  freely  to  contradict  them. 

"  Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  General  Assem- 
bly, that  no  man  shall  be  compelled  to  frequent  or 
support  any  religious  worship,  place,  or  ministry 
whatsoever ;  nor  shall  be  enforced,  restrained,  mo- 
lested, or  burdened  in  his  body  or  goods,  nor  shall 
otherwise  suffer  on  account  of  his  religious  opinions 
or  belief;  but  that  all  men  shall  be  free  to  profess, 
and  by  argument  to  maintain,  their  opinions  in  mat- 
ters of  religion,  and  that  the  same  shall  in  nowise 
diminish,  enlarge,  or  affect  their  civil  capacities. 

"  And  though  we  well  know  that  this  Assembly, 
elected  by  the  people  for  the  ordinary  purposes  of 
legislation  only,  have  no  power  to  restrain  the  acts 
of  succeeding  Assemblies,  constituted  with  powers 
equal  to  our  own,  and  that  therefore  to  declare  this 
act  irrevocable  would  be  of  no  effect  in  law  ;  yet  we 
are  free  to  declare,  and  do  declare,  that  the  rights 
hereby  asserted  are  of  the  natural  right  of  man- 
kind, and  that  if  any  act  shall  be  hereafter  passed  to 
repeal  the  present,  or  narrow  its  operation,  such  act 
will  be  an  infringement  of  natural  right." 

*  I  might  have  gone  into  an  ampler  detail  of  the 
measures  pursued  by  the  opponents  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  in  Virginia  to  annul  the  law  incorporating 
the  clergy  of  that  church,  and  of  those,  also,  which 
were  followed  up,  in  1802,  by  the  sale  of  the  glebes ; 
but  such  details  have  no  proper  connexion  with  the 
subject  in  hand.  The  law  ordaining  the  sale  of  the 
glebes  was,  I  think,  unconstitutional,  and  would  have 
been  pronounced  to  be  so  had  it  been  brought  to  a  fair 
and  full  decision  before  the  proper  tribunal.  The 
opposition  to  the  Episcopal  Church  towards  the  end 
was  marked  by  a  cruelty  which  admits  of  no  apology. 


Ill 

dissolving  the  union  of  Church  and  State 
in  Virginia,  after  the  war  of  the  Revolution 
had  broken  out,  had  some  effect,  probably, 
on  other  states  placed  in  similar  circum- 
stances. Such,  at  least,  is  the  prevailing 
impression  in  the  absence  of  authentic 
documentary  proof.  After  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  measures  to  the  same 
effect  were  very  promptly  taken  in  Mary- 
land. On  the  3d  of  November,  1776,  the 
Legislature  of  that  state  put  forth  a  Decla- 
ration of  Rights  similar  to  that  made  by 
Virginia  in  the  early  part  of  the  same  year, 
and  imbodying  principles  directly  subver- 
sive of  the  union  of  Church  and  State.  The 
Episcopal  Church,  nevertheless,  was  se- 
cured in  the  possession  of  the  glebes  and 
all  other  church  property,  and  it  was  de- 
cided that  the  stipends  of  all  the  incum- 
bents who  should  remain  at  their  posts 
should  be  paid  up  to  the  first  day  of  the 
month  in  which  said  Declaration  was  made. 
This  righteous  decision  was  not  departed 
from,  and  Maryland,  accordingly,  was  spa- 
red those  tedious  and  wretched  disputes 
about  the  property  of  the  Church  that 
had  once  been  established ;  disputes  that 
did  much  harm  to  religion  in  Virginia,-  and 
were  little  reputable  to  the  authors  of  them. 
In  the  Maryland"  Declaration  of  Rights," 
it  was  declared,  "  that  as  it  is  the  duty  of 
every  man  to  worship  God  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  he  thinks  most  acceptable  to  Him, 
all  persons  professing  the  Christian  reli- 
gion are  equally  entitled  to  protection  in 
their  religious  liberty  ;  wherefore  no  per- 
son ought  by  any  law  to  be  molested  in 
his  person  or  estate  on  account  of  his  re- 
ligious persuasion  or  profession,  or  for  his 
religious  practice,  unless,  under  colour  of 
religion,  any  man  shall  disturb  the  good 
order,  peace,  or  safety  of  the  state,  or  shall 
infringe  the  laws  of  morality,  or  injure 
others  in  their  natural,  civil,  or  religious 
rights."  It  was  farther  declared  that  no 
one  ought  to  be  compelled  to  frequent  or 
maintain  the  religious  worship  of  any  de- 
nomination ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  it  was 
affirmed  that  the  Legislature  might,  in  its 
discretion,  impose  a  common  and  equal 
tax  for  the  support  of  the  Christian  religion 
in  general ;  in  such  case,  however,  every 
individual  paying  the  tax  was  held  to  pos- 
sess the  right  of  designating  the  religious 
denomination  to  the  support  of  which  it 
was  to  be  applied  ;  or  he  might  resolve  this 
legislative  support  of  Christianity  in  gen- 
eral into  mere  almsgiving,  and  direct  his 
tax  to  be  applied  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
poor.* 

The  union  of  Church  and  State  was  dis- 
solved in  like  manner,  by  acts  of  their  re- 
spective legislatures,  in  New- York,  South 
Carolina,  and  all  the  other  colonies  in 
which   the    Protestant  Episcopal   Church 


*  See  Dr.  Hawks's   "  History  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  of  Maryland,"  p.  288. 


112 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  III. 


was  predominant.  But  it  is  unnecessary 
to  trace  the  steps  by  which  this  dissolution 
was  accomplished  in  all  cases.  There  was 
nothing  particularly  important,  in  so  far  as 
I  am  aware,  in  these  details.  Enough  to 
know  that  the  dissolution  did  take  place  at 
no  distant  periods  after  the  Revolution. 

Let  us  now  return  to  New-England, 
where  the  principle  of  religious  establish- 
ments was  most  firmly  rooted,  and  most 
difficult  to  be  eradicated. 

It  was  not  until  about  forty  years  subse- 
quent to  the  separation  of  Church  and  State 
m  Virginia  that  the  example  was  follow- 
ed by  Connecticut.  It  will  be  recollected 
that' in  the  latter  state  the  Established 
Church  was  the  Congregational.  In  1816, 
shortly  after  the  close  of  the  last  war  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Great  Britain, 
all  parties  that  differed  from  it — Episcopa- 
lians, Baptists,  Methodists,  Universalists, 
&c. — combined  to  effect  its  overthrow. 
These  various  parties  having  succeeded  in 
gaining  a  majority  in  the  Legislature,  pro- 
ceeded to  abolish  the  legal  assessment  for 
the  parish  churches,  and  by  a  new  law  left 
it  optional  to  the  rate-payers  to  support 
either  the  parish  church,  or  any  other,  as 
each  thought  fit.  The  same  system  was 
adopted  by  New-Hampshire  and  Maine. 
Vermont,  I  believe,  has  at  all  times  had 
essentially  the  voluntary  scheme  ;  that  is, 
the  people  of  each  township  have  support- 
ed such  churches  within  their  respective 
boundaries,  and  in  such  a  measure,  as  they 
have  thought  proper. 

Of  all  the  states  in  which  there  had  ever 
been  any  connexion  between  the  Church 
and  the  Civil  Power,  Massachusetts  was 
the  last  to  come  under  the  operation  of  the 
voluntary  principle.  The  fathers  of  that 
colony,  in  the  indulgence  of  their  theocrat- 
ic principles  and  ideas,  had  ever  prided 
themselves  on  the  union  made  by  the  vine 
of  the  Lord's  planting  and  the  State.  They 
had  with  great  satisfaction  reposed  under 
the  shadow  of  both,  and  discoursed  of  the 
happy  fruits  of  such  a  union.  Cotton  Ma- 
ther, for  example,  in  a  style  peculiarly  his 
own,  talks  not  only  of  the  advantage,  but 
of  the  honour,  likewise,  of  a  religious  es- 
tablishment. "  Ministers  of  the  Gospel," 
says  he,  "  would  have  a  poor  time  of  it,  if 
they  must  rely  on  a  free  contribution  of  the 
people  for  their  maintenance."  And  again  : 
••  The  laws  of  the  province  (of  Massachu- 
setts) having  had  the  royal  approbation  to 
ratify  them,  they  are  the  king's  laws.  T5y 
these  laws  it  is  enacted  that  there  shall 
be  a  public  worship  of  God  in  every  plan- 
tation ;  that  the  person  elected  by  the  ma- 
jority of  the  inhabitants  to  be  so,  shall  be 
looked  upon  as  the  minister  of  the  place  : 
and  that  the  salary  for  him,  which  they 
shall  agree  upon,  shall  be  levied  by  a  rate 
upon  all  the  inhabitants.  In  consequence 
of  this,  the  minister  thus  chosen  by  the 


people  is  (not  only  Christ's,  but  also),  in 
reality,  the  king's  minister;  and  the  salary 
raised  for  him  is  raised  in  the  king's  name, 
and  is  the  king's  allowance  unto  him."* 

Before  the  Revolution  took  place,  the 
Episcopalians  had  been  relieved,  by  a  spe- 
cial act  of  the  Legislature,  from  contribu- 
ting to  the  support  of  the  parish  churches, 
and  their  congregations  had  been  erected 
into  incorporated  societies,  or  poll-parish- 
es ;  that  is,  parishes  comprising  only  indi- 
viduals, and  not  marked  by  geographical 
limits.  But  though  the  Constitution  of 
1780,  which  maintained  the  old  assessment 
for  religious  worship,  allowed  every  per- 
son to  appropriate  his  taxes  to  whatever 
society  he  pleased,  it  was  still  held  by  the 
courts  of  that  state,  until  the  year  1811, 
that  a  member  of  a  territorial  parish  (which 
is  a  corporation)  could  not  divert  the  tax- 
es imposed  on  him  for  the  support  of  reli- 
gious worship  to  the  maintenance  of  a 
teacher  of  an  unincorporated  society.!  By 
the  statute  of  1811,  amended  in  1823,  a 
duly-attested  certificate  of  membership  in 
any  other  religious  society,  whether  incor- 
porated or  not,  sufficed  to  relieve  the  hold- 
er of  it  from  all  taxes  for  the  support  of 
the  parish  church  ;  but  it  was  still  the  law 
and  practice  of  Massachusetts  to  regard  all 
persons,  in  any  town  or  parish,  who  be- 
longed to  no  religious  society  whatever,  as 
regular  members  of  the  parish  or  congre- 
gational church,  and  taxable  for  the  sup- 
port of  its  clergy. 

I  have  elsewhere  spoken  of  the  accu- 
mulated evils  which  grew  out  of  the  con- 
nexion between  the  Church  and  the  State 
in  Massachusetts.  Those  evils  became  so 
great,  that  the  friends  of  evangelical  reli- 
gion, in  other  words,  of  the  orthodox  faith 
of  every  name,  resolved  to  unite  in  urging 
an  amendment  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
state,  by  which  some  better  results  might 
be  obtained.  Their  efforts  were  crowned 
with  success.  The  amendment  having 
been  voted  by  the  Legislature  in  three 
successive  sessions,  1831-33,  became  part 
of  the  organic  law  of  the  state,  and  the 
union  of  Church  and  State  was  brought  to 
a  close. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EFFECTS  OF  THE  DISSOLUTION  OF  THE  UNION 
OF  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  THE  SEVERAL 
STATES    IN   WHICH    IT    ONCE    EXISTED. 

It  will  readilv  be  believed  that  the  union 


*  "  Ratio  Discipline  ;  or,  Faithful  Account  of  the 
Discipline  professed  and  practised  in  the  Churches 
of  New-England,"  p.  20. 

t  For  a  brief  and  clear  view  of  the  laws  of  Massa- 
chusetts on  this  subject,  the  reader  is  referred  to  a 
sermon  of  the  Rev.  "William  Cogswell,  D.D.,  on  Re- 
ligious Liberty,  preached  on  the  day  of  the  annual 
Fast  in  Massachusetts,  April  3d,  1828,  and  published 
in  Boston. 


Chap.  IV.]    DISSOLUTION   OF  UNION    OF  CHURCH  AND  STATE. 


113 


of  Church  and  State,  in  any  country  where 
it  has  once  existed,  cannot  be  dissolved 
without  some  attendant  inconvenience.  If 
such  has  been  the  nature  of  the  connexion 
that  the  Church  has  been  wholly  depend- 
ant on  the  State  for  its  support,  for  the 
keeping  of  its  places  of  worship  in  repair, 
the  maintenance  of  its  pastors,  and  the  in- 
cidental expenses  of  public  worship,  very 
serious  embarrassments  must  inevitably 
attend  a  sudden  dissolution  of  such  a  union. 
Such  was  unquestionably  the  case  in  some 
of  the  States  of  America.  In  others,  again, 
in  which  the  connexion  had  been  one  of 
no  long  duration,  had  never  been  very 
close,  and  had  not  been  carried  out  to  a 
great  extent,  that  result  was  attended  with 
little  and  not  very  lasting  evil. 

Nowhere  were  the  ill  consequences 
of  the  disestablishment  of  the  Church 
felt  more  seriously  than  in  Virginia,  and 
this  may  be  ascribed  to  several  causes. 
The  worthless  character  of  many  of  the 
clergymen  sent  over  from  England  had 
bred  in  many  places,  from  the  very  first, 
great  indifference  to  the  Church  and  its 
services.  The  people  had  become  tired  of 
compulsory  payments  for  the  support  of  a 
form  of  worship  which  they  had  ceased  to 
love  or  respect.  Thus  many  became  in- 
different to  religious  worship  of  every  kind, 
and  others  went  off  to  the  "  dissenters" — 
the  Presbyterians,  Baptists,  &c,  when 
there  were  churches  of  these  denomina- 
tions in  their  neighbourhoods.  However 
deplorable  it  might  be  that  the  venerable 
edifices  in  which  their  fathers  had  worship- 
ped should  be  almost  deserted  from  such  a 
cause,  it  was  nevertheless  inevitable.  Not 
that  this  representation  applies  to  every 
parish ;  in  many  cases,  the  faithful  and 
consistent  lives  of  the  pastors  kept  their 
Hocks,  under  God,  in  a  state  of  prosperity. 
In  the  second  place,  a  large  majority, 
some  say  rather  more  than  two  thirds  of 
the  Episcopal  clergy*  in  Virginia  were  op- 
posed to  the  Revolution,  and  most  of  these 
returned  to  England.  Nor  are  they  to  be 
blamed  without  mercy  for  so  doing.  Many 
of  them,  it  must  be  remembered,  were  Eng- 
lishmen by  birth,  and  England  was  the  land 
of  all  their  early  associations.  They  had 
never  suffered  oppression,  but  had  ever  been 
of  the  party  in  favour  with  the  monarch. 
Thus  nothing  could  be  more  natural  than 
that  even  good  men  among  them  should  be 
Tories.  Others  there  were,  doubtless,  who 
saw  that  the  independence  of  the  country 
would  be  likely  so  to  alter  the  state  of 
things  as  to  make  it  impossible  for  them 
to  continue  their  delinquencies  with  impu- 
nity, which  they  had  enjoyed  when  respon- 
sible only  to  a  bishop  3000  miles  off.  But 
this  loyalty  to  the  British  crown  was  not 
likely  to  find  much  forbearance  among  a 


*  Dr.  HawksV  History  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  Virginia,"  p.  136. 
H 


people,  so  many  of  whom  were  republican 
in  sentiment,  and  hostile  for  the  time  to 
the  mother-country;  and  the  Episcopal 
Church  could  not  fail  to  suffer  from  the 
sympathy  shown  by  many  of  its  clergy  for 
those  who  were  considered  the  country's 
enemies.  This  was,  no  doubt,  counter- 
acted so  far  by  there  being  in  the  minority 
of  the  clergy  such  stanch  republicans  and 
avowed  partisans  of  the  colonies  as  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Madison,  afterward  bishop  of  the 
state,  Drs.  Griffith  and  Bracken,  Messrs.  Bu- 
chanan, Jarratt,  and  others  ;*  while  as  re- 
gards the  laity,  no  men  in  all  the  colonies 
entered  more  warmly  into  the  Revolution 
than  did  the  Episcopalians  of  Virginia.! 

In  the  third  place,  Virginia  was  the  im- 
mediate theatre  of  no  small  part  of  the 
war,  and  was  repeatedly  overrun  by  the 
armies  of  both  sides.  Now,  without  at- 
tributing too  much  to  wantonness,  though 
much,  no  doubt,  was  owing  to  that,  it  may 
readily  be  supposed  that  the  Episcopal 
Churches,  the  best  in  the  colony,  would 
be  sure  to  be  used  as  barracks,  store- 
houses, hospitals,  &c,  thus  losing  at  once 
their  sacred  character,  and  suffering  much 
in  their  furnishings.  Partly,  indeed,  from 
accident,  partly,  it  is  believed,  from  design, 
not  a  few  were  destroyed  by  fire  and  other 
causes. 

In  the  fourth  place,  so  engrossed  were 
all  men's  minds  with  the  war,  that  the 
time  was  very  unfavourable  for  doing 
good.  Many  of  the  ministers  who  re- 
mained in  the  province  found  great  diffi- 
culty in  collecting  the  people  together, 
or  obtaining  for  themselves  the  means  of 
subsistence.  Some  betook  themselves  to 
teaching  schools,  but  even  to  that  the 
times  were  unfavourable.  Many  mere 
boys  shouldered  the  musket  and  went  to 
the  war,  returning  no  more  to  thWir  homes 
until  hostilities  had  ceased,  if  death  did 
not  prevent  them  from  returning  at  all. 

Bearing  these  things  in  mind,  the  state 
of  the  Episcopal   ChurchesJ  in  Virginia 

*  In  one  instance,  an  Episcopal  clergyman  of  Vir- 
ginia, the  Rev.  Mr.  Muhlenburg,  relinquished  his 
charge,  accepted  a  commission  as  colonel  in  the 
American  army,  raised  a  regiment  among  his  own  par- 
ishioners, served  through  the  whole  war,  and  retired 
from  the  service  at  its  close  with  the  rank  of  a  brig- 
adier-general. The  last  sermon  that  he  ever  preach- 
ed to  his  people  before  he  left  for  the  camp,  was  de- 
livered in  military  dress. —  Thatcher's  "  Military  Jour- 
nal," p.  152.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Thurston,  of  Frederic 
County,  in  the  same  state,  also  bore  arms  as  a  colo- 
nel in  the  service  of  the  country. 

f  Such  as  General  Washington,  Patrick  Henry 
(of  whom  we  have  spoken  in  the  last  chapter),  Rich- 
ard Henry  Lee,  the  mover  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, his  brother,  Francis  Lightfoot  Lee,  one 
of  the  signers,  George  Mason,  Edmund  Pendleton, 
Peter  Lyons,  Paul  Carrington,  William  Fleming, 
William  Grayson,  with  the  families  of  the  Nelsons, 
Meades,  Mercers,  Harrisons,  Randolphs,  and  hun- 
dreds of  other  names  deservedly  dear  to  Virginia. — 
Dr.  Hawks's  "  History  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Vir- 
ginia" p.  137. 

%  Not  that  the  damage  done  by  the  war  to  othe. 


114 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  III. 


may  be  supposed  to  have  been  deplorable 
enough  on  the  return  of  peace,  and  that 
they  little  needed  the  aggravation  of  be- 
ing thrown  for  their  support  entirely  upon 
their  own  members,  when  these  were  im- 
poverished by  the  length  of  the  war,  and 
rendered  by  it  incapable  of  doing  much 
for  the  Church,  however  well  disposed  to 
make  sacrifices  in  her  cause.  But  an  ex- 
tract from  the  distinguished  author  to  whom 
I  have  so  often  had  occasion  to  refer,  will 
give  a  clearer  idea  of  the  state  of  things 
than  I  can  : 

"  On  the  19th  of  April,  1783,  precisely 
e.^ht  years  after  the  first  effusion  of  blood 
at  Lexington,  peace  was  proclaimed  to 
the  American  army  by  order  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief. Time  was  now  afforded 
to  men  to  direct  their  attention  to  the 
permanent  establishment  of  such  institu- 
tions, civil  and  religious,  as  might  com- 
port with  their  desires  or  views  of  duty. 
Much  was  to  be  done  ;  and  rejoicing  with 
thankfulness,  as  now  we  may,  in  the  pres- 
ent prosperity  of  the  Church  in  Virginia, 
it  is  well  to  look  back  on  its  condition  as 
it  emerged  from  the  Revolution,  and  by 
a  contemplation  of  the  difficulties  which 
stood  in  the  way  of  its  resuscitation,  be 
moved  to  the  exercise  of  gratitude.  When 
the  colonies  first  resorted  to  arms,  Virgin- 
ia in  her  sixty-one  counties,  contained  nine- 
ty-five parishes,  104  churches  and  chapels, 
and  ninety-one  clergymen.  When  the 
contest  was  over,  she  came  out  of  the  war 
with  a  large  number  of  her  churches  de- 
stroyed or  injured  irreparably,  with  twen- 
ty-three of  her  ninety-five  parishes  extinct 
or  forsaken,  and  of  the  remaining  seventy- 
two,  thirty-four  were  destitute  of  ministe- 
rial services  ;  while  of  her  ninety-one  cler- 
gymen, twenty-eight  only  remained,  who 
had  lived  through  the  storm,  and  these, 
with  eight  others  who  came  into  the  state 
soon  after  the  struggle  terminated,  sup- 
plied thirty-six  of  the  parishes.  Of  these 
twenty-eight,  fifteen  only  had  been  enabled 
to  continue  in  the  churches  which  they 
supplied  prior  to  the  commencement  of 
hostilities  ;  and  thirteen  had  been  driven 
from  their  cures  by  violence  or  want,  to 
seek  safety  or  comfort  in  some  one  of  the 
many  vacant  parishes,  where  they  might 
hope  to  find,  for  a  time  at  least,  exemption 
from  the  extremity  of  suffering."* 

This  is  a  dark  enough  picture,  but  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  evils  it  rep- 
resents were  almost  wholly  owing  to  the 
Revolutionary  war  and  its  consequences, 
and  could  not  have  been  much  alleviated 
had  the  Church  Establishment,  instead  of 


denominations  was  inconsiderable.  The  Presbyte- 
lians  probably  suffered  more  in  their  church  edifices, 
from  being  far  more  obnoxious  to  the  resentment  of 
the  enemy,  as  the  English  were  considered  to  be  at 
the  time. 

*  Dr.  Hawks's  "  History  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  Virginia,"  p.  153,  >54. 


being  arrested  in  1776,  been  continued  un- 
til 17S3.  But  in  the  gloomy  years  that 
followed  the  Revolution,  the  Episcopal 
Church  continued  prostrate,  and  felt  the 
loss  of  her  establishment  most  severely. 
Then  did  it  seem  as  if  nothing  short  of 
her  utter  ruin  would  satisfy  the  resent- 
ment of  her  enemies.  She  had,  indeed, 
in  the  day  of  her  power,  been  exclusive, 
domineering,  and  persecuting;  her  own 
sins  had  brought  upon  her  this  severe  vis- 
itation. From  her  case,  as  well  as  from 
all  past  experience,  persecuting  churches 
should  learn  that  a  Church  that  oppresses, 
will  one  day  be  herself  oppressed,  and 
most  likely  by  those  on  whose  neck  she 
had  placed  her  foot. 

But  let  us  turn  to  a  brighter  page.  "  The 
Lord,  after  he  hath  afflicted,  delighteth  to 
heal."  So  it  was  with  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  Virginia.  He  had  some  good  thing  in 
reserve  for  her,  and  had  been  preparing 
her  for  it  by  the  discipline  of  His  rod. 
She  gradually  emerged  from  her  difficul- 
ties. Her  people  learned  by  degrees  to 
trust  in  themselves,  or,  rather,  in  God,  and 
began  to  look  to  their  own  exertions  rath- 
er than  to  a  tobacco-tax  for  the  support  of 
their  churches  and  pastors.  Faithful  min- 
isters multiplied  ;  an  excellent  bishop  was 
elected  and  consecrated  ;  benevolent  soci- 
eties began  to  spring  up ;  a  theological 
school  was  planted  within  her  borders, 
where  many  youths  of  talent  and  piety  have 
been  trained  under  excellent  professors  to 
preach  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ. 
And  although  the  ministers  and  parishes 
are  not  now  so  numerous  as  we  have  sta- 
ted them  to  have  been  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  yet 
their  number  is  considerable,  and  constant- 
ly increasing.  There  are  ninety-five  min- 
isters, and  more  than  one  hundred 
churches.  But,  above  all,  I  do  not  think  it 
possible  to  find  a  body  of  ministers  of  equal 
number,  in  any  denomination,  who,  in  point 
of  theological  education,  prudent  zeal,  sim- 
ple and  effective  eloquence,  general  use- 
fulness, and  the  esteem  in  which  they 
are  held  by  the  people,  can  be  regarded  as 
superior  to  the  Episcopal  clergy  of  the 
present  day  in  Virginia.*  What  a  change  ! 
How  wonderfully  has  all  been  overruled 
by  God  for  good !     Instead  of  perpetual 


*  This  eulogy  will  not  be  thought  extravagant  by 
any  one  that  has  had  opportunities  of  knowing  them. 
I  have  had  the  privilege,  as  well  as  the  happiness,  of 
making  the  acquaintance  of  many  of  them,  and  have 
known  many  more  by  character  through  sources  wor- 
thy of  entire  confidence.  The  late  excellent  Bishop 
Moore  was  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him.  The  pres 
ent  bishop,  Dr.  Meade,  enjoys  the  confidence  and 
esteem  both  of  Christians  and  the  world,  in  a  higher 
degree  than  perhaps  any  other  minister  of  the  Gos- 
pel in  America.  The  assistant  bishop,  Dr.  Johns, 
is  a  distinguished  and  excellent  man.  The  profess- 
ors in  the  diocesan  Theological  Seminary,  the  Rev. 
Drs.  Lippitt  and  Sparrow,  are  widely  known  and 
highly  esteemed  by  all  who  know  them. 


Chap.  IV.]     DISSOLUTION  OF    UNION   OF   CHURCH  AND   STATE. 


115 


wrangling  with  their  parishioners  and  the 
law  officers  about  the  taxes  on  tobacco 
levied  for  their  support,  as  was  formerly 
the  case,  they  are  supported  in  a  way 
hereafter  to  be  detailed ;  I  do  not  say  ex- 
travagantly or  abundantly,  but  in  general 
comfortably,  by  the  contributions  of  their 
congregations.  And  instead  of  being  dis- 
liked, to  use  no  harsher  term,  I  have  rea- 
son to  believe  that  they  are  universally 
respected,  and  even  beloved,  by  the  mem- 
bers of  other  churches. 

In  Maryland  as  well  as  Virginia,  though 
in  a  much  less  degree,  the  dissolution  of 
the  union  of  Church  and  State  produced 
serious  embarrassments  and  long-contin- 
ued difficulty.  In  none  of  the  colonies 
had  the  established  clergy  received  such 
an  ample  maintenance  as  in  Maryland. 
Their  stipends  were  in  many  cases  most 
liberal  and  ample  for  those  days,  so  that 
lo  throw  them  at  once  on  the  voluntary 
support  of  their  parishioners  was  a  haz- 
ardous step,  and  for  the  time  led  to  many 
eases  of  hardship.  When  the  Revolution 
broke  out,  there  were  twenty  parishes  on 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  province,  and 
twenty-four  on  the  western ;  in  all,  forty- 
four.  Each  of  these  had  an  incumbent, 
"  though  not  always  of  the  purest  charac- 
ter,"* and  at  the  close  of  the  war  in  1783, 
there  were  about  eighteen  or  twenty  re- 
maining.f  But  if  this  diminution  were 
owing  at  all  to  the  dissolution  of  the  union 
of  Church  and  State,  it  was  so  in  but  a 
small  degree.  The  fact  is,  that  about  two 
thirds  of  the  established  clergy  were  op- 
posed to  the  war  from  its  commencement, 
and  refused  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  new  government,  so  that  the  great- 
er part  of  them  left  the  country.  On  the 
return  of  peace,  the  Episcopal  Church  grad- 
ually recovered  from  its  depression,  and 
ever  since  it  has  made  pretty  steady  prog- 
ress, and  been  decidedly  prosperous.  The 
late  Dr.  Clagget  was  appointed  its  first  bish- 
op in  1792,  its  Convention  was  organized, 
and  canons  established,  by  which  proper 
discipline  was  secured.  The  clergy  were 
for  a  long  time  less  numerous  than  before 
the  Revolution  ;'  not  so  much,  however,  for 
want  of  the  means  of  supporting  them,  as 
for  want  of  suitable  men.  Some  minis- 
ters did,  indeed,  leave  their  parishes,  and 
the  state  itself,  just  after  the  war  of  the 
Revolution,  and  even  so  late  as  1822,  for 
want  of  support ;  but  this  was  either  be- 
fore the  churches  had  been  sufficiently 
trained  to  the  work  of  raising  a  mainte- 
nance for  their  ministers,  or  it  arose  from 
the  churches  being  really  too  weak  for  the 
burden.  Maryland  had  fifty  Episcopal  cler- 
gymen in  1827 ;  this  number  had  risen  to 
seventy-two  in  1838,  and  a  considerable 
proportion  of  the  churches  were  still  with- 

*  Dr.  Hawks's  "  History  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  Maryland."  t  Ibid.,  p.  301. 


out  ministers.  At  no  period  of  its  establish- 
ment by  the  State  was  the  Episcopal 
Church  of  Maryland  so  prosperous  as  du- 
ring some  years  back.  Not  that  in  all 
cases  the  clergy  are  supported  as  they 
ought  to  be,  or  as  they  were  during  the 
union  of  Church  and  State  ;  but  in  point  of 
talents  and  sound  learning,  combined  with 
piety  and  other  ministerial  gifts,  they  are 
immeasurably  superior  to  their  predeces- 
sors before  the  Revolution. 

In  North  and  South  Carolina,  and  in 
New- York,  though  the  disestablishment 
of  the  Episcopal  Church  produced,  as  in 
other  cases,  a  kind  of  syncope  for  a  time, 
from  this  it  ere  long  recovered,  and  its 
prosperity  is  now  incomparably  greater 
than  it  ever  was  when  it  was  supported  by 
the  state.  In  the  State  of  New- York  it 
may  be  said  to  have  entered  on  its  present 
career  of  extraordinary  prosperity  with 
the  election  and  consecration  of  the  late 
Rev.  Dr.  John  Henry  Hobart,  as  bishop  of 
the  diocese,  previous  to  which  its  churches 
and  ministers  were  few  in  number  com- 
pared with  the  present  time.  Seldom  has 
a  Church  owed  more  to  the  energy  and 
perseverance  of  one  man. 

But  in  no  part  of  the  United  States  was 
the  proposal  to  disestablish  the  Church  re- 
ceived with  more  serious  apprehension 
than  in  New-England.  The  language  in 
which  the  celebrated  Dr.  Dwight,  president 
of  Yale  College,  and  author  of  a  very  valu- 
able system  of  theology,  as  well  as  other 
distinguished  men  of  that  state,  deprecated 
the  measure,  is  still  extant  in  pamphlets 
and  in  journals,  and  these  have  often  been 
quoted  in  England  by  the  friends,  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  opponents,  of  the  Church  Es- 
tablishment there.  But  it  ought  to  be 
known  that  not  a  single  surviver  at  this 
day,  of  all  who  once  wrote  against  the 
separation  of  Church  and  State  m  Connec- 
ticut, has  not  long  since  seen  that  he  was 
mistaken,  and  has  not  now  found  to  be  a 
blessing  what  he  once  regarded  as  a  ca- 
lamity. And  had  not  Dr.  Dwight  died 
just  as  the  change  came  into  operation,  no 
doubt  he,  too,  would  have  changed  his 
opinion.*  Twenty-seven  years  have  now 
elapsed  since  that  time,  and  although  I 
have  been  much  in  Connecticut  during  the 
last  fifteen  years,  know  many  of  the  clergy, 
and  have  conversed  much  with  them  on 
the  subject,  out  of  the  200  or  300  once  es- 
tablished ministers  of  that  state,  I  am  not 


*  The  author  has  often  conversed  on  this  subject 
with  the  Rev.  Lyman  Beecher,  D.D.,  who,  when  the 
change  took  place,  was  pastor  of  a  church  in  Con- 
necticut, but  is  now  professor  in  a  theological  semi- 
nary at  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Dr.  Beecher  was  as  much 
opposed  to  the  dissolution  as  Dr.  Dwight  was,  and 
both  preached  and  wrote  against  it.  But  with  char- 
acteristic candour,  he  hesitates  not  now  to  confess 
that  his  apprehensions  were  quite  unfounded.  Few 
men  rank  higher  in  the  United  States  than  Dr. 
Beecher,  whether  as  a  preacher  or  as  a  writer. 


116 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  III. 


aware  of  there  being  more  than  one  Con- 
gregational minister  in  the  state  who  would 
like  to  see  the  union  of  Church  and  State 
restored  in  it.  Indeed,  the  exception  re- 
ferred to  is  probably  the  only  one  in  the 
United  States,  among  the  Protestant  min- 
isters at  least.  Any  others  are  most  likely 
foreigners,  who  have  not  yet  entered  large- 
ly into  the  spirit  of  our  institutions  and  our 
people.  On  no  point,  I  am  confident,  are 
the  evangelical  clergy  of  the  United  States, 
of  all  churches,  more  fully  agreed  than  in 
holding  that  a  union  of  Church  and  State 
would  prove  one  of  the  greatest  calamities 
that  could  be  inflicted  on  us,  whatever  it 
may  prove  in  other  countries.  This  is  the 
very  language  I  have  heard  a  thousand 
times  from  our  best  and  ablest  men  when 
speaking  on  the  subject. 

In  Massachusetts,  which  was  the  last  of 
the  states  to  abolish  the  union  of  the  Church 
and  the  Civil  Power,  the  change  was 
adopted  from  a  conviction  of  the  evils,  on 
the  one  side,  resulting  from  the  union  in 
that  state,  and  of  the  advantages,  on  the 
other  side,  that  would  accrue  from  its  dis- 
solution :  a  conviction  that  led  all  the  evan- 
gelical denominations  to  combine  for  its 
overthrow.  In  fine,  after  twelve  years' 
experience  of  the  change,  I  apprehend  not 
a  single  person  of  influence  in  all  their 
ranks  will  be  found  to  regret  it. 

And  now,  throughout  the  whole  of  the 
United  States,  Truth  stands  on  its  own  im- 
mutable vantage  ground.  So  far  as  the 
Civil  Power  is  concerned,  there  is  not  the 
slightest  interference  with  the  rights  of 
conscience  or  with  the  religious  worship 
of  any  one.  Religious  liberty,,  fettered  by 
no  state  enactment,  is  as  perfect  as  it  can 
be.  Nor  is  any  sect  or  denomination  of 
Christians  favoured  more  ihan  another. 
All  depend,  under  God,  for  their  support,  on 
the  willing  hearts  and  active  hands  of  their 
friends,  while  the  civil  government,  re- 
lieved from  the  ten  thousand  difficulties  and 
embarrassments  which  a  union  of  Church 
and  State  would  involve,  has  only  to  mete 
out  justice  with  even  scales  to  all  the  citi- 
zens, whatever  may  be  their  religious  opin- 
ions and  preferences. 


CHAPTER  V 


WHETHER  THE  GENERAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES  HAS  THE  POWER  TO  PRO- 
MOTE   RELIGION. 

It  seems  to  be  inferred  by  some  that  be- 
cause the  Constitution  declares  that  "  Con- 
gress shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  es- 
tablishment of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the 
free  exercise  thereof,"*  the  General  Gov- 
ernment can  do  nothing  whatever  to  pro- 
mote religion.   This  is  certainly  a  mistake. 

A  great  variety  of  opinions  has  been  ex- 


*  First  of  the  Amendments  to  the  Constitution. 


pressed  by  writers  on  public  and  political 
law  on  the  question,  How  far  any  govern- 
ment has  a  right  to  interfere  in  religious 
matters  ;  but  that  such  a  right  exists  to  a 
certain  extent,  is  admitted  by  all  of  them. 
Nor  can  it  be  otherwise  so  long  as  religion 
shall  be  thought  necessary  to  the  well-being 
of  society,  and  to  the  stability  of  govern- 
ment itself.  It  is  essential  to  the  interests 
of  men,  even  in  this  world,  that  they  should 
be  neither  ignorant  of,  nor  indifferent  to, 
the  existence,  attributes,  and  providence 
of  one  Almighty  God,  the  Ruler  of  the 
universe  ;  and,  above  all,  a  people  that  be- 
lieve in  Christianity  can  never  consent  that 
the  government  they  live  under  should  be 
indifferent  to  its  promotion,  since  public  as 
well  as  private  virtue  is  connected  indis- 
solubly  with  a  proper  knowledge  of  its  na- 
ture and  its  claims,  and  as  the  everlasting 
happiness  of  men  depend  upon  its  cordial 
reception. 

On  this  subject  it  may  be  interesting  to 
know  the  opinions  of  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished jurists  in  the  United  States,  Mr. 
Justice  Story,  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Su- 
preme Court : 

"  The  real  difficulty  lies  in  ascertaining 
the  limits  to  which  government  may  right- 
fully go  in  fostering  and  encouraging  reli- 
gion. Three  cases  may  easily  be  supposed. 
One,  where  a  government  affords  aid  to  a 
particular  religion,  leaving  all  persons  free 
to  adopt  any  other  ;  another,  where  it  cre- 
ates an  ecclesiastical  establishment  for  the 
propagation  of  the  doctrines  of  a  particular 
sect  of  that  religion,  leaving  a  like  freedom 
to  all  others  ;  and  a  third,  where  it  creates 
such  an  establishment,  and  excludes  all 
persons  not  belonging  to  it,  either  wholly 
or  in  part,  from  any  participation  in  the 
public  honours,  trusts,  emoluments,  privi- 
leges, and  immunities  of  the  State.  For 
instance,  a  government  may  simply  declare 
that  the  Christian  religion  shall  be  the  re- 
ligion of  the  State,  and  shall  be  aided  and 
encouraged  in  all  the  varieties  of  sects  be- 
longing to  it ;  or  it  may  declare  that  the 
Catholic  or  Protestant  religion  shall  be  the 
religion  of  the  State,  leaving  every  man  to 
the  free  enjoyment  of  his  own  religious 
opinions  ;  or  it  may  establish  the  doctrines 
of  a  particular  sect,  as  of  Episcopalians,  as 
the  religion  of  the  State,  with  a  like  free- 
dom ;  or  it  may  establish  the  doctrines  of  a 
particular  sect,  as  exclusively  the  religion 
of  the  State,  tolerating  others  to  a  limited 
extent,  or  excluding  all  not  belonging  to  it 
from  all  public  honours,  trusts,  emolu- 
ments, privileges,  and  immunities. 

"  Now  there  will  probably  be  found  few 
persons  in  this,  or  any  other  Christian 
country,  who  would  deliberately  contend 
that  it  was  unreasonable  or  unjust  to  fos- 
ter and  encourage  the  Christian  religion 
generally  as  a  matter  of  sound  policy,  as 
well  as  of  revealed  truth.     In  fact,  every 


Chap.  V] 


RELIGIOUS   POWER  OF   THE   GOVERNMENT. 


117 


American  colony,  from  its  foundation  down 
to  the  Revolution,  with  the  exception  of 
Rhode  Island  (if,  indeed,  that  state  be  an 
exception),  did  openly,  by  the  whole  course 
of  its  laws  and  institutions,  support  and 
sustain,  in  some  form,  the  Christian  reli- 
gion, and  almost  invariably  gave  a  pecu- 
liar sanction  to  some  of  its  fundamental 
doctrines.  And  this  has  continued  to  be 
the  case  in  some  states  down  to  the  pres- 
ent period,  without  the  slightest  suspicion 
that  it  was  against  the  principles  of  public 
law  or  Republican  liberty.*  Indeed,  in  a 
republic,  there  would  seem  to  be  a  pecu- 
liar propriety  in  viewing  the  Christian  re- 
ligion as  the  great  basis  on  which  it  must 
rest  for  its  support  and  permanence,  if  it 
be,  what  it  has  ever  been  deemed  by  its 
truest  friends  to  be,  the  religion  of  liberty. 
Montesquieu  has  remarked,  that  the  Chris- 
tian religion  is  a  stranger  to  mere  despotic 
power.  The  mildness  so  frequently  rec- 
ommended in  the  Gospel  is  incompatible 
with  the  despotic  rage  with  which  a  prince 
punishes  his  subjects,  and  exercises  him- 
self in  cruelty.f  He  has  gone  even  far- 
ther, and  affirmed,  that  the  Protestant  re- 
ligion is  far  more  congenial  with  the  spirit 
of  political  freedom  than  the  Catholic. 
'  When,'  says  he,  '  the  Christian  religion, 
two  centuries  ago,  became  unhappily  divi- 
ded into  Catholic  and  Protestant,  the  peo- 
ple of  the  North  [of  Europe]  embraced  the 
Protestant,  and  those  of  the  South  still  ad- 
hered to  the  Catholic.  The  reason  is  plain. 
The  people  of  the  North  have,  and  ever  will 
have,  a  spirit  of  liberty  and  independence 
which  the  people  of  the  South  have  not ; 
and,  therefore,  a  religion  which  has  no 
visible  head  is  more  agreeable  to  the  inde- 
pendency of  climate  than  that  which  has 
one. 'J  Without  stopping  to  inquire  wheth- 
er this  remark  be  well  founded,  it  is  cer- 
tainly true  that  the  parent  country  has  act- 
ed upon  it  with  a  severe  and  vigilant  zeal ; 
and  in  most  of  the  colonies  the  same  rigid 
jealousy  has  been  maintained  almost  down 
to  our  own  times.  Massachusetts,  while 
she  has  promulgated,  in  her  Bill  of  Rights, 
the  importance  and  necessity  of  the  public 
support  of  religion,  and  the  worship  of 
God,  has  authorized  the  Legislature  to  re- 
quire it  only  for  Protestantism.  The  lan- 
guage of  that  Bill  of  Rights  is  remarkable 
for  its  pointed  affirmation  of  the  duty  of 
government  to  support  Christianity,  and 
the  reasons  for  it.  '  As,'  says  the  third 
article, '  the  happiness  of  a  people,  and  the 
good  order  and  preservation  of  civil  gov- 
ernment, essentially  depend  upon  piety, 
religion,  and  morality,  and  as  these  can- 
not be  generally  diffused  through  the  com- 
munity but  by  the  institution  of  the  public 


*  Kent's  "  Commentaries,"  sect,  xxxiv.,  p.  35-37. 
Rawle  "  On  the  Constitution,"  chap,  x.,  p.  121,  122. 
t  Montesquieu,  "  Spint  of  Laws,"  b.  xxiv.,  c.  iii. 
t  Ibid.,  chap.  v. 


worship  of  God,  and  of  public  instructions 
in  piety,  religion,  and  morality,  therefore, 
to  promote  their  happiness,  and  to  secure 
the  good  order  and  preservation  of  their 
government,  the  people  of  this  common- 
wealth have  a  right  to  invest  their  Legisla- 
ture with  power  to  authorize  and  require, 
and  the  Legislature  shall  from  time  to 
time  authorize  and  require  the  several 
towns,  parishes,  &c,  &c,  to  make  suitable 
provision,  at  their  own  expense,  for  the 
institution  of  the  public  worship  of  God, 
and  for  the  support  and  maintenance  of 
public  Protestant  teachers  of  piety,  religion, 
and  morality,  in  all  cases  where  such  pro- 
vision shall  not  be  made  voluntarily.'  Af- 
terward there  follow  provisions  prohibit- 
ing any  superiority  of  one  sect  over  an- 
other, and  securing  to  all  citizens  the  free 
exercise  of  religion. 

"  Probably,  at  the  time  of  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution,  and  of  the  amendment 
to  it  now  under  consideration,  the  general, 
if  not  the  universal,  sentiment  in  America 
was,  that  Christianity  ought  to  receive  en- 
couragement from  the  State,  so  far  as  was 
not  incompatible  with  the  private  rights  of 
conscience  and  the  freedom  of  religious 
worship.  An  attempt  to  level  all  religions, 
and  to  make  it  a  matter  of  state  policy  to 
hold  all  in  utter  indifference,  would  have 
created  universal  disapprobation,  if  not 
universal  indignation. 

"  It  yet  remains  a  problem  to  be  solved 
in  human  affairs,  whether  any  free  govern- 
ment can  be  permanent  where  the  public 
worship  of  God,  and  the  support  of  religion, 
constitute  no  part  of  the  policy  or  duty  of 
the  State  in  any  assignable  shape.  The 
future  experience  of  Christendom,  and 
chiefly  of  the  American  States,  must  set- 
tle this  problem,  as  yet  new  in  the  history 
of  the  world,  abundant  as  it  has  been  in 
experiments  in  the  theory  of  government. 

"  But  the  duty  of  supporting  religion, 
and  especially  the  Christian  religion,  is 
very  different  from  the  right  to  force  the 
consciences  of  other  men,  or  to  punish 
them  for  worshipping  God  in  the  manner 
which  they  believe  their  accountability  to 
Him  requires.  It  has  been  truly  said,  that 
'  religion,  or  the  duty  we  owe  to  our  Crea- 
tor, and  the  manner  of  discharging  it,  can 
be  dictated  only  by  reason  and  conviction, 
not  by  force  or  violence.'*  Mr.  Locke 
himself,  who  did  not  doubt  the  right  of 
government  to  interfere  in  matters  of  reli- 
gion, and  especially  to  encourage  Christi- 
anity, at  the  same  time  has  expressed  his 
opinion  of  the  right  of  private  judgment, 
and  liberty  of  conscience,  in  a  manner  be- 
coming his  character  as  a  sincere  friend 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  '  No  man, 
or  society  of  men,'  says  he, '  have  any  au- 
thority to  impose  their  opinions  or  inter- 


*  Virginia  Bill  of  Rights.    1  Tucker's  Blackstone's 
Commentaries,  Appendix,  p.  290. 


118 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  III. 


pretations  on  any  other,  the  meanest  Chris- 
tian; since,  in  matters  of  religion,  every 
man  must  know,  and  believe,  and  give  an 
account  of  himself.*  The  rights  of  con- 
science are,  indeed,  beyond  the  just  reach 
of  any  human  power.  They  are  given  by 
God,  and  cannot  be  encroached  upon  by 
human  authority  without  a  criminal  dis- 
obedience of  the  precepts  of  natural  as 
well  as  of  revealed  religion. 

"  The  real  object  of  this  amendment  was 
not  to  countenance,  much  less  to  advance 
Mohammedanism,  or  Judaism,  or  Infideli- 
ty, by  prostrating  Christianity,  but  to  ex- 
clude all  rivalry  among  Christian  sects, 
and  to  prevent  any  national  ecclesiastical 
establishment  which  should  give  to  a  hie- 
rarchy the  exclusive  patronage  of  the  na- 
tional government.  It  thus  cuts  off  the 
means  of  religious  persecution  (the  vice 
and  pest  of  former  ages),  and  of  the  sub- 
version of  the  rights  of  conscience  in  mat- 
ters of  religion,  which  had  been  trampled 
upon  almost  from  the  days  of  the  apostles 
to  the  present  age.f  The  history  of  the 
parent  country  had  afforded  the  most  sol- 
emn warnings  and  melancholy  instructions 
on  this  head  ;|  and  even  New-England, 
the  land  of  the  persecuted  Puritans,  as  well 
as  other  colonies  where  the  Church  of 
England  had  maintained  its  superiority, 
would  furnish  out  a  chapter  as  full  of  the 
darkest  bigotry  and  intolerance  as  any 
which  could  be  found  to  disgrace  the  pages 
of  foreign  annals.  Apostacy,  heresy,  and 
nonconformity  had  been  standard  crimes 
for  public  appeals  to  kindle  the  flames  of 
persecution,  and  apologize  for  the  most 
atrocious  triumphs  over  innocence  and 
virtue. 

"  It  was  under  a  solemn  consciousness 
of  the  dangers  from  ecclesiastical  ambi- 
tion, the  bigotry  of  spiritual  pride,  and  the 
intolerance  of  sects,  thus  exemplified  in 
our  domestic  as  well  as  foreign  annals, 
that  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  exclude 
from  the  national  government  all  power 
to  act  upon  the  subject. $  The  situation, 
too,  of  different  states  equally  proclaimed 
the  policy,  as  well  as  the  necessity,  of 
such  an  exclusion.  In  some  of  the  states 
Episcopalians  constituted  the  predominant 
sect ;  in  others,  Presbyterians  ;  in  others, 
Congregationalists  ;  in  others,  Quakers  ; 
and  in  others,  again,  there  was  a  close  nu- 
merical rivalry  among  contending  sects. 
It  was  impossible  that  there  should  not 
arise  perpetual  strife  and  perpetual  jeal- 
ousy on  the  subject  of  ecclesiastical  as- 
cendency, if  the  National  Government 
were  left  free  to  create  a  religious  estab- 

*  Lord  King's  Life  of  John  Locke,  p.  373. 
t  2  Lloyd's  Debates,  p.  195. 
I      %  4  Blackstone's  Commentaries,  p.  41-59. 
%      <j>  2  Lloyd's  Debates,  p.  195-197.     "  The  sectarian 
j  spirit,"  said  the  late  Dr.  Corrie,  "  is  uniformly  selfish, 
proud,  and  unfeeling."  —  Edinburgh  Review,  April, 
1832,  p.  135. 


lishment.  The  only  security  was  in  ex- 
tirpating the  power.  But  this  alone  would 
have  been  an  imperfect  security,  if  it  had 
not  been  followed  up  by  a  declaration  of 
the  right  of  the  free  exercise  of  religion, 
and  a  prohibition  (as  we  have  seen)  of  all 
religious  tests.  Thus  the  whole  power 
over  the  subject  of  religion  is  left  exclu- 
sively to  the  State  governments,  to  be  act- 
ed upon  according  to  their  own  sense  of 
justice  and  the  State  Constitutions ;  and 
the  Catholic  and  the  Protestant,  the  Cal- 
vinist  and  the  Arminian,  the  Jew  and  the 
Infidel,  may  sit  down  at  the  common  tabic 
of  the  national  councils,  without  any  in-, 
quisition  into  their  faith  or  mode  of  wor 
ship."* 

The  preceding  extracts  from  the  learn 
ed  commentator  on  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  are  sufficient  to  show  that 
the  General  Government  is  not  restrained 
from  promoting  religion,  though  not  allow- 
ed to  make  any  religious  establishment, 
or  to  do  anything  for  the  purpose  of  ag- 
grandizing one  denomination  of  Christians 
more  than  another. 

There  is  also  a  manifest  difference  be- 
tween legislating  directly  for  religion  as 
an  end  of  jurisdiction,  and  keeping  it  re- 
spectfully in  view  while  legislating  for 
other  ends,  the  legitimacy  of  which  is  not 
questioned ;  so  that  if  we  admit  that  the 
States  alone  could  do  the  former,  the  Gen- 
eral Government  might,  at  least,  be  com- 
petent to  the  latter,  and  in  this  way  the 
harmony  of  the  whole  might  be  preserved. 

But  this  restricted  view  of  the  case  is 
not  necessary.  All  that  the  Constitution 
does  is  to  restrain  Congress  from  making 
any  law  "  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  of 
the  same."  Everything  that  has  no  ten- 
dency to  bring  about  an  establishment  of 
religion,  or  to  interfere  with  the  free  ex- 
ercise of  religion,  Congress  may  do.  And 
we  shall  see,  hereafter,  that  this  is  the 
view  of  the  subject  taken  by  the  proper 
authorities  of  the  country. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

WHETHER  THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES  MAY  JUSTLY  BE  CALLED  INFIDEL  OR 
ATHEISTICAL. 

Because  no  mention  of  the  Supreme  Be- 
ing, or  of  the  Christian  religion,  is  to  be 
found  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  some  have  pronounced  it  infidel, 
others  atheistical.  But  that  neither  opin- 
ion is  correct  will  appear  from  a  moment's 
consideration  of  the  case. 

Most  certainly,  the^  Convention  which 

*  See  Kent's  Commentaries,  Lecture  xxiv.  Rawle 
on  the  Constitution,  chap,  x.,  p.  121,  122.  2  Lloyd's 
Debates,  p.  195. 


Chap.  VI.] 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT. 


119 


framed  the  Constitution  in  1787,  under  the 
presidency  of  the  immortal  Washington, 
was  neither  infidel  nor  atheistical  in  its 
character.  All  the  leading  men  in  it  were 
believers  in  Christianity,  and  Washington, 
as  all  the  world  knows,  was  a  Christian. 
Several  of  the  more  prominent  members 
were  well  known  to  be  members  of  church- 
es, and  to  live  consistently  with  their  pro- 
fession. Even  Franklin,  who  never  avow- 
ed his  religious  sentiments,  and  cannot  be 
said  with  certainty  to  have  been  an  infidel, 
proposed,  at  a  time  of  great  difficulty  in 
the  course  of  their  proceedings,  that  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel  should  be  invited 
to  open  their  proceedings  with  prayer. 
Many  members  of  the  Convention  had 
been  members  also  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, which  carried  on  the  national  gov- 
ernment from  the  commencement  of  the 
Revolution  until  the  Constitution  went  into 
effect.  Now  the  religious  views  of  that 
Congress  we  shall  presently  see  from  their 
acts. 

The  framers  of  that  Constitution  seem, 
in  fact,  to  have  felt  the  necessity  of  leav- 
ing the  subject  of  religion,  as  they  left 
many  things  besides,  to  the  governments 
of  the  several  states  composing  the  Union. 
It  was  a  subject  on  which  these  states  had 
legislated  from  the  very  first.  In  many  of 
them  the  Christian  religion  had  been,  and 
in  some  it  still  continued  to  be,  supported 
by  law ;  in  all,  it  had  been  the  acknowl- 
edged basis  of  their  liberty  and  well-being, 
and  its  institutions  had  been  protected  by 
legal  enactments.  Nothing,  accordingly, 
could  be  more  natural  in  the  Convention 
than  to  deem  the  introduction  of  the  sub- 
ject unnecessary.  There  is  yet  another 
view  of  the  subject. 

"  On  this  head,"  says  an  able  writer, 
11  as  on  others,  the  Federal  Constitution 
was  a  compromise.  Religion  could  not 
well  be  introduced  into  it  for  any  purpose 
of  positive  regulation.  There  was  no 
•  choice  but  to  tolerate  all  Christian  denom- 
inations, and  to  forbear  entering  into  the 
particular  views  of  any.  Religion  was 
likely  to  fare  best  in  this  way.  Men  who 
loved  it  better  than  we  do  nowadays,  felt 
bound  in  prudence  to  leave  it  at  once  un- 
aided and  unencumbered  by  constitutional 
provisions,  save  one  or  two  of  a  negative 
character.  And  they  acted  thus,  not  that 
it  might  be  trodden  under  foot,  the  pearl 
among  swine,  but  to  the  very  end  of  its 
greater  ultimate  prevalence,  its  more  last- 
ing sway  among  the  people."* 

There  is  truth,  unquestionably,  in  these 
remarks ;  still  I  am  of  opinion  that  the 
Convention,  while  sensible  that  it  was  un- 
wise to  make  religion  a  subject  of  legisla- 
tion for  the  General  Government,  thought 
that  this,  or  even  any  mention  of  the  thing 


*  "  An  Inquiry  into  the  Moral  and  Religious  Char- 
acter of  the  American  Government,"  p.  72. 


at  all,  was  unnecessary.  The  Constitu- 
tion was  not  intended  for  a  people  that  had 
no  religion,  or  that  needed  any  legislation 
on  the  subject  from  the  proposed  General 
or  National  Government ;  it  was  to  be  for 
a  people  already  Christian,  and  whose  ex- 
isting laws,  emanating  from  the  most  ap- 
propriate, or,  to  say  the  least,  the  most 
convenient  sources,  gave  ample  evidence 
of  their  being  favourable  to  religion.  Their 
doing  nothing  positive  on  the  subject 
seems,  accordingly,  to  speak  more  loudly 
than  if  they  had  expressed  themselves  in 
the  most  solemn  formulas  on  the  existence 
of  the  Deity  and  the  truth  of  Christianity. 
These  were  clearly  assumed,  being,  as  it 
were,  so  well  known  and  fully  acknowl- 
edged as  to  need  no  specification  in  an  in- 
strument of  a  general  nature,  and  design- 
ed for  general  objects.  The  Bible  does 
not  begin  with  an  argument  to  prove  the 
existence  of  God,  but  assumes  the  fact,  as 
one  the  truth  of  which  it  needs  no  attempt 
to  establish. 

This  view  is  confirmed  by  what  is  to  be 
found  in  the  Constitution  itself.  From  the 
reference  to  the  Sabbath,  in  article  I.,  sec- 
tion vii.,  it  is  manifest  that  the  framers  of 
it  believed  that  they  were  drawing  up  a 
Constitution  for  a  Christian  people  :  a  peo- 
ple who  valued  and  cherished  a  day  asso- 
ciated, if  I  may  so  speak,  with  so  large  a 
portion  of  Christianity.  Regarding  the  sub- 
ject in  connexion  with  the  circumstances 
that  belong  to  it,  I  do  not  think  that  the 
government  of  the  United  States  can  just- 
ly be  called  either  infidel  or  atheistical,  on 
account  of  its  Federal  Constitution.  The 
authors  of  that  Constitution  never  dream- 
ed that  they  were  to  be  regarded  as  treat- 
ing Christianity  with  contempt,  because 
they  did  not  formally  mention  it  as  the 
law  of  the  land,  which  it  was  already,  much 
less  that  it  should  be  excluded  from  the 
government.  If  the  latter  was  intended, 
we  shall  presently  see  that  their  acts,  from 
the  very  organization  of  the  government, 
belied  any  such  intention. 

Should  any  one,  after  all,  regret  that  the 
Constitution  does  not  contain  something 
more  explicit  on  the  subject,  I  cannot  but 
say  that  I  participate  in  that  regret.  Sure 
I  am  that,  had  the  excellent  men  who  fra- 
med the  Constitution  foreseen  the  infer- 
ences that  have  been  drawn  from  the  omis- 
sion, they  would  have  recognised,  in  a 
proper  formula,  the  existence  of  God,  and 
the  truth  and  the  importance  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion. 

I  conclude  this  chapter  in  the  language 
of  one  who  has  ably  treated  this  question. 
"  Consistent  with  themselves,  the  people 
of  1787  meant  by  the  federal  arrangement 
nothing  but  a  new  and  larger  organization 
of  government  on  principles  already  fa- 
miliar to  the  country.  The  state  govern- 
ments were  not  broad  enough  for  national 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  II 


purposes,  and  the  old  Confederation  was 
deficient  in  central  power.  It  was  only 
to  remedy  these  two  defects,  not  of  prin- 
ciple, but  of  distributive  adjustment,  that 
the  public  mind  addressed  itself:  innova- 
tion, to  any  other  end,  was  never  thought 
of;  least  of  all  in  reference  to  religion,  a 
thing  utterly  apart  from  the  whole  de- 
sign. So  that,  admitting  that  the  Consti- 
tution framed  on  that  occasion  does  not  in 
terms  proclaim  itself  a  Christian  document, 
what  then?  Does  it  proclaim  itself  un- 
christian ?  For  if  it  is  merely  silent  in  the 
matter,  law  and  reason  both  tell  us  that  its 
religious  character  is  to  be  looked  for  by 
interpretation  among  the  people  that  fash- 
ioned it ;  a  people,  Christian  by  profession 
and  by  genealogy  ;  what  is  more,  by  deeds 
of  fundamental  legislation  that  cannot  de- 
ceive."* 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE      GOVERNMENT     OF     THE     UNITED     STATES 
SHOWN    TO    BE    CHRISTIAN    BY    ITS    ACTS. 

Any  doubts  that  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  may  suggest  as  to  the  Chris- 
tian! character  of  the  National  Govern- 
ment will  be  dissipated  by  a  statement  of 
facts. 

In  the  first  place,  in  transacting  the  af- 
fairs of  the  government,  the  Sabbath  is 
recognised,  and  respect  for  it  enjoined  ; 
not  only  so,  but  it  is  observed  to  a  degree 
rarely  witnessed  in  other  countries.  All 
public  business  is  suspended,  unless  in 
cases  of  extreme  necessity.  Congress  ad- 
journs over  the  Sabbath  ;J  the  courts  do  not 
sit ;  the  custom-houses,  and  all  other  pub- 
lic offices,  are  shut,  not  only  for  a  few 
hours,  or  a  part  of  it,  but  during  the  whole 
day. 

In  the  second  place,  the  Christian  char- 
acter of  the  government  is  seen  in  the 
proclamations  that  have  been  made  from 
time  to  time,  calling  on  the  people  to  ob- 
serve days  of  fasting  and  prayer  in  times 
of  national  distress,  and  of  thanksgiving 
for  national  or  general  mercies.      Not  a 


*  "  An  Inquiry  into  the  Moral  and  Religious  Char- 
acter of  the  American  Government,"  p.  84,  85. 

f  When  I  speak  of  the  Christian  character  of  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  I  mean  that  it  is 
so  far  regulated  by  the  Christian  religion  as  to  par- 
take of  its  spirit,  and  that  is  not  infidel  or  opposed 
to  Christianity— Christian  as  those  of  England  and 
other  parts  of  Christendom  are  Christian — not  that 
every  act  of  the  government  is  truly  conformable  to 
the  requirements  of  Christianity.  Alas  !  where  shall 
we  find  a  government  whose  acts  are  fully  conform- 
ed to  these  ? 

%  When  the  day  for  the  adjournment  of  Congress 
falls  on  Saturday,  it  sometimes  happens  that,  on  ac- 
count of  the  accumulation  of  business,  the  session  is 
protracted  through  the  night  into  the  early  morning 
of  the  Sabbath  ;  for  doing  which  they  fail  not  to  be 
severely  censured,  as  they  deserve,  by  the  religious, 
and  even  by  some  of  the  secular  journals. 


year  passed  during  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion without  the  observance  of  such  days. 
At  the  commencement  of  that  war,  the 
Congress,  in  one  of  these  proclamations, 
expressed  its  desire  "  to  have  the  people 
of  all  ranks  and  degrees  duly  impressed 
with  a  solemn  sense  of  God's  superintend- 
ing providence,  and  of  their  duty  to  rely  in 
all  their  lawful  enterprises  on  his  aid  and 
direction."  The  objects  of  a  general  fast 
are  set  forth  :  "that  they  may  with  united 
hearts  confess  and  bewail  their  manifold 
sins  and  transgressions,  and  by  a  sincere 
repentance  and  amendment  of  life  appease 
his  righteous  displeasure,  and  through  the 
merits  and  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ  ob- 
tain his  pardon  and  forgiveness."  A  few 
months  later  we  find  the  following  lan- 
guage :  "  The  Congress  do  also,  in  the 
most  earnest  manner,  recommend  to  all 
the  members  of  the  United  States,  and  par- 
ticularly the  officers,  civil  and  military, 
under  them,  the  exercise  of  repentance 
and  reformation ;  and  farther  require  of 
them  the  strict  observance  of  the  articles 
which  forbid  profane  swearing  and  all  im- 
moralities." And  in  1777,  Congress  called 
upon  the  nation  "  that  with  one  heart  and 
voice  the  good  people  may  express  the 
grateful  feelings  of  their  hearts,  and  con- 
secrate themselves  to  the  service  of  their 
divine  Benefactor ;  and  that,  together  with 
their  sincere  acknowledgments  and  offer- 
ings, they  may  join  the  penitent  confession 
of  their  manifold  sins,  whereby  they  have 
forfeited  every  favour,  and  their  earnest  sup- 
plication that  it  may  please  God,  through 
the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  mercifully  to 
forgive  and  blot  them  out  of  remembrance  ; 
that  it  may  please  him  graciously  to  afford 
his  blessing  on  the  governments  of  these 
States  respectively,  and  prosper  the  public 
council  of  the  whole  ;  to  inspire  our  com- 
manders both  by  land  and  by  sea,  and  all 
under  them,  with  that  wisdom  and  forti- 
tude which  may  render  them  fit  instru- 
ments, under  the  government  of  Almighty 
God,  to  secure  to  these  United  States  the 
greatest  of  all  blessings — independence  and 
peace  ;  that  it  may  please  Him  to  prosper 
the  trade  and  manufactures  of  the  people, - 
and  the  labour  of  the  husbandman,  that  our 
land  may  yield  its  increase  ;  to  take  schools* 
and  seminaries  of  education,  so  necessary 
for  cultivating  the  principles  of  true  liber- 
ty, virtue,  and  piety,  under  His  nurturing 
hand ;  and  to  prosper  the  means  of  religion 
for  the  promotion  and  enlargement  of  that 
kingdom  which  consisteth  in  righteousness, 
peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  In 
1779,  among  other  objects  for  which  they 
call  on  the  people  to  pray,  we  find  the 
following  :  "  That  God  would  grant  to  his 
Church  the  plentiful  effusions  of  divin© 
grace,  and  pour  out  his  Holy  Spirit  on  a£ 
ministers  of  the  Gospel ;  that  he  would 
bless  and  prosper  the  means  of  education, 


Chap.  VII. J 


CHARACTER    OF   THE    GOVERNMENT. 


:ei 


and  spread  the  light  of  Christian  knowl- 
edge through  the  remotest  corners  of  the 
earth." 

Similar  language  is  found  in  the  procla- 
mations of  1780,  1781,  and  1782.  Such 
was  the  spirit  which  actuated  the  councils 
of  the  nation  in  the  Revolution.  And  after 
the  Constitution  had  gone  into  effect,  we 
find,  in  the  earlier  period  of  its  reign,  that 
days  of  fasting  and  prayer  for  similar  bless- 
ings were  observed  upon  the  invitation  of 
Congress.  In  1812,  when  the  last  war 
with  England  broke  out,  we  find  Congress 
using  the  following  language :  "  It  being 
a  duty  peculiarly  incumbent  in  a  time  of 
public  calamity  and  war,  humbly  and  de- 
voutly to  acknowledge  our  dependance  on 
Almighty  God,  and  to  implore  his  aid  and 
protection,  therefore  resolved,  that  a  joint 
committee  of  both  houses  wait  on  the 
President,  and  request  him  to  recommend 
a  day  of  public  humiliation  and  prayer,  to 
be  observed  by  the  people  of  the  United 
States  with  religious  solemnity,  and  the  of- 
fering of  fervent  supplications  to  Almighty 
God  for  the  safety  of  these  States,  and 
the  speedy  restoration  of  peace."  And 
when  the  peace  arrived,  the  same  branch 
of  the  government  called,  in  like  manner, 
for  a  day  of  thanksgiving,  which  President 
Madison  did  not  hesitate  to  recommend. 
And  though  President  Jackson,  I  regret  to 
say,  had,  as  Mr.  Jefferson  had,  scruples  as  to 
how  far  he  was  empowered  by  the  Consti- 
tution to  appoint,  or,  rather,  to  recommend 
such  days  of  fasting  and  prayer,  and  refu- 
sed, accordingly,  to  do  so  at  a  time  when  it 
was  loudly  called  for  by  the  circumstances 
of  the  nation,  the  present  president,  Mr. 
Tyler,  hesitated  not  for  a  moment  to  call 
upon  the  people  to  observe  such  a  day  upon 
the  death  of  the  lamented  President  Harri- 
son. And  seldom  has  such  a  day  been  so  re- 
markably observed  in  any  country,  the  peo- 
ple flocking  to  their  respective  churches, 
and  listening  with  profound  attention  to  dis- 
courses suited  to  the  affecting  occasion.  It 
was  marked,  in  short,  with  the  solemnity 
of  a  Sabbath.  The  nation  felt  that  God, 
who  had  stricken  down  the  man  whom 
they  had  elevated  so  lately,  and  with  such 
enthusiasm,  to  the  presidency,  was  loudly 
calling  upon  them  not  to  trust  in  "  man, 
whose  breath  is  in  his  nostrils."  The  ap- 
pointment of  that  fast  was  manifestly  ac- 
ceptable to  the  nation  at  large. 

In  the  third  place,  the  General  Govern- 
ment has  at  various  times  authorized  the 
employment  of  chaplains  in  the  army  and 
navy,  and  at  this  moment  there  are  such 
in  all  larger  vessels  of  war,  and  at  twenty 
of  the  chief  fortresses  and  military  sta- 
tions.*  There  is  also  a  chaplain  at  the  gov- 


*  I  cannot  avoid  remarking,  however,  that  the  ap- 
pointment of  some  twenty-five  chaplains  in  the 
navy  very  strikingly  illustrates  the  incompetency  of 
the  civil  power  to  manage  spiritual  matters.    Most 


eminent  military  school  at  West  Point,  for 
the  training  of  young  officers.  Moreover, 
the  Congress  testifies  to  its  interest  in  the 
Christian  religion,  and  to  its  sense  of  its 
importance,  by  employing  two  chaplains, 
one  for  the  Senate  and  the  other  for  the 
House  of  Representatives,  to  open  the  sit- 
tings of  these  bodies  every  day  with  prayer, 
and  who  alternately  preach  every  Sabbath 
to  the  two  houses,  convened  in  the  Hall  of 
the  Representatives,  at  twelve  o'clock. 

In  the  fourth  place,  the  policy  of  the 
General  Government  may  be  considered  as 
Christian,  inasmuch  as  it  is  directed,  in  a 
large  measure,  by  a  Christian  spirit.  As 
a  people,  we  have  preferred  peace  to  war ; 
we  have  endeavoured  to  act  with  simple 
integrity  and  good  faith  to  foreign  nations. 
With  few  exceptions,  the  General  Govern- 
ment has  acted  fairly  to  the  Indians  on  our 
borders ;  and  in  the  instances  in  which  it 
has  been  blamed,  it  is  not  easy  to  see  how 
it  could  have  acted  otherwise.  To  avoid  a 
civil  war,  it  has  once  or  twice,  perhaps, 
failed  to  act  with  sufficient  promptitude  in 
protecting  them  from  their  ruthless  white 
invaders.  But,  generally  speaking,  its  con- 
duct towards  the  Indians  has  been  mild  and 
benevolent.  From  the  times  of  Washing- 
ton it  has  ever  willingly  lent  its  aid  in  pro- 
moting the  introduction  among  them  of  the 
arts  of  civilized  life  ;  it  has  expended  much 
money  in  doing  so  ;  and  at  this  moment  it 
is  co-operating  with  our  missionary  socie- 
ties, by  giving  them  indirect  but  effectual 
aid  in  that  quarter.  But  I  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  speak  elsewhere  of  the  conduct  of 
the  General  Government  with  respect  to 
this  subject. 


of  the  chaplains  in  the  United  States  navy,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  comparatively  recent  appoint- 
ments, have  been  little  qualified  for  labouring  lor  the 
salvation  of  from  400  to  1200  men  on  board  a  ship  of 
war.  A  secretary  of  the  navy  is  seldom  fitted  to 
make  the  best  selection  for  such  a  post.  It  would  be 
better  done  if  committed  to  some  of  the  missionary 
societies,  or  to  them  in  conjunction  with  the  secre- 
tary. For  more  than  twenty  years  after  the  last  war 
with  England  we  had  no  chaplains  in  our  little  army, 
but  within  four  or  five  years  the  government,  at  the 
instance  of  many  of  the  officers,  has  appointed  twen- 
ty chaplains  for  as  many  of  the  chief  posts.  The 
chaplains  are  chosen  by  the  senior  officers  of  each, 
post — as  good  an  arrangement,  probably,  as  could  be 
devised.  When  there  were  no  chaplains  employed 
by  the  government,  the  ministers  in  the  vicinity  of  our 
forts  and  garrisons,  and  the  missionary  societies,  at- 
tended to  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  officers  and 
men.  The  officers  and  men  of  a  regiment,  in  some 
cases,  raised  a  sufficient  sum  among  themselves  for 
the  employment  of  a  missionary,  for  the  greater  part, 
or  the  whole  of  his  time,  to  preach  the  Gospel  to 
them.  Almost  all  our  forts  and  garrisons  are  often 
visited  by  ministers  who  volunteer  to  preach  at  cer- 
tain stated  times  to  the  military  stationed  in  them. 
Thus  is  the  Word  of  Life  made  known  to  men  who'* 
have  devoted  themselves  to  their  country's  service. 
It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  national  army,  in 
times  of  peace,  has  seldom  numbered  more  than 
6000  or  8000  men.  It  is  an  interesting  fact,  that  a 
very  considerable  proportion  of  the  officers  are  pious 
men,  and  do  much  good  by  holding  religious  meet- 
ings in  their  respective  regiments  and  companies. 


122 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  III. 


In  the  fifth  place,  the  same  spirit  appears 
in  what  takes  place  in  judicial  affairs.  As, 
first,  the  rejection  of  the  oath  of  an  atheist ; 
second,  the  requiring  of  a  belief  in  a  future 
state  of  rewards  and  punishments,  in  order 
to  the  validity  of  a  man's  testimony  ;  and, 
lastly,  the  administering  of  oaths  on  the 
Bible. 

In  the  sixth  place,  this  appears  from  the 
readiness  shown  by  Congress  in  making 
large  grants  of  valuable  public  lands  for  the 
support  of  seminaries  of  learning,  asylums 
for  the  deaf  and  dumb,  and  for  hospitals, 
although  aware  that  the  institutions  thus 
endowed  were  under  the  direction  of  de- 
cided Christians,  who  would  give  a  promi- 
nent place  in  them  to  their  religious  views. 
This  I  could  show  by  many  facts,  were  it 
necessary. 

But  I  have  said  enough,  I  trust,  to  prove 
that  though  the  promotion  of  religion  does 
not  directly  belong  to  the  General  Govern- 
ment, but  to  the  States,  the  former  is  nei- 
ther hostile  nor  indifferent  to  the  religious 
interests  of  the  country.  This,  indeed,  is 
not  likely  to  be  the  case,  so  long,  at  least, 
as  a  large  proportion  of  our  public  men  en- 
tertain the  respect  they  now  show  for  re- 
ligion. Such  respect  is  the  more  interest- 
ing, as  it  can  only  flow  from  the  spontane- 
ous feelings  of  the  heart.  They  are  not 
tempted  by  any  religious  establishment  to 
become  the  partisans  of  religion.  Religion 
stands  on  its  own  basis,  and  seeks,  not  in- 
effectually, to  win  the  respect  and  affec- 
tions of  all  men  by  its  own  simple  merits. 
Many  of  the  national  legislators  are  either 
members  of  the  churches,  or  their  warm 
supporters  ;  while  few  among  them  are  not 
believers  in  Christianity,  or  do  not  attend 
some  sanctuary  of  the  Most  High  on  the 
Sabbath. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  GOVERNMENTS  OF  THE  INDIVIDUAL  STATES 
ORGANIZED  ON  THE  BASIS  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

After  considering  the  claims  of  the 
General  Government  to  be  regarded  as 
Christian  in  character,  let  us  inquire  how 
far  the  individual  States,  and  particularly 
the  original  Thirteen,  are  entitled  to  the 
same  distinction,  confining  ourselves  in 
this  chapter  to  the  evidence  supplied  by 
their  earliest  constitutions  or  fundamental 
laws,  which  were  mostly  made  during,  or 
shortly  after,  the  Revolution. 

Virginia  was  unquestionably  a  Christian 
state,  but  her  Constitution  is  silent  on  the 
subject.  It  was  drawn  up  under  the  eye  of 
one  of  the  greatest  enemies  that  Christian- 
ity has  ever  had  to  contend  with  in  Amer- 
ica; but  although  he  had  influence  enough 
to  prevent  the  religion  which  he  hated  from 
being  mentioned  in  the   Constitution  of 


Virginia,  he  could  not  obliterate  all  traces 
of  it  from  her  laws. 

Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  had  adopt- 
ed no  constitutions  of  their  own  when 
that  of  the  United  States  was  framed.  The 
latter  of  these  two  states  has  been  gov- 
erned almost  to  this  day  by  the  charter 
granted  by  Charles  II.  Both  states  were 
of  Puritan  origin,  and  the  charters  of  both 
were  based  on  Christian  principles. 

The  first  Constitution  of  New- York  dates 
from  1777.  It  strongly  guarded  the  rights 
of  conscience  and  religious  worship.  It 
excluded  the  clergy  from  public  offices  of 
a  secular  nature,  on  the  express  ground 
that  "  by  their  profession  they  were  dedica- 
ted to  the  service  of  God  and  to  the  cure 
of  souls,"  and  "  ought  not  to  be  diverted 
from  the  great  duties  of  their  functions." 

The  Constitution  of  New- Jersey,  as  origi- 
nally framed  in  1776,  besides  guarantying 
to  every  one  the  "  inestimable  privilege  of 
worshipping  Almighty  God  in  a  manner 
agreeable  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  con- 
science," declared  that  "  all  persons  pro- 
fessing a  belief  in  the  faith  of  any  Protest- 
ant sect,  and  who  should  demean  them- 
selves peaceably  under  the  government, 
should  be  capable  of  being  members  of  ei- 
ther branch  of  the  Legislature,  and  should 
fully  and  freely  enjoy  every  privilege  and 
immunity  enjoyed  by  others,  their  fellow- 
citizens."  Whatever  may  be  thought  of 
the  style  of  this  instrument,  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  it  favoured  the  professors  of 
Protestant  Christianity. 

The  Constitution  of  New-Hampshire,  af- 
ter laying  it  down  that  "  every  individual 
has  a  natural  and  inalienable  right  to  wor- 
ship God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his 
conscience  and  his  reason,"  says,  "  that 
morality  and  piety,  rightly  grounded  on 
evangelical  principles,  would  give  the  best 
and  greatest  security  to  government,  and 
would  lay  in  the  hearts  of  men  the  strong- 
est obligations  to  due  subjection ;"  and 
again,  "  that  the  knowledge  of  these  was 
most  likely  to  be  propagated  by  the  insti- 
tution of  the  public  worship  of  the  Deity, 
and  public  instruction  in  morality  and  re- 
ligion;" therefore,  to  promote  these  impor- 
tant purposes,  "  the  towns"  are  empowered 
to  adopt  measures  for  the  support  and 
maintenance  of  "  public  Protestant  teach- 
ers of  piety,  religion,  and  morality."  Al- 
though the  towns  are  still  authorized  to 
take  measures  for  the  support  of  public 
worship,  that  is  no  longer  accomplished 
by  a  general  assessment. 

The  first  Constitution  of  Massachusetts 
was  framed  in  1780.  In  it  we  find  the 
following  language  :  "  That  as  the  hap- 
piness of  a  people,  and  the  good  order  and 
preservation  of  civil  government,  essen- 
tially depend  upon  piety,  religion,  and 
morality  ;  and  as  these  cannot  be  gener- 
ally diffused  through  a  community  but  by 


Chap.  VIII.]       GOVERNMENTS   OF   THE   INDIVIDUAL  STATES. 


the  institution  of  the  public  worship  of  God, 
and  of  public  instruction  in  piety,  religion, 
and  morality  :  therefore,  to  promote  their 
happiness,  and  to  secure  the  good  order 
and  preservation  of  their  government,  the 
people  of  this  commonwealth  have  a  right 
to  invest  their  Legislature  with  power  to 
authorize  and  require,  and  the  Legislature 
shall  from  time  to  time  authorize  and  re- 
quire the  several  towns,  parishes,  pre- 
cincts, and  other  bodies  politic,  or  religious 
societies,  to  make  suitable  provision,  at 
their  own  expense,  for  the  institution  of 
the  public  worship  of  God,  and  for  the  sup- 
port and  maintenance  of  public  Protestant 
teachers  of  piety,  religion,  and  morality, 
in  all  cases  where  such  provision  shall  not 
be  made  voluntarily  ;  and  the  people  of 
this  commonwealth  have  also  a  right  to, 
and  do,  invest  their  Legislature  with  au- 
thority to  enjoin  upon  all  the  subjects  an 
attendance  upon  the  instructions  of  the 
public  teachers  as  aforesaid,  at  stated 
times  and  seasons,  if  there  be  any  one 
whose  instructions  they  can  conscientious- 
ly attend."  It  was  also  ordained,  that 
*'  because  a  frequent  recurrence  to  the  fun- 
damental principles  of  the  Constitution, 
and  a  constant  adherence  to  those  of  piety, 
justice,  moderation,  temperance,  industry, 
and  frugality,  are  absolutely  necessary  to 
preserve  the  advantages  of  liberty  and  to 
maintain  a  free  government,  the  people 
ought  consequently  to  have  a  particular  re- 
gard to  all  those  principles  in  the  choice  of 
their  officers  and  representatives  ;  and  they 
have  a  right  to  require  of  their  lawgivers 
and  magistrates  an  exact  and  constant  ob- 
servance of  them  in  the  formation  and  ex- 
ecution of  all  laws  necessary  for  the  good 
administration  of  the  commonwealth." 
And,  lastly,  it  was  prescribed  that  every 
person  "  chosen  governor,  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor, senator,  or  representative,  and  ac- 
cepting the  trust,"  shall  subscribe  a  sol- 
emn profession  "  that  he  believes  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  and  has  a  firm  persuasion  of 
its  truth." 

The  Constitution  of  Maryland,  made  in 
1776,  empowers  the  Legislature  "  to  lay  a 
general  tax  for  the  support  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,"  and  declares  "  that  all  per- 
sons professing  the  Christian  religion  are 
equally  entitled  to  protection  in  their  re- 
ligious liberty."  All  tests  are  disallowed, 
excepting  these  :  an  oath  of  office  ;  an  oath 
of  allegiance  ;  "  and  a  declaration  of  a  be- 
lief in  the  Christian  religion." 

The  first  Constitution  of  Pennsylvania, 
made  in  the  same  year,  requires  that  every 
member  of  the  Legislature  shall  make  this 
solemn  declaration :  "  I  do  believe  in  one 
God,  the  Creator  and  Governor  of  the  uni- 
verse, the  rewarder  of  the  good  and  the 
punisher  of  the  wicked  ;  and  I  do  acknowl- 
edge the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
tament to  be  given  by  Divine  inspiration." 


123 

The  Constitution  of  Delaware,  made  at 
the  same  period,  premises,  "  That  all  men 
have  a  natural  and  inalienable  right  to 
worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of 
their  own  consciences  and  understand- 
ings ;"  and  declares,  "  that  all  persons  pro- 
fessing the  Christian  religion  ought  for- 
ever to  enjoy  equal  rights  and  privileges." 
In  relation  to  the  members  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, it  enjoins,  that  every  citizen  who 
shall  be  chosen  a  member  of  either  house 
of  the  Legislature,  or  appointed  to  any 
other  public  office,  shall  be  required  to 
subscribe  the  following  declaration:  "I 
do  profess  faith  in  God  the  Father,  and  in 
Jesus  Christ  his  only  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  one  God,  blessed  for  evermore  ;  and 
I  do  acknowledge  the  Holy  Scriptures  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testament  to  be  given 
by  Divine  inspiration." 

The  Constitution  of  North  Carolina, 
made  about  the  same  period,  declares  ex- 
pressly, "  That  no  person  who  should  den)'- 
the  being  of  God,  or  the  truth  of  the  Prot- 
estant religion,  or  the  Divine  authority  of 
either  the  Old  or  New  Testament,  or  who 
should  hold  religious  principles  incompat- 
ible with  the  freedom  and  safety  of  the 
State,  should  be  capable  of  holding  any 
office  or  place  of  trust  in  the  civil  govern- 
ment of  the  State." 

But  the  Constitution  of  South  Carolina, 
made  in  1778,  was  the  most  remarkable  of 
all.  It  directs  the  Legislature,  at  its  regular 
meeting,  to  "  choose  by  ballot  from  among 
themselves,  or  from  the  people  at  large,  a 
governor  and  commander-in-chief,  a  lieu- 
tenant-governor and  privy  council,  all  of 
the  Protestant  religion."  It  prescribes 
that  no  man  shall  be  eligible  to  either  the 
Senate  or  House  of  Representatives,  "  un- 
less he  be  of  the  Protestant  religion." 
And  in  a  word,  it  ordains  "  that  the  Chris- 
tian religion  be  deemed,  and  is  hereby 
constituted  and  declared  to  be,  the  estab- 
lished religion  of  the  land." 

Provision  was  also  made  for  the  incor- 
poration, maintenance,  and  government  of 
such  "  societies  of  Christian  Protestants" 
as  choose  to  avail  themselves  of  laws  for 
the  purpose,  and  required  that  every  such 
society  should  first  agree  to,  and  subscribe 
in  a  book  the  five  following  articles  : 

"  First,  That  there  is  one  eternal  God, 
and  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punish- 
ments. 

"  Second,  That  God  is  publicly  to  be 
worshipped. 

"Third,  That  the  Christian  religion  is 
the  true  religion. 

"  Fourth,  That  the  Holy  Scriptures  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testament  are  of  Divine 
inspiration,  and  are  the  rule  of  faith  and 
practice. 

"  Fifth,  That  it  is  lawful,  and  the  duty  of 
every  man,  being  thereunto  called  by  those 
who  govern,  to  bear  witness  to  the  truth." 


124 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  III. 


Even  more  than  this  :  the  Conscript  Fa- 
thers who  made  the  Constitution  of  South 
Carolina  went  on  to  declare,  "  That  to 
give  the  state  sufficient  security  for  the  dis- 
charge of  the  pastoral  office,  no  person  shall 
officiate  as  a  minister  of  any  established 
church  who  shall  not  have  been  chosen  by 
a  majority  of  the  society  to  which  he  shall 
minister,  nor  until  he  shall  have  made  and 
subscribed  the  following  declaration,  over 
and  above  the  aforesaid  five  articles  ;  viz., 
'  That  he  is  determined,  by  God's  grace, 
out  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  instruct  the 
people  committed  to  his  charge,  and  to 
teach  nothing  as  required  of  necessity  to 
eternal  salvation  but  that  which  he  shall 
be  persuaded  maybe  concluded  and  proved 
from  the  Scriptures  ;  that  he  will  use  both 
public  and  private  admonitions,  as  well  to 
the  sick  as  to  the  whole,  within  his  cure, 
as  need  shall  require  and  occasion  be  giv- 
en ;  that  he  will  be  diligent  in  prayers  and 
in  reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  in 
such  studies  as  help  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  same  ;  that  he  will  be  diligent  to  frame 
and  fashion  his  own  self  and  his  family  ac- 
cording to  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  and  to 
make  both  himself  and  them,  as  much  as 
in  him  lies,  wholesome  examples  and  pat- 
terns of  the  flock  of  Christ ;  that  he  will 
maintain  and  set  forward,  as  much  as  he 
can,  quietness,  peace,  and  love,  among  all 
people,  and  especially  among  those  com- 
mitted to  his  charge." 

Who  does  not  recognise  in  this  Consti- 
tution the  spirit  of  the  old  Huguenot  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  and  of  the  Synods'  of 
France,  which  those  who  had  been  perse- 
cuted in  the  Gallican  kingdom  had  carried 
with  them  to  the  New  World  1 

The  Constitution  of  Georgia,  made  in 
1777,  says  :  "  Every  officer  of  the  state 
shall  be  liable  to  be  called  to  account  by 
the  House  of  Assembly,"  and  that  all  the 
members  of  that  house  "  shall  be  of  the 
Protestant  religion." 

Such  was  the  character  of  the  State 
Constitutions  in  the  opening  scenes  of  our 
national  existence.  Of  all  the  thirteen  ori- 
ginal states,  the  organic  laws  of  one  alone 
did  not  expressly  enjoin  the  Christian  re- 
ligion, and  almost  without  exception,  the 
Protestant  form  of  Christianity.  But  even 
Virginia  was,  in  fact,  as  much  Christian 
as  any  of  them. 

From  all  this,  the  reader  will  see  how 
the  nation  set  out  on  its  career.  It  was, 
in  every  proper  sense  of  the  word,  a  Chris- 
tian nation.  And  though  the  constitutions 
of  the  old  states  have  since  been  deprived 
of  what  was  exclusive  in  regard  to  re- 
ligion, and  the  political  privileges  of  the 
Protestants  are  extended  to  the  Roman 
Catholics,  without  any  exception  that  I  am 
aware  of,  yet  the  legislative  action  of  those 
states,  as  well  as  that  of  the  new,  is  still 
founded  on  Christianity,  and  is  as  favour- 


able as  ever  to  the  promotion  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  I  am  not  sure  whether  the 
Jew  has  equal  privileges  with  the  profess- 
or of  Christianity  in  every  state,  but  these 
he  certainly  has  in  most  of  them,  and  he 
has  everywhere  the  right  to  worship  God 
publicly,  according  to  the  rites  of  his  re- 
ligion. In  some  states  he  holds  offices  of 
trust  and  influence,  the  law  opening  to 
him  as  well  as  others  access  to  such  of- 
fices. Thus,  in  the  city  of  New- York,  at 
this  moment,  a  descendant  of  Abraham,, 
who  was  formerly  sheriff  of  that  city,  is  a 
judge  of  one  of  the  courts,  and  discharges 
its  duties  faithfully  and  acceptably.  Jews 
form  but  a  small  body  in  America,  and  as 
they  hold  what  may  be  called  the  basis  of 
the  Christian  religion,  worship  God  accord- 
ing to  the  Old  Testament,  and  believe  in  a 
future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments, 
such  a  modification  of  the  laws  as  should 
place  them  on  the  same  footing  with  Chris- 
tians, as  respects  political  privileges,  was 
not  deemed  too  latitudiharian  or  unsafe. 
They  surely  have  as  good  a  claim  to  be 
considered  fit  to  become  members  of  a 
government  founded  on  the  religion  of  the 
Bible,  as  Unitarians  can  pretend  to,  and 
hold  safer  principles  than  the  Universal- 
ists. 

I  conclude  by  repeating,  in  few  words, 
that  the  state  governments  were  founded 
on  Christianity,  and  almost  without  excep- 
tion, on  Protestant  Christianity.  In  the 
progress  of  opinion  on  the  subject  of  re- 
ligious liberty,  everything  that  looked  like 
an  interference  with  the  rights  of  con- 
science in  any  sect  was  laid  aside,  and  all 
men  whose  religious  principles  were  not 
thought  subversive  of  the  great  moral 
principles  of  Christianity  were  admitted 
to  a  full  participation  in  civil  privileges  and 
immunities.  This  is  the  present  position 
of  the  governments  of  the  several  states 
in  the  American  Union.  Their  legislation,, 
while  it  avoids  oppressing  the  conscience 
of  any  sect  of  religionists,  is  still  decided- 
ly favourable,  in  general,  to  the  interests 
of  Christianity ;  the  unchristian  element, 
if  I  may  so  term  it,  is  too  insignificant, 
taking  the  country  as  a  whole,  to  exert  an 
influence  of  any  importance  on  the  nation- 
al legislation. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    LEGISLATION    OF   THE    STATES    SHOWN   TO 
BE  IN  FAVOUR   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

We  have  said  that  the  organic  laws  of 
the  state  governments  have  been  so  far 
modified  as  to  extend  political  rights  to 
citizens  of  all  shades  of  religious  opinions  ; 
that  in  every  state  the  rights  of  conscience 
are  guarantied  to  all  men  ;  and  in  these 
respects,  the  whole  twenty-six  states  and 
three  territories  composing  the  American 


Chap.  IX.] 


LEGISLATION  OF  THE  INDIVIDUAL   STATES. 


125 


Union  are  as  one.  But  we  must  not  be 
understood  as  meaning  thereby,  that  irre- 
ligion and  licentiousness  are  also  guaran- 
tied by  the  organic  laws,  or  by  any  laws 
whatever.  This  would  be  absurd.  Rights 
of  conscience  are  religious  rights,  that  is, 
rights  to  entertain  and  utter  religious  opin- 
ions, and  to  enjoy  public  religious  worship. 
Now  this  expression,  even  in  its  widest  ac- 
ceptation, cannot  include  irreligion  ;  opin- 
ions contrary  to  the  nature  of  religion,  sub- 
versive of  the  reverence,  love,  and  service 
due  to  God,  of  virtue,  morality,  and  good 
manners.  What  rights  of  conscience  can 
atheism,  irreligion,  or  licentiousness  pre- 
tend to  ?  It  may  not  be  prudent  to  disturb 
them  in  their  private  haunts  and  secret  re- 
tirements. There  let  them  remain  and 
hold  their  peace.  But  they  have  no  right, 
by  any  law  in  the  United  States  that  I  am 
aware  of,  to  come  to  propagate  opinions 
and  proselytize.  Such  attempts,  on  the 
contrary,  are  everywhere  opposed  by  the 
laws,  and  if,  at  times,  these  laws  are  eva- 
ded, or  their  enforcement  intentionally  in- 
termitted, this  does  not  proceed  from  any 
question  of  their  being  just,  but  from  a 
conviction  that,  in  some  circumstances,  it 
is  the  less  of  two  evils  not  to  enforce  them. 
It  is  sometimes  the  best  way  to  silence  a 
noisy,  brainless  lecturer  on  atheism,  to  let 
him  alone,  and  the  immoral  conduct  of 
some  preachers  of  unrighteousness  is  the 
best  refutation  of  their  impious  doctrines. 
At  times,  however,  another  course  must 
-be  pursued.  The  publication  of  licentious 
books  and  pictures,  profane  swearing,  blas- 
phemy, obscenity,  the  interruption  of  pub- 
lic worship,  and  such  like  offences,  are 
punishable  by  the  laws  of  every  state  in 
the  American  Union.  Now,  whence  had 
these  laws  their  origin,  or  where  do  we  find 
their  sanction  1  Take  the  laws  against 
profane  swearing.  Where  did  men  learn 
that  that  is  an  offence  against  which  the 
laws  should  level  its  denunciations  ]  Sure- 
ly from  the  Bible,  and  nowhere  else. 

Not  more  than  one  state,  if  even  one,  is 
supposed  to  have  no  laws  for  the  due  ob- 
servance of  the  Sabbath.  But  whence 
came  such  regulations'?  From  the  light 
of  Nature  1  from  the  conclusions  of  hu- 
man wisdom  1  Has  philosophy  ever  dis- 
covered that  one  day  in  seven  should  be 
consecrated  to  God  1  lam  aware  that  expe- 
rience, and  a  right  knowledge  of  the  animal 
economy,  show  that  the  law  setting  apart 
one  day  in  seven  is  good,  favourable  to  hu- 
man happiness,  and  merciful  to  the  beasts 
of  burden.  But  the  Sabbath  is  of  God ;  and 
putting  aside  some  dim  traditions  and  cus- 
toms among  nations  near  the  spot  where 
the  Divine  command  respecting  it  was  first 
given  to  Moses,  or  of  the  people  in  whose 
•code  it  afterward  held  a  permanent  place, 
we  find  it  only  in  the  Bible. 

But  it  is  not  only  by  the  statute  law  of 


the  United  States  that  such  offences  are 
forbidden ;  they  are  punishable  likewise 
under  the  common  law,  which  has  force 
in  those  states  as  well  as  in  England.  Of 
this  admirable  part  of  the  civil  economy, 
Christianity  is  not  merely  an  inherent,  it 
is  a  constituent  part.  This,  though  denied 
by  Mr.  Jefferson,  Dr.  Cooper,  and  others, 
has  been  so  decided  by  many  of  the  ablest 
judges  in  the  land.  For  it  has  been  held, 
that  while  the  abolition  of  religious  estab- 
lishments in  the  United  States  necessari- 
ly abolishes  that  part  of  the  common  law 
which  attaches  to  them  in  England,  it  does 
nothing  more,  and  thus  many  offences  still 
remain  obnoxious  to  it,  on  the  ground  of 
their  being  contrary  to  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. 

A  person  was  indicted  at  New- York,  in 
1811,  for  aspersing  the  character  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  denying  the  legitimacy  of  his 
birth.  He  was  tried,  condemned,  fined,  and 
imprisoned.  On  that  trial,  Chief-justice 
Kent,  still  living,  and  believed  to  be  sec- 
ond to  none  in  the  country  in  point  of  legal 
knowledge,  expressed  himself  as  follows  : 

"  The  people  of  this  state,  in  common 
with  the  people  of  this  country,  profess  the 
general  doctrines  of  Christianity  as  the 
rule  of  their  faith  and  practice ;  and  to 
scandalize  the  Author  of  these  doctrines 
is  not  only,  in  a  religious  point  of  view,  ex- 
tremely impious,  but,  even  in  respect  to 
the  obligations  due  to  society,  is  a  gross 
violation  of  decency  and  good  order.  No- 
thing could  be  more  offensive  to  the  virtu- 
ous part  of  the  community,  or  more  inju- 
rious to  the  tender  morals  of  the  young, 
than  to  declare  such  profanity  lawful.  It 
would  go  to  confound  all  distinction  be- 
tween things  sacred  and  profane."  "No 
government,"  he  maintained,  "  among  any 
of  the  polished  nations  of  antiquity,  and 
none  of  the  institutions  of  modern  Europe 
(a  single  monitory  case  excepted),  ever 
hazarded  such  a  bold  experiment  upon  the 
solidity  of  the  public  morals  as  to  permit 
with  impunity,  and  under  the  sanction  of 
their  tribunals,  the  general  religion  of  the 
community  to  be  openly  insulted  and  de- 
famed." "  True,"  he  adds,  "  the  Constitu- 
tion has  discarded  religious  establishments. 
It  does  not.  forbid  judicial  cognizance  of 
those  offences  against  religion  and  moral- 
ity which  have  no  reference  to  any  such 
establishment,  or  to  any  particular  form  of 
government,  but  are  punishable  because 
they  strike  at  the  root  of  moral  obligation, 
and  weaken  the  security  of  the  social  ties. 
To  construe  it  as  breaking  down  the  com- 
mon law  barriers  against  licentious,  wan- 
ton, and  impious  attacks  upon  Christiani- 
ty itself,  would  be  an  enormous  perversion 
of  its  meaning."* 

These  just  opinions  were  fully  sustain- 


*  Johnson's  "  Reports,"  p.  290. 


126 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  III. 


ed  by  the  decision  pronounced  in  Penn- 
sylvania, at  the  trial  of  a  man  indicted  for 
blasphemy,  not  against  God  directly,  but 
against  the  Bible  ;  the  design  charged  upon 
him  being  that  of  "  contriving  and  intend- 
ing to  scandalize  and  bring  into  disrepute 
and  vilify  the  Christian  religion  and  the 
Scriptures  of  truth."  On  that  occasion, 
the  late  Judge  Duncan  said,  that  "  even  if 
Christianity  were  not  a  part  of  the  law  of 
the  land,  it  is  the  popular  religion  of  the 
country ;  an  insult  to  which  would  be  in- 
dictable, as  tending  to  disturb  the  public 
peace  ;"  and  added,  "  that  no  society  can 
tolerate  a  wilful  and  despiteful  attempt  to 
subvert  its  religion."* 

The  application  of  the  common  law,  by 
the  courts  of  Pennsylvania,  to  the  protec- 
tion of  clergymen  living  in  the  discharge 
of  their  official  duties,  confirms  all  that  has 
been  said  respecting  the  light  in  which 
Christianity  is  regarded  by  the  state  gov- 
ernments. 

Farther,  every  state  has  laws  for  the 
protection  of  all  religious  meetings  from 
disturbance,  and  these  are  enforced  when 
occasion  requires.  Indeed,  I  am  not  aware 
of  any  offence  that  is  more  promptly  pun- 
ished by  the  police  than  interfering  with 
religious  worship,  whether  held  in  a  church, 
in  a  private  house,  or  even  in  the  forest. 

All  the  states  have  laws  for  the  regula- 
tion of  church  property,  and  of  that  devo- 
ted to  religious  uses.  In  some  states,  ev- 
ery religious  body,  immediately  on  being 
organized,  is  pronounced  de  facto  incorpo- 
rated ;  and  in  none,  generally,  is  there  any 
difficulty  in  procuring  an  act  of  incorpora- 
tion, either  for  churches  or  benevolent  so- 
cieties. 

No  state  allows  the  oath  of  an  atheist  to 
be  received  in  a  court  of  justice,  and  in  one 
only,  in  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  is  that  of  a 
disbeliever  in  a  future  state  of  rewards  and 
punishments  received  as  evidence.  That 
state  is  New- York,  where  the  law  requires 
simply  the  belief  in  a  state  of  rewards 
and  punishments  ;  in  other  words,  if  a  man 
believes  that  there  is  a  God  who  punishes 
men  for  evil  actions,  and  rewards  them 
for  their  good  ones,  whether  in  this  world 
or  in  that  which  is  to  come,  his  oath  will  be 
received  in  a  court  of  justice.  Of  course, 
the  man  who  believes  neither  in  the  exist- 
ence of  God,  nor  in  any  sort  of  divine  pun- 
ishment, cannot  be  sworn,  nor  his  testimo- 
ny be  allowed,  in  a  court  in  that  state. 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  LEGISLATION  OF  THE  STATES  OFTEN 
BEARS  FAVOURABLY,  THOUGH  INCIDENTAL- 
LY,   ON    THE    CAUSE    OF    RELIGION. 

If  there  be  no  Established  Church  in 
any  of  the  states  at  the  present  time,  it  is 

*  11  Sergeant  and  Rawle's  Reports,  p.  394. 


not,  as  we  have  shown,  from  any  want  of 
power  in  the  states  to  create  such  an  es- 
tablishment, but  because  it  has  been  found 
inexpedient  to  attempt  promoting  religion 
in  that  way.  Experience  has  shown  that 
with  us  all  such  establishments  have  been,, 
upon  the  whole,  more  injurious  than  bene- 
ficial. They  have  been  renounced  because, 
from  the  nature  of  the  case,  they  conld 
never  be  made  to  operate  in  such  a  way 
as  not  to  do  some  injustice  to  one  portion 
or  other  of  the  citizens. 

To  this  general  conviction  we  must  as- 
cribe what  appears  at  first  sight  to  be  an 
anomaly  ;  the  power  to  aid  religion  by  le- 
gal enactment  expressly  conferred  in  the 
Constitutions  of  some  of  the  states,*  and 
yet  that  power  suffered  to  lie  dormant,  nor 
is  there  the  least  prospect  of  its  ever  being 
exercised  again.  But  although  the  states 
have  thought  it  best  for  the  interests  of  re- 
ligion itself,  as  well  as  most  equitable  to 
all  classes  of  the  inhabitants,  to  relinquish 
all  attempts  to  promote  religion  by  what 
is  called  an  establishment,  yet  they  have 
deemed  it  neither  unwise  nor  unjust  to 
pursue  the  same  end  indirectly.  Several 
instances  of  this  kind  have  been  stated  al- 
ready ;  we  may  notice  a  few  more. 

The  states  do  much  to  promote  educa- 
tion in  all  its  stages,  though  in  doing  so 
they  often  assist  the  cause  of  religion,  in 
what  might  be  considered  nearly  the  most 
direct  manner  possible.  For  instance,  they 
aid  colleges  directed  by  religious  men,  and 
that,  too,  without  stipulating  for  the  slight- 
est control  over  these  institutions.  On  this 
we  shall  yet  have  occasion  to  speak  more 
at  large,  and  we  introduce  it  here  merely 
to  indicate  what  the  states  are  thus  doing 
for  Christianity  in  the  way  of  concurrence 
with  other  bodies.  Some  states  have  giv- 
en considerable  sums  to  endow  colleges  at 
the  outset.  Others  contribute  annually  to 
their  support,  and  this  while  well  aware 
that  the  colleges  aided  by  such  grants  are 
under  a  decided  religious  influence.  So  is 
it  also  with  the  academies,  of  which  there 
are  several  even  in  the  smallest  states,  and 
many  in  the  largest.  Young  men  are  in- 
structed in  the  classics  and  mathematics 
at  these,  preparatory  to  being  sent  to  col- 
lege, and  as  many  of  them  are  conducted 
by  ministers  of  the  Gospel  and  other  reli- 
gious men,  they  are  nurseries  of  vast  im- 
portance both  for  the  Church  and  the  State. 

Again,  by  promoting  primary  schools, 
the  states  co-operate  in  promoting  reli- 
gion ;  for  mere  intellectual  knowlege,  al- 
though not  religion,  greatly  facilitates  its 
diffusion  by  means  of  books.  In  the  six 
New-England  States,  it  is  long  since  pro- 
vision was  first,  made  by  law  for  the  good 
education  of  every  child  whose  parents 
choose  to  avail  themselves  of  it ;  and,  ac- 

*  Maryland,  New-Hampshire,  and  South  Carolina. 


Chap.  XL] 


LEGISLATION  OF  THE   INDIVIDUAL   STATES. 


127 


cordingly,  hardly  is  there  an  adult  native 
of  those  states  to  be  found  who  cannot 
read.  Some  uneducated  persons  there  are, 
especially  in  Maine,  New-Hampshire,  and 
Rhode  Island,  but  they  are  few  compared 
with  what  may  be  found  in  other  lands. 
In  all  the  six  states,  except  Connecticut, 
each  "  town"  is  required  to  assess  itself  for 
as  many  schools  as  it  may  need.  Connec- 
ticut has  a  school  fund  of  above  2,000,000 
dollars,  yielding  an  annual  revenue  of  above 
112,000  dollars,  and  this  maintains  schools, 
a  part  of  the  year  at  least,  in  every  school 
district  of  the  state.  In  New- York,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  Ohio,  there  are  efficient  pri- 
mary school  systems  in  operation,  sup- 
ported by  law,  and  capable  of  supplying  all 
the  youth  with  education.  The  state  sup- 
port consists  partly  of  the  interest  of  per- 
manent state  funds  set  apart  for  the  pur- 
pose, partly  of  money  raised  in  each  of  the 
townships  by  assessment.  The  systems 
pursued  in  New-Jersey  and  Delaware, 
though  less  efficient,  are  highly  useful. 
Efforts  are  making  in  several  of  the  West- 
ern States  to  introduce  a  like  provision,  and 
a  good  deal  is  done  in  the  Southern  States 
to  educate  the  children  of  the  poor,  by 
means  of  funds  set  apart  for  that  purpose. 

The  instruction  given  in  the  primary 
schools  of  the  United  States  depends  for 
its  character  upon  the  teachers.  Where 
these  are  pious,  they  find  no  difficulty  in 
giving  a  great  deal  of  religious  instruction  ; 
where  they  are  not  so,  but  little  instruc- 
tion is  given  that  can  be  called  religious. 
The  Bible  is  read  in  most  of  the  schools. 

Several  of  the  states  have  liberally  con- 
tributed to  the  establishment  of  asylums 
for  the  deaf  and  dumb,  and  for  the  blind, 
almost  all  of  which  institutions  are  under 
a  decidedly  religious  influence.  The  gov- 
ernments of  several  states  containing  large 
cities,  have  done  much  in  aid  of  the  efforts 
of  philanthropic  individuals  and  associa- 
tions for  establishing  Retreats  or  Houses 
of  Refuge,  where  young  offenders  who 
have  not  gone  hopelessly  astray  may  be 
placed  for  reformation.  These  institutions 
have  been  greatly  blessed. 

Before  concluding  my  remarks  on  the 
indirect  bearing  of  the  State  legislation  in 
America  upon  religion,  I  have  a  few  words 
to  say  on  one  or  two  subjects  connected 
with  religion,  but  different  from  those  al- 
ready mentioned.  One  is  marriage,  which, 
Avith  us,  is  in  a  great  degree  a  civil  institu- 
tion, regulated  by  the  laws  of  each  state, 
prescribing  how  it  should  be  performed. 
In  so  far  as  it  is  a  contract  between  the 
parties,  under  proper  circumstances  of  age, 
consent  of  friends,  sufficient  number  of 
witnesses,  &c,  it  has,  with  us,  no  neces- 
sary connexion  with  religion.  In  all  of 
the  states  it  may  take  place,  if  the  parties 
choose,  before  a  regularly  ordained  minis- 
ter of  the  Gospel,  and  be  accompanied  with 


religious  services.  The  civil  power  de- 
cides within  what  degrees  of  consanguin- 
ity and  affinity  it  may  take  place.  On  this 
point,  and  this  mainly,  can  any  collision 
take  place  between  the  ecclesiastical  and 
civil  authorities.  For  instance,  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
has  lately  decided,  or,  rather,  repeated  a  de- 
cision given  indirectly  some  years  ago, 
that  a  man  may  not  marry  his  deceased 
wife's  sister,  and  pronounced  all  such  mar- 
riages to  be  contrary  to  the  Scriptures,  and 
incestuous.  Such  marriages,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  expressly  allowed  by  the  laws 
of  Connecticut,  and  are  not  forbidden  by 
those  of  any  other  state  excepting  Virgin- 
ia. In  all  cases  of  this  kind,  a  man  must 
make  his  election  as  to  which  he  will  obey 
— the  Church  or  the  State.  As  condem- 
nation by  the  former  subjects  a  man  tc* 
no  civil  penalties,  all  that  he  can  suffer  is 
excommunication. 

As  for  divorces,  they  are  wholly  regula- 
ted by  the  civil  government,  and  fall 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  States.  In 
some  they  are  allowed  for  very  few  cau- 
ses ;  much  more  looseness  of  practice  pre- 
vails in  others.  In  South  Carolina,  I  un- 
derstand that  no  divorce  has  been  granted 
since  it  became  a  state.  In  some  states 
it  belongs  to  the  legislatures  to  grant  di- 
vorces, and  in  others  to  the  courts  of  law. 

What  are  called  mixed  marriages,  or 
marriages  between  Protestants  and  Roman 
Catholics,  which  have  given  rise  to  so 
much  trouble  of  late  in  some  countries  of. 
Europe,  occasion  no  difficulty  with  us. 
Marriage,  by  our  laws,  being  a  civil  con- 
tract, is  held  valid  at  common  law  when- 
ever the  consent  of  the  parties,  supposing 
there  is  no  legal  impediment,  is  expressed 
in  a  way  that  admits  of  proof.  The  refu- 
sal of  a  priest  to  grant  the  nuptial  benedic- 
tion, or  the  sacrament  of  marriage,  except 
upon  conditions  to  which  the  parties  might 
not  be  willing  to  agree,  would  be  of  little 
consequence.  They  have  only  to  go  to 
the  civil  magistrate,  and  they  will  be  mar- 
ried without  the  slightest  difficulty.  No 
Roman  Catholic  priest,  or  Protestant  min- 
ister in  the  United  States,  would  dare  to 
refuse  to  perform  the  ceremony  of  mar- 
riage, unless  for  most  justifiable  reasons  ; 
for  if  he  did,  he  would  soon  hear  of  it  through 
the  press,  which  is  with  us  an  instrument 
for  correcting  any  little  instances  of  tyr- 
anny or  injustice  with  which  any  man,  no 
matter  who,  may  think  fit  to  annoy  per- 
sons placed  in  any  sense  under  his  au- 
thority. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

IN  WHAT  CASES  THE  ACTION  OF  THE  CIVIL  AU- 
THORITY MAY  BE  DIRECTED  IN  REFERENCE 
TO  RELIGION. 

Besides  the  incidental  bearing  which  the 


128 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  III. 


legislation  of  the  individual  states  has 
upon  religion,  and  which  sometimes  comes 
not  a  little  to  its  help,  there  are  cases  in 
which  the  civil  authority  intervenes  more 
directly,  not  in  settling  points  of  doctrine, 
but  in  determining  questions  of  property  ; 
and  these  are  by  no  means  of  rare  occur- 
rence where  there  are  conflicting  claims 
in  individual  churches.  This,  indeed,  has 
happened  twice  at  least,  in  reference  to 
property  held  by  large  religious  denomina- 
tions. The  first  of  these  cases  occurred 
in  New-Jersey,  and  on  that  occasion  the 
courts  decided  upon  the  claims  to  certain 
property,  urged  by  the  Orthodox  and  the 
Hicksites,  two  bodies  into  which  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends,  or  Quakers,  has  been  di- 
vided throughout  the  United  States.  And 
although  the  trial  took  place  on  a  local 
cause,  or,  rather,  for  a  local  claim,  yet  the 
principle  upon  which  it  was  decided  affect- 
ed all  the  property  held  by  Quaker  socie- 
ties in  the  state. 

The  second  case  occurred  recently  in 
Pennsylvania,  where  the  Supreme  Court 
had  to  decide  upon  the  claims  of  the  Old 
and  New  School,  to  certain  property  be- 
longing to  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  on  its  being  divided 
into  two  separate  bodies,  each  of  which 
assumed  the  name  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  Here  the  court  had  of  necessity 
to  decide  which  of  the  two  ought  by  law 
to  be  considered  the  true  representative 
and  successor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
before  its  division.  The  decision,  how- 
ever, did  not  rest  on  doctrinal  grounds,  but 
wholly  on  the  acts  of  the  bodies  them- 
selves, the  court  refusing  to  take  up  the 
question  of  doctrines  at  all,  as  not  being 
within  their  province.  Not  so  in  the  case 
of  the  Quakers  just  referred  to.  There 
the  court,  considered  the  question  of  doc- 
trine, in  order  to  determine  which  body 
was  the  true  Society  of  Friends. 

I  apprehend  that  I  have  now  said  enough 
to  place  the  nature  of  the  mutual  relations 
between  Church  and  State  in  America 
fairly  before  the  reader,  and  will  dismiss 
the  subject  by  giving  some  extracts  from 
a  communication  which  the  Hon.  Henry 
Wheaton,  ambassador  from  the  United 
States  to  the  Court  of  Berlin,  has  had  the 
goodness  to  address  to  me,  and  which  pre- 
sents, in  some  respects,  a  resume,  or  sum- 
mary of  what  may  be  said  on  this  subject : 

"  In  answer  to  your  first  query,  I  should 
say  that  the  State  does  not  view  the  Chris- 
tian Church  as  a  rival  or  an  enemy,  but 
rather  as  an  assistant  or  co-worker  in  the 
religious  and  moral  instruction  of  the  peo- 
ple, which  is  one  of  the  most  important 
duties  of  civil  government. 

"  It  is  not  true  that  the  Church  is  treated 
as  a  stranger  by  the  state. 

"  There  are  ample  laws  in  all  the  states 
of  the  American  Union  for  the  observance 


of  the  Sabbath,  the  securing  of  Church 
property,  and  the  undisturbed  tranquillity 
of  public  worship  by  every  variety  of  Chris- 
tian sects.  The  law  makes  no  distinction 
among  these  sects,  and  gives  to  no  one 
the  predominance  over  the  others.  It  pro- 
tects all  equally,  and  gives  no  political 
privileges  to  the  adherent  of  one  over  those 
of  another  sect. 

"  The  laws  of  the  several  states  author- 
ize the  acquisition  and  holding  of  church 
property,  under  certain  limitations  as  to 
value,  either  by  making  a  special  corpora- 
tion for  that  purpose,  or  through  the  agen- 
cy of  trustees  empowered  under  general 
regulations  for  that  purpose.  Without  go- 
ing into  detail  on  this  subject,  it  is  enough 
to  say  that  they  proceed  upon  the  princi- 
ple of  allowing  the  church  to  hold  a  suffi- 
cient amount  of  real  and  personal  property 
to  enable  it  to  perform  its  appropriate  func- 
tions, and,  at  the  same  time,  to  guard  against 
abuse,  by  allowing  too  great  an  amount  of 
wealth  to  be  perpetually  locked  up  in  mort- 
main by  grants  and  testamentary  disposi- 
tions ad  pios  usus.  In  some  of  the  states 
of  the  Union,  the  English  statute  of  mort- 
main has  been  introduced,  by  which  reli- 
gious corporations  are  disabled  from  ac- 
quiring real  property  unless  by  special 
license  of  the  government.  In  others,  the 
capacity  to  acquire  it  is  regulated  and  lim- 
ited by  the  special  acts  of  legislation  in- 
corporating religious  societies.  The  ec- 
clesiastical corporations  existing  before 
the  Revolution,  which  separated  the  United 
States  from  the  parent  country,  continue 
to  enjoy  the  rights  and  property  which 
they  had  previously  held  under  acts  of  Par- 
liament, or  of  the  provincial  Legislatures. 

"  Blasphemy  is  punished  as  a  criminal 
offence  by  the  laws  of  the  several  states. 

"  Perjury  is,  in  like  manner,  punished  as 
a  crime ;  the  form  of  administering  the 
oath  being  accommodated  to  the  conscien- 
tious views  of  different  religious  sects. 
The  Quakers  are  allowed  to  affirm  solemn- 
ly ;  the  Jews  swear  upon  the  scriptures  of 
the  Old  Testament  only ;  and  certain  Chris- 
tian sects  with  the  uplifted  hand. 

"  There  has  been  much  discussion  among 
our  jurists  as  to  how  the  oaths  of  infidels 
ought  to  be  considered  in  courts  of  justice. 
But,  so  far  as  I  recollect,  the  general  re- 
sult is  to  reject  the  oath  of  such  persons 
only  as  deny  the  being  of  God,  or  a  future 
state  of  rewards  and  punishments,  without 
absolutely  requiring  a  belief  in  revealed 
religion. 

"  The  laws  regulating  marriage  with  us 
are  founded  on  the  precepts  of  Christian- 
ity ;  hence  polygamy  is  absolutely  forbid- 
den, and  punished  as  a  crime  under  the  de- 
nomination of  bigamy.  Marriages  between 
relations  by  blood  in  the  ascending  or  de- 
scending lines,  and  between  collaterals  in 
the  first  degree,  are  absolutely  forbidden  in 


Chap.  I.] 


THE    VOLUNTARY   PRINCIPLE. 


129 


all  the  states ;  and  in  some,  all  marriages 
within  the  Levitical  degrees  are  also  for- 
bidden. 

"  The  common  law  of  England,  which 
requires  consent  merely,  without  any  par- 
ticular form  of  solemnization,  to  render  a 
marriage  legally  valid,  is  adopted  in  those 
states  of  the  American  Union  which  have 
not  enacted  special  legislative  statutes  on 
the  subject.  In  some  of  the  states  mar- 
riage is  required  to  be  solemnized  in  the 
presence  of  a  clergyman  or  magistrate. 

"  All  our  distinguished  men,  so  far  as  I 
know,  are  Christians  of  one  denomination 
or  other.  A  great  reaction  has  taken  place 
Within  the  last  thirty  years  against  the  tor- 
rent of  infidelity  let  in  by  the  superficial 
philosophy  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

"  I  believe  the  separation  of  Church  and 
State  is,  with  us,  considered  almost,  if  not 
universally,  as  a  blessing." 

With  these  extracts,  which  give  the 
views  of  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
statesmen  and  diplomatists  of  America, 
and  which  confirm  the  positions  we  have 
advanced  on  all  the  points  to  which  they 
refer,  we  close  our  remarks  on  the  exist- 
ing relations  between  the  Church  and  State 
in  that  country. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

REVIEW     OF     THE     GROUND     WHICH    WE     HAVE 
GONE    OVER. 

We  have  now  arrived  at  the  close  of  the 
Third  Book  of  this  work. 

We  have  traced  the  religious  character 
of  the  early  colonists  who  settled  in  Amer- 
ica ;  the  religious  establishments  which 
they  planted ;  the  happy  and  the  unhappy 
influences  of  those  establishments ;  their 


overthrow  and  its  consequences  ;  and,  final- 
ly, the  relations  which  have  subsisted  be- 
tween the  churches  and  the  civil  govern- 
ments since  the  Revolution.  We  are  now 
about  to  enter  upon  the  consideration  of 
the  resources  which  the  churches  have 
developed  since  they  have  been  compelled 
to  look,  in  dependance  upon  God's  bless- 
ing, to  their  own  exertions,  instead  of  rely- 
ing on  the  arm  of  the  state. 

A  review  of  the  ground  which  we  have 
gone  over  may  be  given  almost  in  the  very 
words  of  an  able  author,  to  whom  we  have 
been  repeatedly  indebted. 

1.  "  The  first'settlers  of  the  United  States 
went  to  it  as  Christians,  and  with  strong 
intent  to  occupy  the  country  in  that  char- 
acter. 

2.  "  The  lives  they  lived  there,  and  the 
institutions  they  set  up,  were  signalized 
by  the  spirit  and  doctrine  of  the  religion 
they  professed. 

3.  "  The  same  doctrine  and  spirit,  de- 
scending upon  the  patriots  of  the  federal 
era,  entered  largely  into  the  primary  State 
Constitutions  of  the  Republic,  and,  if  anal- 
ogy can  be  trusted,  into  the  constructive 
meaning  of  the  Federal  Charter  itself. 

4.  "  Christianity  is  still  the  popular  reli- 
gion of  the  country. 

5.  "  And,  finally,  notwithstanding  some 
untoward  acts  of  individual  rulers,  it  is  to 
this  day,  though  without  establishments, 
and  with  equal  liberty  to  men's  conscien- 
ces, the  religion  of  the  laws  and  of  the 
government.  If  records  tell  the  truth — if 
annals  and  documents  can  outweigh  the 
flippant  rhetoric  of  licentious  debate,  our 
public  institutions  carry  still  the  stamp  of 
their  origin :  the  memory  of  better  times 
is  come  down  to  us  in  solid  remains  ;  the 
monuments  of  the  fathers  are  yet  standing ; 
and,  blessed  be  God,  the  national  edifice 
continues  visibly  to  rest  upon  them."* 


BOOK    IV. 

THE  VOLUNTARY  PRINCIPLE  IN  AMERICA;   ITS  ACTION  AND 

INFLUENCE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    VOLUNTARY    PRINCIPLE    THE    GREAT    AL- 
TERNATIVE.  THE    NATURE    AND    VASTNESS 

OF    ITS    MISSION. 

The  reader  has  remarked  the  progress  of 
Religious  Liberty  in  the  United  States  from 
the  first  colonization  of  the  country  until 
the  present  time,  and  traced  the  effects  of 
its  successive  developments  in  modifying 
the  relations  between  the  churches  and 
the  state. 

He  has  seen  that  when  that  country  be- 
gan to  be  settled  by  European  emigrants, 


in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, freedom  of  conscience  and  the  rights 
of  the  immortal  mind  were  but  little  un- 
derstood in  the  Old  World.  Those  even 
who  fled  to  the  New,  to  enjoy  this  greatest 
of  all  earthly  blessings,  had  but  an  imper- 
fect apprehension  of  the  subject  and  its 
bearings.  That  which  they  so  highly  pri- 
zed for  themselves,  and  for  the  attainment 
of  which  they  had  made  such  sacrifices, 
they  were  unwilling  to  accord  to  others. 
Not  that  men  were  not  allowed,  in  ev- 


*  "  An  Inquiry  into  the  Moral  and  Religious  Char- 
acter of  the  American  Government,"  p.  139,  140. 


130 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


ery  colony,  to  entertain  whatever  opinions 
they  chose  on  the  subject  of  religion,  if 
they  did  not  endeavour  to  propagate  them 
when  contrary  to  those  of  the  Established 
Church,  where  one  existed.  In  the  colo- 
nies where  the  greatest  intolerance  exist- 
ed, men  were  compelled  to  attend  the  Na- 
tional Church,  but  they  were  not  required, 
in  order  to  be  allowed  a  residence,  to  make 
a  profession  of  the  established  faith.  This 
was  the  lowest  amount  possible  of  reli- 
gious liberty.  Low  as  it  is,  however,  it  is 
not  yet  enjoyed  by  the  native  inhabitants 
of  Italy,  and  some  other  Roman  Catholic 
countries. 

But  it  was  not  long  before  a  step  in  ad- 
vance was  made  by  Virginia  and  Massa- 
chusetts, of  all  the  colonies  the  most  rigid 
in  their  views  of  the  requirements  of  a 
Church  Establishment.  Private  meetings 
of  dissenters  for  the  enjoyment  of  their  own 
modes  of  worship  began  to  be  tolerated. 

A  second  step  was  to  grant  to  such  dis- 
senters express  permission  to  hold  public 
meetings  for  worship,  without  releasing 
them,  however,  from  their  share  of  the 
taxes  to  support  the  Established  Church. 

The  third  step  which  religious  freedom 
made  consisted  in  relieving  dissenters  from 
the  burden  of  contributing  in  any  way  to 
the  support  of  the  Established  Church. 

And,  finally,  the  fourth  and  great  step 
was  to  abolish  altogether  the  support  of 
any  church  by  the  state,  and  place  all,  of 
every  name,  on  the  same  footing  before  the 
law,  leaving  each  church  to  support  itself 
by  its  own  proper  exertions. 

Such  is  the  state  of  things  at  present, 
and  such  it  will  remain.  In  every  state, 
liberty  of  conscience  and  liberty  of  worship 
are  complete.  The  government  extends 
protection  to  all.  Any  set  of  men  who  wish 
to  have  a  church  or  place  of  worship  of 
their  own,  can  have  it,  if  they  choose  to 
erect  or  hire  a  building  at  their  own 
charges.  Nothing  is  required  but  to  com- 
ply with  the  terms  which  the  law  prescribes 
in  relation  to  holding  property  for  public 
uses.  The  proper  civil  authorities  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  creed  of  those  who 
open  such  a  place  of  worship.  They  can- 
not offer  the  smallest  obstruction  to  the 
opening  of  a  place  of  worship  anywhere, 
if  those  who  choose  to  undertake  it  comply 
with  the  simple  terms  of  the  law  in  relation 
to  such  property. 

Nor  can  the  police  authorities  interfere 
to  break  up  a  meeting,  unless  it  can  be 
proved  to  be  a  nuisance  to  the  neighbour- 
hood by  the  disturbance  which  it  occasions, 
or  on  account  of  the  immoral  practices 
which  may  be  committed  in  it ;  not  on  ac- 
count of  the  particular  religious  faith  which 
may  be  there  taught.  All  improper  med- 
dling with  a  religious  meeting,  no  matter 
whether  it  is  held  in  a  church  or  in  a  pri- 
vate house,  would  not  be  tolerated. 


On  the  other  hand,  as  we  have  shown, 
neither  the  General  Government  nor  that 
of  the  States  does  anything  directly  for  the 
maintenance  of  public  worship.  Religion 
is  protected,  and  indirectly  aided,  as  has 
been  proved,  by  both ;  but  nowhere  does 
the  civil  power  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
churches,  or  pay  the  salaries  of  ministers 
of  the  Gospel,  excepting  in  the  case  of  a 
few  chaplains  connected  with  the  public 
service. 

Upon  what,  then,  must  Religion  rely  1 
Only,  under  God,  upon  the  efforts  of  its 
friends,  acting  from  their  own  free  will,  in- 
fluenced by  that  variety  of  considerations 
which  is  ordinarily  comprehended  under 
the  title  of  a  desire  to  do  good.  This,  in 
America,  is  the.  grand  and  only  alternative. 
To  this  principle  must  the  country  look  for 
all  those  efforts  which  must  be  made  for  its 
religious  instruction.  To  the  consideration 
of  its  action,  and  the  development  of  its 
resources,  the  book  upon  which  we  now 
enter  is  devoted. 

Let  us  look  for  a  moment  at  the  work 
which,  under  God's  blessing,  must  be  ac- 
complished by  this  instrumentality. 

The  population  of  the  United  States  in 
1840  was,  by  the  census,  ascertained  to  be 
17,068,606  souls.  At  present  (January, 
1844)  it  surpasses  18,500,000.  Upon  the 
voluntary  principle  alone  depends  the  reli- 
gious instruction  of  this  entire  population, 
embracing  the  thousands  of  churches  and 
ministers  of  the  Gospel,  colleges,  theologi- 
cal seminaries,  Sunday-schools,  missionary 
societies,  and  all  the  other  instrumentalities 
that  are  employed  to  promote  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Gospel  fronl  one  end  of  the 
country  to  the  other.  Upon  the  mere  un- 
constrained good-will  of  the  people,  and 
especially  of  those  among  them  who  love 
the  Saviour  and  profess  His  name,  does 
this  vast  superstructure  rest.  Those  may 
tremble  for  the  result  who  do  not  know 
what  the  human  heart  is  capable  of  doing 
when  left  to  its  own  energies,  moved  and 
sustained  by  the  grace  and  the  love  of  God. 

Still  more  :  not  only  must  all  the  good 
that  is  now  doing  in  that  vast  country,  and 
amid  more  than  18,500,000  of  souls,  be  con- 
tinued by  the  voluntary  principle,  but  the 
increasing  demands  of  a  population  aug- 
menting in  a  ratio  to  which  the  history  of 
the  world  furnishes  no  parallel,  must  be 
met  and  supplied.  And  what  this  will  re- 
quire may  be  conceived  when  we  state  the 
fact  that  the  annual  increase  of  the  popu- 
lation during  the  decade  from  1840  to  1850 
cannot  be  short  of  500,000  upon  an  aver- 
age !  From  1790  to  1800,  the  average  an- 
nual increase  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
country  was  137,609  ;  from  1800  to  1810  it 
was  193,388  ;  from  1810  to  1820  it  was 
239,831  ;  from  1820  to  1830  it  was  322,878  J 
from  1830  to  1840  it  was  420,174.  At  this 
rate  the  annual  increase  from  1840  to  1850 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  VOLUNTARY  PRINCIPLE. 


131 


will,  upon  an  average  of  the  years,  exceed 
500,000.  And  the  whole  increase  of  the  ten 
years  will  exceed  5,000,000  of  souls.  To 
augment  the  number  of  ministers  of  the 
Gospel,  churches,  &c,  so  as  adequately  to 
meet  this  annual  demand,  will  require  great 
exertion. 

At  the  first  sight  of  this  statistical  view 
of  the  case,  some  of  my  readers  will  be 
ready  to  exclaim  that  the  prospect  is  hope- 
less. Others  will  say,  Wo  to  the  cause 
of  religion  if  the  government  does  not  put 
its  shoulders  to  the  wheel !  But  I  answer, 
not  only  in  my  own  name,  but  dare  to  do 
it  in  that  of  every  well-informed  American 
Christian,  "  No  !  we  want  no  more  aid  from 
the  government  than  we  receive,  and  what 
it  so  cheerfully  gives.  The  prospect  is  not 
desperate  so  long  as  Christians  do  their 
duty  in  humble  and  heartfelt  reliance  upon 
God."  If  we  allow  that  80,000  of  this  half 
a  million  of  souls  which  constitutes  the 
annual  increase  of  the  population  are  under 
five  years  of  age,  and  therefore  need  not  be 
taken  into  account  in  calculating  the  re- 
quired increase  of  church  accommodation 
which  must  be  annually  made,  as  being  too 
young  to  be  taken  to  the  sanctuary,  we  have 
420,000  persons  to  provide  for.  This  would 
require  annually  the  building  or  opening  of 
420  churches,  holding  1000  persons  each, 
and  an  increase  of  420  ministers  of  the 
Gospel  ;  or,  what  would  be  much  more 
probable,  840  churches,  each  holding  on  an 
average  500  persons  ;  and  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  preachers  to  occupy  them.  That 
that  number  should  be  840  would  certainly 
be  desirable  ;  and  yet  a  smaller  number 
could  suffice  ;  for  in  many  cases  one  minis- 
ter must,  in  order  to  find  his  support,  preach 
to  two  or  more  congregations.  So,  if  840 
churches  be  not  built  every  year,  something 
equal  to  this  in  point  of  accommodation 
must  be  either  built  or  found  in  some  way 
or  other.  Sometimes  schoolhouses  answer 
the  purpose  in  the  new  settlements  ;  some- 
times private  houses,  or  some  public  build- 
ing, can  make  up  for  the  want  of  a  church. 

Now  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel  to  what 
extent  facts  show  that  provision  is  actually 
made  to  meet  this  vast  demand.  For  the 
present,  all  that  I  contemplate  in  giving 
this  statistical  view  of  the  subject  is,  to  en- 
able the  reader  to  form  some  idea  of  the 
work  to  be  accomplished  on  the  voluntary 
principle  in  America,  if  religion  is  to  keep 
progress  with  the  increase  of  the  popula- 
tion. 


CHAPTER  II. 

FOUNDATION  OF  THE  VOLUNTARY  PRINCIPLE 
TO  BE  SOUGHT  FOR  IN  THE  CHARACTER  AND 
HABITS  OF  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES. 

Some  minuteness  of  detail  will  be  found 


necessary  in  order  to  give  the  reader  a 
proper  idea  of  the  manifestations  of  what 
has  been  called  the  voluntary  principle  in 
the  United  States,  and  to  trace  it  through- 
out all  its  many  ramifications  there.  But, 
before  entering  upon  this,  I  would  fain 
give  him  a  right  conception  of  the  charac- 
ter of  the  people,  as  being  that  to  which 
the  principle  referred  to  mainly  owes  its 
success. 

Enough  has  been  said  in  former^parts 
of  this  work  to  show,  that  whether  we  look 
to  the  earlier  or  later  emigrations  to  Amer- 
ica, no  small  energy  of  character  must 
have  been  required  in  the  emigrants  before 
venturing  on  such  a  step  :  and  with  regard 
to  the  first  settlers  in  particular,  that  no- 
thing but  the  force  of  religious  principle 
could  have  nerved  them  to  encounter  the 
difficulties  of  all  kinds  that  beset  them. 
But  if  great  energy,  self-reliance,  and  en- 
terprise be  the  natural  attributes  of  the 
original  emigrant,  as  he  quits  all  the  en- 
dearments of  home,  and  the  comforts  and 
luxuries  of  states  far  advanced  in  civiliza- 
tion, for  a  life  in  the  woods,  amid  wild 
beasts,  and  sometimes  wilder  men,  pesti- 
lential marshes,  and  privations  innumera- 
ble, the  same  qualities  are  very  much 
called  forth  by  colonial  life,  after  the  first 
obstacles  have  been  overcome.  It  accus- 
toms men  to  disregard  trifling  difficulties, 
to  surmount  by  their  own  efforts  obstacles 
which,  in  other  states  of  society,  would 
repel  all  such  attempts,  and  themselves  to 
do  many  things  which,  in  different  circum- 
stances, they  would  expect  others  to  do 
for  them. 

Moreover,  the  colonies  were  thrown  very 
much  on  their  own  resources  from  the  first. 
England  expended  very  little  upon  them. 
Beyond  maintaining  a  few  regiments  from 
time  to  time,  in  scattered  companies, 
at  widely-separated  points,  and  supplying 
some  cannon  and  small  arms,  she  did  al- 
most nothing  even  for  the  defence  of  the 
country.  In  almost  every  war  with  the 
Indians,  the  colonial  troops  alone  carried  on 
the  contest.  Instead  of  England  helping 
them,  they  actually  helped  her  incompara- 
bly more  in  her  wars  against  the  French,  in 
the  Canadas,  and  in  the  provinces  of  New- 
Brunswick  and  Cape  Breton,  when  they 
not  only  furnished  men,  but  bore  almost 
the  whole  charge  of  maintaining  them. 
Then  came  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
which,  in  calling  forth  all  the  nation's  en- 
ergies during  eight  long  years,  went  far  to 
cherish  that  vigour  and  independence  of 
character  which  had  so  remarkably  distin- 
guished the  first  colonists. 

And  although  in  some  of  the  colonies 
the  Church  and  State  were  united  from 
the  first,  the  law  did  little  more  than  pre- 
scribe how  the  churches  were  to  be  main- 
tained. It  made  some  men  give  grudging- 
ly, who  would  otherwise  have  given  little 


132 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


or  nothing  ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  lim- 
ited others  to  a  certain  fixed  amount,  who, 
if  left  to  themselves,  would  perhaps  have 
given  more. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  thousand 
pounds  for  building  some  of  the  earliest 
colleges,  and  a  few  more,  chiefly  from 
Scotland,  for  the  support  of  missionaries, 
most  of  whom  laboured  among  the  Indians, 
I  am  not  aware  of  any  aid  received  from 
the  mether-country,  or  from  any  other  part 
of  Europe,  for  religious  purposes  in  our 
colonial  days.  I  do  not  state  this  by  way 
of  reproach,  but  as  a  simple  fact.  The 
Christians,  not  only  of  Great  Britain,  but 
of  Holland  and  Germany  also,  were  ever 
willing  to  aid  the  cause  of  religion  in  the 
colonies  ;  they  did  what  they  could,  or, 
rather,  what  the  case  seemed  to  require, 
and  the  monuments  of  their  piety  and  lib- 
erality remain  to  this  day.  Still,  the  col- 
onists, as  was  their  duty,depended  mainly 
on  their  own  efforts.  In  several  of  the 
colonies  there  was  from  the  first  no  Church 
Establishment ;  in  two  of  those  which  pro- 
fessed to  have  one,  the  state  never  did 
anything  worth  mention  for  the  support  of 
the  churches  ;  and  in  all  cases  the  dissent- 
ers had  to  rely  on  their  own  exertions. 
In  process  of  time,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
union  of  Church  and  State  came  gradually 
to  an  end  throughout  the  whole  country, 
and  all  religious  bodies  were  left  to  their 
own  resources. 

Thus  have  the  Americans  been  trained 
vO  exercise  the  same  energy,  self-reliance, 
and  enterprise  in  the  cause  of  religion 
which  they  exhibit  in  other  affairs.  Thus, 
as  we  shall  see,  when  a  new  church  is 
called  for,  the  people  first  inquire  whether 
they  cannot  build  it  at  their  own  cost,  and 
ask  help  from  others  only  after  having 
done  all  they  think  practicable  among 
themselves  ;  a  course  which  often  leads 
them  to  find  that  they  can  accomplish  by 
their  own  efforts  what,  at  first,  they  hard- 
ly dared  to  hope  for. 

Besides,  there  has  grown  up  among  the 
truly  American  part  of  the  population  a 
feeling  that  religion  is  necessary  even  to 
the  temporal  well-being  of  society,  so  that 
many  contribute  to  its  promotion,  though 
not  themselves  members  of  any  of  the 
churches.  This  sentiment  may  be  found 
in  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  es- 
pecially among  the  descendants  of  the  first 
Puritan  colonists  of  New-England.  1  shall 
have  occasion  hereafter  to  give  an  illus- 
tration of  it. 

These  remarks  point  the  reader  to  the 
true  secret  of  the  success  of  the  voluntary 
plan  in  America.  The  people  feel  that 
they  can  help  themselves,  and  that  it  is  at 
once  a  duty  and  a  privilege  to  do  so.  Should 
a  church  steeple  come  to  the  ground,  or 
the  roof  be  blown  away,  or  any  other  such 
accident   happen,  instead   of  looking  to 


some  government  official  for  the  means  of 
needful  repair,  a  few  of  them  put  their 
hands  into  their  pockets,  and  supply  these 
themselves,  without  delay  or  the  risk  of 
vexatious  refusals  from  public  functiona 
ries. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HOW    CHURCH     EDIFICES     ARE     BUILT     IN     TH& 
CITIES   AND  LARGE   TOWNS. 

The  question  has  often  been  proposed  to 
me  during  my  residence  in  Europe,  "  How 
do  you  build  your  churches  in  America, 
since  the  government  gives  no  aid  V 

Different  measures  are  pursued  in  differ- 
ent places.  I  shall  speak  first  of  those 
commonly  adopted  in  the  cities  and  large 
towns.  There  a  new  church  is  built  by 
what  is  called  "  colonizing :"  that  is,  the 
pastor  and  other  officers  of  a  large  church, 
which  cannot  accommodate  all  its  mem- 
bers, after  much  conference,  on  being  sat- 
isfied that  a  new  church  is  called  for,  pro- 
pose that  a  commencement  be  made  by 
certain  families  going  out  as  a  colony,  to 
carry  the  enterprise  into  effect,  and  engage 
to  assist  them  with  their  prayers  and  coun- 
sels, and,  if  need  be,  also  with  their  purses. 
Upon  this,  such  as  are  willing  to  engage 
in  the  undertaking  go  to  work.  Some- 
times individuals  or  families  from  two  or 
more  churches  of  the  same  denomination 
coalesce  in  the  design. 

Or  a  few  gentlemen,  interested  in  reli- 
gion, whether  all  or  any  of  them  are  mem- 
bers of  a  church  or  not,  after  conferring  on 
the  importance  of  having  another  church  in 
some  part  of  the  city  where  an  increase  of 
the  population  seems  to  require  it,  resolve 
that  one  shall  be  built.  Each  then  subscribes 
what  he  thinks  he  can  afford,  and  subscrip- 
tions may  afterward  be  solicited  from  oili- 
er gentlemen  of  property  and  liberality  in 
the  place,  likely  to  aid  such  an  undertaking. 
Enough  may  thus  be  obtained  to  justify  a 
commencement ;  a  committee  is  appointed 
to  purchase  a  site  for  a  building,  and  to  su- 
perintend its  erection.  When  finished,  it 
is  opened  for  public  worship,  a  pastor  is 
called,  and  then  the  pews,  which  are  gen- 
erally large  enough  to  accommodate  a  fam- 
ily each,  are  disposed  of  at  a  sort  of  auc- 
tion to  the  highest  bidder.  In  this  way, 
the  sum  which  may  be  required,  in  addition 
to  the  original  subscriptions,  is  at  once 
made  up.  The  total  cost,  indeed,  is  some- 
times met  by  the  sums  received  for  the 
pews,  but  much  depends  upon  the  situation 
and  comfort  of  the  building,  and  the  popu- 
larity of  the  preacher. 

The  pews  are  always  sold  under  the 
condition  of  punctual  payment  of  the  sums 
to  be  levied  upon  them  annually,  for  the 
pastor's  support  and  other  expenses  ;  fail- 


Chap.  III.] 


CHURCHES    IN    CITIES    AND   TOWNS. 


133 


ing  which,  after  allowing  a  reasonable  time, 
they  are  resold  to  other  persons.  But  if 
all  the  required  conditions  be  fulfilled,  they 
become  absolutely  the  purchaser's,  and 
may  be  bequeathed  or  sold  like  any  other 
property. 

Instead  of  being  sold  in  fee-simple,  the 
pews  are  sometimes  merely  rented  from 
year  to  year.  This  prevails  more  in  large 
towns  and  villages  than  in  cities,  and  in 
such  cases  the  churches  must  be  built  sole- 
ly by  "  subscription,"  as  it  is  called,  that 
is,  by  sums  contributed  for  that  special  ob- 
ject. Should  these  prove,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, insufficient,  a  second,  and  perhaps 
a  third  subscription  follows,  after  a  longer 
or  shorter  interval. 

The  seats  in  some  churches,  even  of  our 
largest  cities,  are  free  to  all.  Such  is  the 
case  with  all  the  Quaker,  and  most  of  the 
Methodist  meeting-houses  ;  these  are  oc- 
cupied on  what  is  called  the  "  free-seat" 
plan,  and  have  the  advantage  of  being  at- 
tended with  less  restraint,  especially  by 
strangers  or  persons  who  may  not  have  the 
means  to  pay  for  seats.  But  there  are 
disadvantages  also  in  this  plan.  Families 
•who  regularly  attend,  and  who  may  bear 
the  expense  of  the  church,  have  no  certain 
place  where  all  may  sit  together,  and  in 
case  of  being  delayed  a  little  longer  than 
usual,  may  find  it  difficult  to  get  seats  at 
all.  The  Methodist  churches,  according- 
ly, are  coming  more  and  more  into  the 
other  plan  in  our  large  cities.  Where  they 
have  not  done  so,  and  also  in  the  Quaker 
meeting-houses,  the  males  occupy  one  half 
of  the  house,  the  females  the  other  ;  a  rule, 
however,  observed  more  constantly  in  the 
latter  than  in  the  former  body.  Church 
edifices,  or  meeting-houses,  on  the  free- 
seat  plan,  must,  of  course,  be  built  by  sub- 
scription alone. 

A  more  common  practice  in  forming 
new  congregations,  and  erecting  church 
edifices,  is  this  :  The  families  who  engage 
in  the  undertaking  first  obtain  some  place 
for  temporary  service — the  lecture-room 
attached  to  some  other  church,  a  court- 
house, a  schoolroom,  or  some  other  such 
building* — and  there  they  commence  their 


*  In  Philadelphia  there  is  a  building  called  the 
Academy,  built  for  Mr.  Whitfield's  meetings,  the 
upper  part  of  which  is  now  divided  into  two  rooms, 
each  capable  of  containing  400  or  500  people,  and 
both  constantly  used  as  places  of  worship,  one  per- 
manently by  the  Methodists.  The  other  has  been 
occupied  temporarily  by  colonies,  which  have  grown 
into  churches,  and  then  gone  off  to  houses  which 
they  have  built  for  themselves.  In  this  way  that  one 
room,  as  I  have  often  been  told,  has  been  the  birth- 
place, as  it  were,  of  more  than  twenty  different 
churches.  It  is  rented  to  those  who  wish  to  occupy 
it  by  the  corporation,  to  which  it  belongs.  In  the 
lower  story  there  are  schools  held  throughout  the 
week. 

The  chapel  of  the  University  of  New-York  is  used 
for  the  same  purpose ;  and  the  Court-houses  through- 
out all  the  land,  and  even  some  of  the  State-houses — 
that  is,  those  in  which  the  Legislatures  of  the  several 


regular  Sabbath  services  at  the  usual  hours. 
After  announcing  their  intention  by  public 
advertisement,  they  proceed  to  organize  a 
church,  that  is,  a  body  of  believers,  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  of  the  communion  to  which 
they  belong.  If  Presbyterians,  the  Pres- 
bytery appoints  a  committee  to  organize 
the  church  according  to  the  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline, by  the  appointment  and  consecra- 
tion to  office  of  ruling  elders,  after  which 
it  falls  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery. 
A  pastor  is  next  called  and  regularly  in- 
ducted. Meanwhile,  the  congregation  may 
be  supposed  to  be  increasing,  until  strong 
enough  to  exchange  their  temporary  for  a 
permanent  place  of  worship.  In  this  way 
new  swarms  are  every  year  leaving  the 
old  hives,  if  1  may  so  speak,  in  our  large 
cities,  and  new  church  edifices  are  rising 
in  various  localities  where  the  population 
is  extending. 

The  church  edifices  in  the  chief  towns 
and  cities  are,  generally  speaking,  large 
and  substantial  buildings,  especially  in  the 
more  densely-settled  districts.  Those  in 
the  suburbs  are  often  smaller,  and  not  ex- 
pected to  be  more  than  temporary,  as  they 
give  place  to  larger  and  better  structures 
in  a  few  years.  In  the  cities  and  larger 
towns,  whether  on  the  Atlantic  slope  or 
in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  they  are, 
in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  built  of  brick ;  a 
few  are  of  stone  ;  and  in  the  New-England 
cities  and  towns  of  second  and  third  rate 
size,  they  are  often  built  of  wood. 

As  for  the  cost  of  church  edifices,  it  is 
difficult  to  speak  precisely  where  the  coun- 
try is  so  extensive.  In  the  suburbs  of  our 
large  cities  on  the  seaboard,  from  Port- 
land, in  Maine,  to  New-Orleans,  some  may 
not  have  cost  more  than  from  5000  to  10,000 
dollars  ;  but  in  the  older  and  more  densely- 
peopled  parts  of  those  cities,  they  generally 
cost  20,000  dollars  and  upward.  Some  have 
cost  60,000  or  80,000,  and  yet  are  compara- 
tively plain,  though  very  chaste  and  sub- 
stantial buildings.  A  few  have  cost  above 
100,000,*  without  including  such  as  Trinity 
Church  at  New- York,  belonging  to  the  Epis- 
copalians, or  the  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral 
at  Baltimore,  for  these  very  elegant  and  ex- 
pensive buildings  have  cost  at  least  300,000, 
if  not  more. |    There  may  have  been,  in 


States  assemble — are  allowed  to  be  used  as  places 
of  worship  on  the  Sabbath  in  a  case  of  exigency. 

*  The  church  in  which  the  late  eloquent  Dr.  Ma- 
son was  last  settled  as  a  minister  in  New- York,  cost, 
I  believe,  rather  more  than  100,000  dollars.  It  was 
an  excellent,  large,  tasteful,  substantial,  brick  build- 
ing. Yet  it,  and  some  others  in  the  lower  parts  of 
the  city,  whence  business  is  driving  the  people  to 
the  upper  part,  have  been  torn  down,  and  their  sites 
are  covered  with  shops  and  counting-rooms.  The 
congregations  have  mainly  emigrated  to  about  a  mile 
and  a  half,  or  two  miles  northward.  So  matters  go 
in  our  London. 

t  Trinity  Church  is  not  yet  finished.  It  is  a  re- 
markably fine  specimen  of  Gothic  architecture.  I 
have  not  heard  what  the  cost  will  be,  but,  including 


134 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


some  cases,  a  useless  expenditure  of  mon- 
ey on  interior  decorations,  but  in  general, 
the  churches,  even  in  our  largest  cities, 
are  neat  and  rather  plain  buildings  exter- 
nally, but  exceedingly  comfortable  within. 

The  village  churches  of  New-England 
are,  for  the  most  part,  constructed  of  wood ; 
that  is,  of  beams  framed  together  and  cov- 
ered with  boards  :  and  being  almost  univer- 
sally painted  white  and  surmounted  with 
steeples,  they  have  a  beautiful  appearance. 
The  church-going  bell  every  Sabbath  sends 
forth  its  notes  far  and  wide  amid  the  hills 
and  dales  of  that  interesting  country.  In 
other  parts  of  the  Atlantic  States,  though 
often  of  wood,  like  those  of  New-England, 
they  are  still  oftener  of  brick  or  stone,  or 
of  unpainted  frames  and  boards,  which  is 
especially  the  case  in  the  South. 

Any  one  may  be  satisfied,  by  careful  in- 
quiry, that  even  our  cities  and  large  towns, 
as  respects  churches,  may  well  bear  a  com- 
parison with  the  best  supplied  in  any  part 
of  Europe.  Boston,  for  instance,  in  18-10, 
had  fifty-eight  churches,  many  of  which 
could  accommodate  from  1000  to  1500  per- 
sons, and  that  for  a  population  of  about 
88,000  souls.  New- York  had  that  year 
159  churches  for  about  310,000  inhabitants  ; 
namely,  forty-one  Presbyterian,  of  all 
shades  ;  fourteen  Reformed  Dutch  ;  twen- 
ty-seven Episcopal ;  eighteen  Methodist ; 
eighteen  Baptist ;  eight  Roman  Catholic  ; 
nine  African  (Methodist,  Episcopal,  Bap- 
tist, and  Presbyterian) ;  five  Friends'  meet- 
ing-houses ;  three  Lutheran  ;  three  Mora- 
vian ;  three  synagogues  (there  are  now 
five  or  six) ;  two  Unitarian  ;  three  Univer- 
salist ;  four  Welsh  and  smaller  denomina- 
tions ;  and  two  Mariners'  churches.  This 
is  from  a  published  statement  which  may 
be  depended  upon  as  rather  within  the 
truth.  The  church  accommodation  of  the 
Protestant  population  is  in  much  higher 
proportion  to  their  numbers  than  that  of 
the  Roman  Catholics  to  theirs,  partly  ow- 
ing, no  doubt,  to  the  liturgical  services  of 
the  latter  requiring  less  church  accommo- 
dation than  the  "  sermon  preaching"  of 
the  former. 

Philadelphia  is  better  supplied  with 
churches  than  New- York.  Those  of  all  the 
leading  denominations  there  have  greatly 
increased  during  the  last  few  years.  The 
Methodists,  I  learn  from  one  of  their  best- 
informed  ministers,  have,  in  the  course  of 
the  last  fifteen  years,  built  in  the  city  and 
suburbs  above  twenty  churches,  most  of 
which  are  capacious  buildings  ;  and  the 
Episcopalians  and  Presbyterians  have  in- 
creased the  number  of  theirs  nearly  in  the 
same  proportion.  But  our  second  and  third 
rate  cities  and  large  towns  are  far  better 
supplied  than  either  of  these  two  places. 
Salem,  in  Massachusetts,  for  a  population 


the  value  of  the  ground,  I  should  think  it  cannot  be 
less  than  300,000  dollars,  and  may  amount  to  500,000. 


of  16,000  souls,  has  fifteen  churches  ;  New- 
Haven,  for  about  14,000  souls,  has  thirteen, 
many  of  which  are  of  large  size  ;  Pough- 
keepsie,  on  the  Hudson,  has  9000  inhabi- 
tants and  twelve  churches ;  Troy  had,  in 
1840,  a  population  of  25,000  souls,  and  fif- 
teen churches,  and  several  of  those  very 
large.  Newark,  in  New-Jersey,  has  about 
20,000  inhabitants  and  seventeen  churches; 
Rochester  22,000  inhabitants  and  twenty- 
two  churchers. 

On  this  head  the  reader  is  referred  to 
the  works  of  Drs.  Reed  and  Matheson,  and 
to  that  of  Dr.  Lang,  as  containing  much  ac- 
curate information  with  respect  to  church 
accommodation  in  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HOW  CHURCHES   ARE    BUILT   IN   THE    NEW  SET- 
TLEMENTS. 

But  it  is  in  the  building  of  places  of  wor- 
ship in  the  new  settlements  of  the  Western 
States,  and  in  the  villages  that  are  spring- 
ing up  in  the  more  recently-peopled  parts 
of  those  bordering  on  the  Atlantic,  that 
we  see  the  most  remarkable  development 
of  the  voluntary  principle.  Let  me  illus- 
trate by  a  particular  case  what  is  daily 
occurring  in  both  these  divisions  of  the 
country. 

Let  us  suppose  a  settlement  commen- 
ced in  the  forest,  in  the  northern  part  of 
Indiana,  and  that  in  the  course  of  three  or 
four  years  a  considerable  number  of  emi- 
grants have  established  themselves  within 
a  mile  or  two  of  each  other,  in  the  woods. 
Each  clears  away  by  degrees  a  part  of  the 
surrounding  forest,  and  fences  in  his  new 
fields,  in  the  midst  of  which  the  deadened 
trees  still  stand  very  thickly.  By  little 
and  little  the  country  shows  signs  of  occu- 
pation by  civilized  man. 

In  the  centre  of  the  settlement  a  little 
village  begins  to  form  around  a  tavern  and 
a  blacksmith's  shop.  A  carpenter  places 
himself  there  as  at  a  convenient  centre. 
So  do  the  tailor,  the  shoemaker,  the  wag- 
on-maker, and  the  hatter.  Nor  is  the  son 
of  iEsculapius  wanting;  perhaps  he  is  most 
of  all  needed ;  and  it  will  be  well  if  two  or 
three  of  his  brethren  do  not  soon  join  him. 
The  merchant,  of  course,  opens  his  maga- 
zine there.  And  if  there  be  any  prospect 
of  the  rising  village,  though  the  deadened 
trees  stand  quite  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
streets,  becoming  the  seat  of  justice  for  a 
new  county,  there  will  soon  be  half  a 
dozen  young  expounders  of  the  law  to  in- 
crease the  population,  and  offer  their  ser- 
vices to  those  who  have  suffered  or  com- 
mitted some  injustice. 

Things  will  hardly  have  reached  this 
point  before  some  one  amid  this  hetero- 
geneous population,  come  from  different 


Chap.  IV.] 


CHURCHES   IN   NEW   SETTLEMENTS. 


135 


points  of  the  older  states,  intermixed  with 
wanderers  from  Europe — Irish,  Scotch,  or 
German — proposes  that  they  should  think 
of  having  a  church,  or,  at  least,  some  place 
of  worship.  It  is  ten  chances  to  one  if 
there  be  not  one  or  more  pious  women,  or 
some  pious  man  with  his  family,  who  sigh 
for  the  privileges  of  the  sanctuary,  as  once 
enjoyed  by  them  in  the  distant  East.  What 
is  to  be  done  ]  Some  one  proposes  that 
they  should  build  a  good  large  school- 
house,  which  may  serve  also  for  holding  re- 
ligious meetings,  and  this  is  scarcely  soon- 
er proposed  than  accomplished.  Though 
possibly  made  of  mere  logs  and  very  plain, 
it  will  answer  the  purpose  for  a  few  years. 
Being  intended  for  the  meetings  of  all  de- 
nominations of  Christians,  and  open  to  all 
preachers  who  may  be  passing,  word  is 
sent  to  the  nearest  in  the  neighbourhood. 
Ere  long  some  Baptist  preacher,  in  pass- 
ing, preaches  in  the  evening,  and  is  follow- 
ed by  a  Presbyterian  and  a  Methodist. 
By-and-by  the  last  of  these  arranges  his 
circuit  labours  so  as  to  preach  there  once 
in  a  fortnight,  and  the  minister  of  some 
Presbyterian  congregation,  ten  or  fifteen 
miles  off,  agrees  to  come  and  preach  once 
a  month. 

Meanwhile,  from  the  increase  of  the  in- 
habitants, the  congregations,  on  the  Sab- 
bath particularly,  become  too  large  for  the 
schoolhouse.  A  church  is  then  built  of 
framed  beams  and  boards,  forming  no  mean 
ornament  to  the  village,  and  capable  of 
accommodating  some  200  or  300  people. 
Erected  for  the  public  good,  it  is  used  by 
all  the  sects  in  the  place,  and  by  others 
besides.  For  were  a  Swedenborgian  min- 
ister to  come  and  have  notice  given  that 
he  would  preach,  he  might  be  sure  of  find- 
ing a  congregation,  though,  as  the  sect  is 
small  in  America,  and  by  many  hardly  so 
much  as  heard  of,  he  might  not  have  a 
single  hearer  that  assents  to  his  views. 
But  it  will  not  be  long  before  the  Presby- 
terians, Methodists,  or  Baptists  feel  that 
they  must  have  a  minister  on  whose  ser- 
vices they  can  count  with  more  certainty, 
and  hence  a  church,  also,  for  themselves. 
.And  at  last  the  house,  which  was  a  joint- 
stock  affair  at  first,  falls  into  the  hands  of 
some  one  of  the  denominations  and  is 
abandoned  by  the  others,  who  have  mostly 
provided  each  one  for  itself.  Or  it  may 
remain  for  the  occasional  service  of  some 
passing  Roman  Catholic  priest,  or  Uni- 
versalist  preacher.* 

Such  is  the  process  continually  going 
on  in  the  West,  and,  indeed,  something  of 


*  In  some  places  in  the  Southwestern  States,  the 
primitive  and  temporary  churches  built  for  all  de- 
nominations, in  the  new  villages  or  settlements,  are 
called  "  Republican  churches ;"  that  is,  churches 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  public  rather  than  for 
any  one  sect.  Large  schoolhouses,  also,  erected  for 
the  double  purpose  of  teaching  and  preaching,  are 
called  Republican  meeting-houses. 


a  like  kind  is  taking  place  every  year,  in 
hundreds  of  instances,  throughout  all  the 
states.  Settlers  of  one  denomination  are 
sometimes  sufficiently  numerous  in  one 
place  to  build  a  church  for  themselves  at 
the  outset,  but  in  most  cases  they  hold  their 
first  meetings  for  worship  in  schoolrooms 
or  private  houses. 

The  rapid  increase  of  the  population  in 
some  of  the  new  villages  and  towns  of  the 
West,  when  favourably  situated  for  trade, 
is  astonishing,  and  strikes  one  particularly 
in  its  early  stages.  Thus,  when  in  the 
State  of  Alabama  in  February,  1831,  I  vis- 
ited the  town  of  Montgomery  in  company 
with  a  worthy  Baptist  minister,  in  the 
course  of  an  extensive  tour  through  the 
Western  States  in  behalf  of  one  of  our 
benevolent  societies.  It  was  then  hardly 
more  than  a  large  village.  On  the  night 
of  the  second  of  the  two  days  we  spent  in 
it,  we  preached  in  a  large  schoolhouse, 
which,  if  I  remember  rightly,  was  the  only 
place  for  holding  religious  meetings  exist- 
ing there  at  the  time.  We  had  a  good 
congregation,  though  a  circus  was  held 
hard  by.  Just  three  years  after,  when  re- 
peating the  same  tour,  I  spent  a  Sabbath 
and  one  or  two  days  more  at  the  same 
spot,  but  under  amazingly  different  circum- 
stances. In  the  morning  I  preached  in  a 
Presbyterian  church  built  of  frames  and 
covered  with  boards,  and  every  way  com- 
fortable, to  at  least  600  persons.  The 
church,  which  reckoned  100  members,  had 
got  a  young  man  as  pastor,  to  whom  they 
gave  a  yearly  stipend  of  $1000.  At  night 
I  preached  in  a  Baptist  church,  built  of 
brick,  but  not  quite  finished,  which  could 
hold  300  persons  at  least.  Besides  these, 
there  were  one  Methodist  Episcopal  and 
one  Protestant  Methodist  church,  each,  in 
so  far  as  I  can  recollect,  as  large  as  the 
Baptist  church.  Then  there  was  an  Epis- 
copal church,  not  less  in  size,  though  prob- 
ably with  a  smaller  congregation,  than  the 
Baptist  church.  And,  withal,  there  was  a 
Roman  Catholic  church,  though  not  a  large 
one,  I  believe.  All  this  after  an  interval 
of  only  three  years  !  Eventful  years  they 
had  been.  A  revival  of  religion,  which 
took  place  during  one  of  them,  had  brought 
many  souls  to  the  knowledge  of  salvation. 

This  was,  it  is  true,  an  extraordinary 
case,  yet  something  very  similar  in  kind, 
although  not  in  degree,  is  going  on  at  a 
great  many  points  in  the  West.  I  know 
not  what  reverses  the  town  of  Montgom- 
ery may  have  since  undergone,  but  what  I 
have  stated  occurred,  I  know,  between  the 
years  1831  and  1834. 

On  the  Genesee  River,  a  few  miles  above 
its  entrance  into  Lake  Ontario,  in  the  State 
of  New- York,  stands  a  town,  incorporated 
as  a  city,  called  Rochester.  The  place  is 
famous  for  the  vast  quantity  of  flour  made 
at  its   mills.     Twenty-five  years  ago,  it 


136 


RELIGION  IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


could  show  but  a  few  houses  scattered  here 
and  there,  where  now  there  is  a  well-built 
and  flourishing  city,  containing,  when  I 
was  there  about  two  years  ago,  22,000  in- 
habitants, and  twenty-two  churches,  many 
of  which  were  large  and  fine  buildings, 
capable  of  accommodating  congregations 
of  from  1000  to  1200  persons  each.  Among 
these  churches  there  were  two  for  Ger- 
mans, and  another,  I  learned,  was  soon  to 
be  erected  for  French  and  Swiss. 

Churches  and  church  property  of  every 
description  are  held,  in  the  United  States, 
by  trustees  chosen  by  the  congregation  to 
which  they  belong.  The  laws  of  almost 
every  state  provide  for  this.  These  trus- 
tees, who  may  be  two,  three,  or  more  in 
number,  are  authorized  to  act  for  the  con- 
gregation, to  whom  they  report,  from  time 
to  time,  the  state  of  the  common  funds. 
They  are  charged,  in  most  cases,  with  the 
collection  of  the  pastor's  salary,  as  well 
as  with  the  general  collection  and  outlay 
of  money  for  the  congregation.  Without 
their  consent  the  church  edifice  cannot  be 
given  to  any  other  than  the  ordinary  reli- 
gious services  of  the  sanctuary. 

In  some  cases,  several,  if  not  all  of  the 
churches  in  a  city,  belonging  to  a  particu- 
lar communion,  are  held  by  a  common 
board  of  trustees.  All  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal churches  of  New- York  are  so  held. 
One  corporation  has  the  proprietorship  of 
four  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  churches  in 
that  city,  and  another  holds  Trinity  Church, 
and  perhaps  some  others  belonging  to  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  denomination.  In  all 
denominations,  according  to  general  prac- 
tice, each  particular  church  and  congrega- 
tion has  its  own  trustees,  and  manages  its 
own  "  temporal"  affairs,  being  such  as  re- 
late to  the  church  edifice,  the  ground  on 
which  it  stands,  and  any  other  property  or 
stocks  belonging  to  it ;  and  it  is  only  on 
questions  of  right  to  property  that  the  Civil 
Courts,  or  even  the  State  Legislatures,  or 
Congress  itself,  can  ever  meddle  with  the 
affairs  of  the  churches. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  VOLUNTARY  PRINCIPLE  DEVELOPED. HOW 

THE  SALARIES  OF  THE  PASTORS  ARE  RAISED. 

Under  this  head  we  find  different  meas- 
ures adopted  by  different  churches,  and  in 
different  parts  of  the  country. 

Universally  where  the  seats  and  pews 
are  the  property  of  individuals  or  families, 
and  generally  where  they  are  rented  by  the 
year,  the  salaries  of  the  pastors,  and  some- 
times all  the  incidental  expenses,  are  raised 
by  a  certain  yearly,  half-yearly,  or  quarterly 
rate  upon  each  pew.  The  proportion  for 
each  pew  is  fixed  by  the  trustees,  or  by  the 
elders,  or  by  a  committee  appointed  for 
that  special  purpose,  but  in  most  cases  by 


the  trustees,  where  there  are  such.  Where 
the  seats  are  free,  as  is  the  case  with  very 
many  churches  of  all  denominations  in  the 
interior  of  the  country,  the  minister's  sal- 
ary is  raised  by  yearly  subscription.  In  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  churches,  with  few 
exceptions,  the  ministers  are  supported  by 
collections  among  the  members,  quarterly 
public  collections,  &c.  Sometimes,  also, 
recourse  is  partially  had  to  subscriptions, 
especially  where  there  are  "  stationed"  or 
non-itinerating  ministers. 

Among  the  Protestant  denominations, 
the  amount  of  the  pastor's  salary  is  deter- 
mined, in  most  cases,  by  the  churches 
themselves.  In  the  Methodist  churches, 
the  amount  is  fixed  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence. In  ordinary  cases,  he  receives  so 
much  for  himself,  a  like  sum  for  his  wife, 
and  so  much  for  each  of  his  children,  ac- 
cording to  their  ages,  with  certain  perqui- 
sites besides,  such  as  a  family  dwelling- 
house,  a  horse,  &c,  making  up  altogether 
a  comfortable  maintenance  for  himself  and 
his  household.  The  collections  of  each 
"  circuit"  are  expected,  generally  speaking, 
to  suffice  for  the  salaries  of  the  ministers 
who  occupy  them,  any  deficiency  being 
made  up  from  funds  which  the  Conference 
may  have  in  hand  for  meeting  such  contin- 
gencies. The  clergy  of  all  evangelical 
denominations,  with  two  exceptions,  re- 
ceive fixed  salaries  from  their  people,  and 
are  expected  to  devote  themselves  to  their 
proper  vocation,  and  to  "  live  by  the  altar." 
The  exceptions  are  a  part  of  the  ministers 
of  the  Baptist  Church,  and  all  the  Quaker 
preachers.  These  support  themselves  by 
their  labour,  or  from  other  sources,  and 
preach  on  the  Sabbath. 

The  Baptists  agree  with  the  Methodists 
in  not  considering  a  college  education,  or 
an  acquaintance  with  the  Greek,  Latin,  and 
Hebrew  tongues,  or  the  natural  and  moral 
sciences,  indispensable  for  a  preacher  of 
the  Gospel  ;  hence  by  far  the  greater 
number  of  them  have  had  only  an  English 
education,  together  with  Such  theological 
knowledge,  derived  from  English  sources, 
as  has  qualified  them,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
authorities  in  their  churches,  for  underta- 
king to  preach  the  Gospel.  In  both  these 
denominations,  however,  there  are  not  a 
few  truly  learned  men,  who  have  passed 
through  the  curriculum  of  some  college, 
and  have  diligently  added  to  the  acquire- 
ments of  their  preparatory  course.  The 
regular  itinerating  ministers  of  the  Metho- 
dist churches  receive  salaries,  and  devote 
themselves  wholly  to  their  ministerial  call- 
ing ;  whereas  very  many  of  the  Baptist 
ministers,  as  has  been  already  stated,  es- 
pecially in  the  Southern  and  Western,  and 
to  a  certain  extent  in  the  Middle  States, 
receive  no  salaries  at  all,  or  none  of  any 
consequence,  so  that  they  must  support 
themselves  in  some  other  way. 


Chap.  V.] 


SALARIES    OF   THE    PASTORS. 


137 


The  preachers  among  the  Friends,  who, 
as  the  reader  is  probably  aware,  may  be 
women  as  well  as  men,  receive  no  regular 
salaries  ;  but  those  of  them  who,  under  the 
belief  that  they  have  a  call  from  the  Spirit 
to  give  themselves  wholly  to  the  work, 
travel  through  the  country,  visiting  the 
Friends' "  meetings,"  and  preaching  in  other 
places,  generally,  nay,  always,  if  their  own 
means  are  not  abundant,  receive  consider- 
able presents. 

It  is  not  easy  to  give  any  very  satisfac- 
tory answer  to  the  question,  Whether  the 
ministers  of  the  Gospel  are  well  supported 
in  the  United  States  1  Using  that  phrase 
in  the  sense  which  many  attach  to  it,  I 
should  say,  in  giving  a  general  reply  to  the 
question,  that  they  are  not.  That  is  to 
say,  few,  if  any,  of  them  receive  salaries 
that  would  enable  them  to  live  in  the  style 
in  which  the  wealthiest  of  their  parishion- 
ers live.  Their  incomes  are  not  equal  to 
those  of  the  greater  number  of  lawyers 
and  physicians,  though  these  are  men  of  no 
better  education  or  higher  talents  than 
great  numbers  of  the  clergy  possess.  None 
of  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  in  the  United 
States  derive  such  revenues  from  their  offi- 
cial stations  as  many  of  the  parochial  cler- 
gy of  England  have,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
higher  dignitaries  of  the  Church  in  that 
country.  There  are  few,  if  any,  of  them 
who,  with  economy,  can  do  more  than  live 
upon  their  salaries  ;  to  grow  rich  upon 
them  is  out  of  the  question.* 

Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  the  greater  num- 
ber of  the  salaried  ministers  in  the  United 
States  are  able,  with  economy,  to  live  com- 
fortably and  respectably.  This  holds  true 
especially  as  respects  the  pastors  of  the 
Atlantic,  and  even  of  the  older  parts  of  the 
Western  States.  In  New-England,  if  we 
except  Boston,  the  salaries  of  the  Congre- 
gational, Episcopal,  and  Baptist  pastors 
are,  in  the  largest  towns,  such  as  Provi- 
dence, Portland,  Salem,  Hartford,  New- 
Haven,  &c,  from  800  to  1200  dollars;  in 
the  villages  and  country  churches  they  vary 
from  300  or  400  to  700  or  800,  besides 
which  the  minister  sometimes  has  a  "  par- 
sonage" and  "  glebe,"  that  is,  a  house  and 
a  few  acres  of  land,  and,  in  addition  to  all, 


*  The  statements  made  by  foreigners,  in  writing 
about  the  United  States,  are  sometimes  sufficiently 
ludicrous.  For  instance,  M.  Beaumont,  in  his  "  Ma- 
rie, ou  Esclavage  aux  Etats-Unis,"  accounts  for  the 
great  number  of  churches  there  by  the  great  number 
of  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  He  says  that  the  minis- 
try is  not  only  very  honourable,  but  very  lucrative 
also ;  that  most  of  the  preachers  make  a  fortune  in  a 
few  years,  and  then  retire  from  the  ministry,  which 
is  the  cause  of  there  being  so  few  old  men  in  the  pul- 
pits of  that  country.  Anything  more  absurd  on  such 
a  subject  I  cannot  imagine.  But  I  will  do  M.  Beau- 
mont the  justice  to  say,  that  I  do  not  blame  him  so 
much  as  the  stupid  creatures  who  gave  him  such  in- 
formation. The  gay  Frenchman  probably  did  not 
set  his  foot  in  more  than  half  a  dozen  churches  when 
in  America,  and  of  these  not  one,  it  is  likely,  was 
Protestant. 


he  receives  a  good  many  presents.  His 
marriage  fees  are  of  some  amount.  In 
other  parts  of  the  country,  and  especially 
in  the  West,  the  clergy  are  not  so  well 
provided  for.  The  practice  in  New-England 
of  giving  them  presents,  whether  casually 
or  regularly,  and  at  some  set  time,  does  not 
prevail  elsewhere  to  the  same  degree. 

The  salaries  of  the  clergy  in  the  largest 
and  wealthiest  churches  of  the  principal 
cities  are  handsome,  though  generally  no 
more  than  adequate.*  Fifteen  hundred 
dollars,  1800, 2000, 2500,  are  the  sums  com- 
monly given,  and,  in  a  few  cases,  3000, 
3500,  and  even  4000.  The  Presbyterian 
Church  in  New-Orleans,  I  believe,  gives 
its  pastor  5000,  and  the  highest  of  all  is  that 
of  one  of  the  bishops  in  the  Episcopal 
Church,  which,  I  have  been  told,  is  6000.f 

Some  churches  have  permanent  funds, 
which  go  far  towards  the  pastor's  support. 
The  corporation  of  the  collegiate  churches 
of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  in  New- 
York,  four  in  number  at  present,  has 
enough  from  this  source  to  pay  the  sala- 
ries of  the  four  pastors.  The  corporation 
of  Trinity  Church  (Episcopal)  possesses 
vast  funds,  the  income  from  which  has  en- 
abled the  trustees  to  contribute  largely 
towards  the  building  of  churches  in  the 
State  of  New- York.  Three  of  the  Pres- 
byterian churches  in  Newark,  New- Jersey, 
which  is  nine  miles  from  New- York,  and 
contains  20,000  inhabitants,  have  perma- 
nent funds  sufficient  for  the  support  of  their 
public  services. 

But,  generally  speaking,  a  permanent 
fund  is  found  to  be  rather  injurious  than  ben- 
eficial to  the  churches  in  the  United  States. 
If  out  of  debt,  that  is,  if  they  owe  nothing 
for  their  church  edifices,  lecture-rooms, 
vestry-rooms,  &c,  they  need  no  endow- 
ment ;  the  hearts  of  the  people  will  do  the 
rest.  I  speak  of  the  churches  in  the  old- 
er parts  of  the  country.  The  measures 
we  take  for  the  support  of  churches  in  the 
new  settlements,  and  which  are  weak  as 
yet,  I  shall  show  hereafter. 

It  often  happens  that  ministers  are  not 


*  The  clergy  are  expected  to  be  examples  of  hos- 
pitality and  benevolence.  They  entertain  a  great 
deal  of  company  at  their  houses.  Nothing  is  more 
common  than  for  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  when 
visiting  any  place,  whether  in  town  or  country,  to 
stay  with  their  brethren ;  and  no  men  among  us  give 
so  much,  in  proportion  to  their  means,  to  all  the  re- 
ligious and  philanthropic  enterprises,  as  our  pastors 
of  every  denomination. 

+  I  refer  to  the  Bishop  of  New- York,  who,  if  he 
has  to  pay  for  a  suffragan  to  take  his  place  as  pastor 
of  a  church,  or  co-pastor  with  others  in  two  or  three 
churches,  as  well  as  bear  his  travelling  expenses- 
when  visiting  his  diocese — as  I  doubt  not  is  the'y 
case — will  not  have  more  than  is  necessary  to  sup- 
port a  large  family  in  so  expensive  a  city  as  New- 
York. 

As  for  New-Orleans,  it  is  the  most  expensive  city 
for  supporting  a  family  in  the  whole  Union,  and  5000 
dollars  there  would  in  that  respect  be  not  more  than 
half  the  sum  in  Philadelphia. 


138 


RELIGION  IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


so  amply  or  punctually  provided  for  as 
they  ought  to  be,  through  their  own  fault, 
and  that  of  the  ecclesiastical  body  to  which 
they  belong.  Were  the  duty  of  support- 
ing well  the  ministry,  preached  as  often 
and  as  plainly  as  it  should  be,  they  would 
be  better  provided  for.  As  it  is,  they  are 
enabled  to  live,  with  great  economy,  in 
comfort,  and  a  faithful  pastor  will  nowhere 
be  allowed  to  starve.  It  is  a  great  matter, 
too,  that  in  no  country  in  the  world  are 
ministers  of  the  Gospel  more  respected 
by  the  people.  A  great  many  of  them  are 
well-educated  men,  and,  with  few  excep- 
tions, possess  agreeable  manners.  Many 
of  them  belong  to  families  of  the  first  rank 
in  the  country  ;*  and  as  they  can  at  least 
give  their  children  a  good  education,  with 
the  advantages  of  which,  as  well  as  of  a 
good  character,  and  the  good  name  of  their 
fathers,  they  are  almost  invariably  pros- 
perous, and  often  form  alliances  with  the 
wealthiest  and  most  distinguished  families 
in  the  country. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

HOW  MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL  ARE  BROUGHT 
FORWARD,  AND  HOW  THEY  BECOME  SETTLED 
PASTORS. 

All  denominations  of  evangelical  Chris- 
tians in  the  United  States  hold  it  to  be  of 
the  highest  and  most  solemn  importance, 
that  no  man  should  enter  the  holy  minis- 
try without  well-founded  scriptural  evi- 
dence to  his  own  mind  and  conscience, 
that  he  is  "  called  of  the  Holy  Ghost"  to 
take  that  office  upon  him  ;  nor  is  he  admit- 
ted to  it  until  he  has  satisfied  the  proper 
authorities  of  the  church  to  which  he  be- 
longs of  the  manifestation  of  that  "  call," 
and  of  his  possessing,  in  addition  to  an  un- 
blemished character,  the  talents  and  ac- 
quirements necessary  to  his  being  a  com- 
petent expounder  of  God's  Word. 

For  a  man  to  take  upon  him  this  sacred 
and  responsible  office  merely  that  he  may 
obtain  an  honourable  place  in  society,  or 
gain  a  decent  livelihood,  would  be  held  in 
the  highest  degree  wrong,  dangerous  to  his 
own  soul,  and  ruinous  to  the  spiritual  inter- 
ests of  all  who  might  be  committed  to  his 
charge.     Evangelical  Christians  may  dif- 


*  I  could  mention,  were  it  proper,  many  instances 
of  this.    One  or  two  I  may  state  without  violating 
the  rules  of  propriety.    No  man  stood  higher  in  Amer 
ican  society  than  the  late  General  Van  Rensselaer 
of  Albany.     One  of  his  sons  is  labouring  as  a  faithful 
minister  in  New-Jersey.     The  late  Hon.  Samuel  L 
Southard,  of  New-Jersey,  was  a  man  of  distinguished 
talents,  who  had  raised  himself  to  the  highest  offices 
in  the  government  of  his  native  state,  as  well  as  in 
that  of  the  Union,  and  died  Vice-President  of  the 
same.    One  of  his  sons  is  a  most  worthy  rector  of 
an  Episcopal  church  in  New-Jersey.     Mr.  Southard, 
I  judge  from  the  name,  which  is  common  in  France, 
was  of  Huguenot  origin. 


fer  somewhat  as  to  the  nature  and  amount 
of  the  required  evidence  of  conversion,  but 
all  agree  as  to  the  necessity  of  having  a 
truly  regenerated  ministry  ;  it  being  obvi- 
ous, that  none  should  preach  the  Gospel 
who  have  not  tasted  its  power,  and  sub- 
mitted their  hearts  and  lives  to  its  trans- 
forming influence.  How  shall  a  man  who 
does  not  possess  "  repentance  towards 
God  and  faith  towards  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,"  explain  the  nature  of  these  to  his 
fellow-men  ?  And  how  can  he  who  has 
not  been  made  to  exclaim,  "  Wo  unto  me 
if  I  preach  not  the  Gospel !"  discharge  the 
office  of  a  preacher  with  that  earnest  de- 
sire for  the  glory  of  God  his  Saviour,  and 
for  the  eternal  welfare  of  men,  which  alone 
can  be  approved  in  heaven,  or  be  success- 
ful on  earth  1  A  regenerated  and  devoted 
ministry  must  be  the  first  of  ali  earthly 
blessings  to  a  church,  and  it  is  the  only 
instrument  that  can  effectually  secure  the 
morals  of  a  community,  and  the  stability 
of  a  government.  In  these  sentiments  I 
feel  assured  all  evangelical  Christians  in 
the  United  States  will  concur.  No  great- 
er curse  could,  in  their  opinion,  befall  a 
church,  next  to  the  abandonment  of  the 
true  Gospel,  than  to  have  an  unconverted 
ministry  thrust  upon  it ;  and,  indeed,  the 
latter  evil  would  soon  be  followed  by  the 
former. 

Pious  youths  are  brought  forward  to  the 
ministry  in  various  ways.  Such  persons 
are  sometimes  found  in  the  situation  of 
apprentices  to  mechanical  trades,  or  of 
clerks,  or  shopmen,  or  following  the  plough 
on  their  father's  farm.  The  pastor,  or 
some  member  of  the  church  to  which  they 
belong,  having  discovered  their  talents, 
may  think  these  might  be  employed  to  ad- 
vantage in  the  ministry,  instead  of  being 
buried  in  such  engagements.  But  their 
own  desires  should  first  be  ascertained, 
and  should  they  be  found  longing  to  pro- 
claim a  crucified  Saviour  to  the  world, 
they  ought  to  be  encouraged,  while  cher- 
ishing this  feeling,  to  put  themselves  into 
a  position  for  finding  and  following  the 
will  of  God. 

It  is  probably  at  the  prayer-meeting,  the 
Sabbath-school,  or  the  Bible-class,  of  which 
I  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  at  large  here- 
after, that  the  character  and  abilities  of 
such  young  persons  oftenest  show  them- 
selves ;  and  from  these  nurseries  of  the 
Church  have  come  forth  great  numbers  of 
men  who  are  now  engaged  in  the  minis- 
try throughout  the  United  States.  Many 
young  men,  also,  who  have  entered  our  col- 
leges with  other  views,  become  converted 
there,  and  are  called  to  preach  the  Gospel. 

When  a  pious  youth  of  promising  talents, 
and  with  a  strong  bent  to  the  ministry,  is 
found  without  the  requisite  education,  or 
the  means  of  obtaining  it,  he  is  recom 
mended  to  the  Education  Societies,  which 


Chap.  VI.] 


SETTLEMENT    OF    PASTORS. 


130 


have  proved  a  great  blessing  to  our  church- 
es ;  and  when  approved  of,  he  is  carried 
through  the  course  of  instruction  which 
the  church  to  which  he  belongs  requires 
in  all  who  would  enter  the  ranks  of  its 
ministers. 

The  process  is  much  shorter  in  those 
churches  which,  without  exacting  a  course 
of  classical  and  scientific  education  at  col- 
lege, or  the  regular  divinity  course  of  a 
theological  school,  require  only  a  well- 
grounded  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  in 
the  English  tongue,  and  of  the  doctrines 
which  they  contain.  After  a  suitable  ex- 
amination on  the  part  of  the  proper  church 
authorities,  the  candidate  is  permitted  to 
exercise  his  gifts  for  a  season,  in  order  to 
ascertain  whether  he  is  likely  to  prove  an 
acceptable  and  useful  preacher ;  and  if  the 
result  be  favourable,  he  receives  full  ordi- 
nation from  the  proper  quarter. 

Among  the  Methodists,  the  preachers 
spring  from  the  Classes,  as  they  are  called. 
At  the  meetings  of  these  companies  of 
professed  believers  and  inquirers,  the  gra- 
ces and  gifts  of  pious  young  men  are  most 
■commonly  discovered.  In  due  time  they 
are  brought  forward  to  the  quarterly  meet- 
ing of  all  the  classes  of  the  district.  They 
are  there  recommended  to  the  notice  of 
the  presiding  elder,  and  by  him  are  au- 
thorized to  teach  and  preach  for  a  time, 
but  not  to  administer  the  ordinances  of 
baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  After- 
ward they  receive  ordination  from  the 
hands  of  the  bishop,  first  as  deacons,  and 
subsequently  as  presbyters  or  priests,  and 
are  employed  to  preach  the  Gospel,  either 
as  travelling  or  stationed  ministers.  In  the 
Congregational  Churches,  young  men  are 
consecrated  to  the  ministry  by  a  council 
of  ministers,  commonly  called  an  "  asso- 
ciation ;"  among  the  Presbyterians,  by  a 
presbytery  ;  among  the  Episcopalians,  by 
a  bishop. 

In  all  the  churches  of  the  United  States, 
except  the  Methodists  and  Roman  Catho- 
lics, the  pastors  are  chosen  by  the  people 
to  whom  they  preach.  Among  the  Metho- 
dists they  are  appointed  by  the  Annual  Con- 
ference, at  Avhich  a  bishop  presides,  regard 
being  had  to  the  wishes  which  may  be  ex- 
pressed by  the  people  in  favour  of  certain 
ministers,  as  peculiarly  fitted,  in  point  of 
character  and  talents,  for  specific  localities. 
The  appointment  of  the  priests  to  their  re- 
spective churches  among  the  Roman  Cath- 
olics rests  wholly  with  the  bishops. 

When  a  church  belonging  to  any  of  the 
other  denominations  loses  its  pastor,  by 
his  death  or  removal  to  some  other  place, 
inquiry  is  first  made  for  some  one  not  yet 
settled,  or  who,  if  settled,  would  not  ob- 
ject to  change  his  charge,  and  who,  it  is 
thought,  would  prove  acceptable  to  the 
flock.  The  person  fixed  upon  is  invited  to 
preach  a  few  times,  and  should  he  give 


satisfaction,  the  congregation  agree  to  call 
him  to  be  their  pastor,  in  doing  which  they 
must  proceed  according  to  the  established 
rules  of  the  religious  body  to  which  they 
belong.  Thus,  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
no  call  to  become  pastor  of  a  vacant  church 
can  be  presented  to  any  one  without  the 
consent  of  the  Presbytery  within  whose 
bounds  the  vacancy  has  taken  place ;  nor 
can  it  be  accepted  without  the  consent  of 
the  Presbytery  to  which  the  minister  who 
has  received  it  belongs. 

In  the  Congregational  churches  of  New- 
England,  the  practice  in  calling  a  pastor 
has  been  for  the  church  or  body  of  the 
communicants  to  make  out  a  call,  and  for 
this  to  be  followed  by  another  from  the 
whole  congregation,  or,  rather,  from  the 
males  who  contribute  towards  the  support 
of  public  worship,  the  amount  of  the  prof- 
fered salary  being  stated  in  the  latter  call. 
In  the  Presbyterian,  and  most  other  church- 
es, each  pewholder,  or  each  head  of  a  fam- 
ily who  subscribes  towards  the  pastor's  sal- 
ary for  himself  and  household,  and  others 
who  subscribe  only  for  themselves,  are  al- 
lowed a  voice  in  the  call.  Such  is  the 
more  common  practice,  and  yet  there  are 
Presbyterian  churches  in  which  none  but 
members  that  are  communicants  can  vote 
in  calling  a  pastor.  If  the  people  are  to 
be  allowed  a  voice  in  calling  their  pas- 
tors, it  will  be  found  difficult  to  withhold 
that  right  from  those  who,  though  not 
communicants,  contribute  as  much,  and 
perhaps  more,  than  those  who  are.  Nor 
in  a  church  and  congregation  in  which  the 
people  have  been  well  instructed  in  the 
truth,  and  where  religion  prospers,  does 
any  evil  of  much  consequence  commonly 
result  from  such  an  extension  of  the  right 
of  voting  on  such  occasions.  For  when 
men  have  been  faithfully  instructed  in  the 
Gospel,  it  is  found  that  even  the  uncon- 
verted will  readily  join  in  calling  an  effi- 
cient minister,  even  although  he  be  not 
only  orthodox,  but  very  zealous  and  faith- 
ful. Such  men  have  sufficient  discrimina- 
tion to  know,  and  often  they  will  say  it, 
that  if  ever  they  are  to  become  the  reli- 
gious men  they  hope  one  day  to  be,  they 
need  a  faithful  pastor  to  secure  that  great 
blessing.  Such  .men  have  sense  enough 
to  know  that  a  light-minded,  worldly,  cold 
preacher  of  the  Gospel  is  not  likely  to 
prove  a  blessing  to  them  or  their  families. 
But  when  church  and  congregation  have 
long  been  hearing  "  another  Gospel,"  have 
become  hardened  in  error,  and  strongly  at- 
tached to  damnable  heresies,  it  were  ab- 
surd to  expect  the  unconverted  to  prefer 
and  seek  for  a  faithful  minister.  Such  a 
state  of  things  should  not  be  allowed  to 
occur.  And  then,  with  respect  to  all  de- 
nominations that  have  a  government  en- 
compassing and  controlling  the  churches 
connected  with  them,  there  is,  in  the  last 


140 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


resort,  a  power  to  prevent  the  settlement 
of  unworthy  ministers  in  the  churches  un- 
der their  care. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  VOLUNTARY  PRINCIPLE  DEVELOPED  IN 
HOME  MISSIONS. AMERICAN  HOME  MISSION- 
ARY  SOCIETY. 

Thus  much  has  the  voluntary  principle 
done  for  the  longest-settled  and  most 
densely-peopled  parts  of  the  country.  Let 
us  now  see  what  it  does  for  new  and  thin- 
ly-peopled regions,  where  hundreds  of  new 
congregations  are  rising  annually,  without 
the  means  of  maintaining  the  institutions 
of  the  Gospel  by  their  own  efforts.  Such 
churches  are  to  be  found  not  only  in  the 
new  settlements  of  the  Far  West,  but  also 
in  the  growing  villages  of  the  East. 

This  inability  to  support  the  public 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  often  arises  from 
the  number  of  sects  to  be  found  in  new 
settlements,  and  even  in  some  districts  of 
the  older  states.  In  this  respect  diversity 
of  sects  sometimes  causes  a  serious  though 
temporary  evil,  not  to  be  compared  with 
the  advantage  resulting  from  it  in  the  long 
run.  It  is  an  evil,  too,  which  generally 
becomes  less  and  less  every  year  in  any 
given  place ;  the  little  churches,  however 
weak  at  first,  gradually  becoming,  through 
the  increase  of  population,  strong  and  in- 
dependent, and  what  is  now  an  evil  disap- 
pearing, or,  rather,  as  I  hope  to  prove,  be- 
ing converted  into  a  blessing. 

The  most  obvious  way  of  aiding  such 
feeble  churches  is,  to  form  societies  for 
this  express  object  among  the  older  and 
more  flourishing  churches  in  the  Atlantic 
States.  This  has  been  done,  and  in  this 
the  voluntary  principle  has  beautifully  de- 
veloped itself,  particularly  during  the  last 
fifteen  years.  It  began  with  some  denom- 
inations not  long  after  the  Revolution  ;  and 
early  in  this  century  we  find  missionary 
societies  formed  among  the  Congregation- 
al churches  of  Massachusetts  and  Connec- 
ticut, for  the  purpose  of  sending  ministers 
to  "  the  West,"  that  is,  the  western  part  of 
the  State  of  New- York.*  The  "  Far  West" 
to  them  was  the  northern  part  of  Ohio, 
which  was  then  beginning  to  be  the  resort 
of  emigrants.  The  faithful  men  sent  by 
these  societies  into  the  wilderness  were 
greatly  blessed  in  their  labours,  and  to 
them,  under  God,  many  of  the  now  flour- 
ishing churches  of  those  regions  owe  their 
existence.  Missionary  societies  were  sub- 
sequently formed  in  the  other  New-Eng- 
land States,  for  supplying  destitute  places 


*  I  have  seen  the  maps  which  some  of  these  pio- 
neer missionaries  made  of  the  portions  of  the  State 
of  New-York  which  lie  west  of  Albany,  in  the  years 
1796-97.  What  is  now  a  densely-settled  country 
was  then  almost  a  terra  incognita.  At  present,  the 
West,  or  frontier  country,  is  about  a  thousand  miles 
west  of  Albany,  instead  of  lying  just  beyond  it. 


within  their  own  bounds  with  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Gospel,  as  wrell  as  to  help  in  send- 
ing it  to  other  parts  of  the  country. 

Two  societies  were  formed,  likewise,  for 
the  same  object,  among  the  Presbyterians 
and  Reformed  Dutch  in  the  city  of  New- 
York,  about  the  year  1819,  and  these  sup- 
ported a  goodly  number  of  missionaries, 
chiefly  in  the  new  and  feeble  churches  in 
the  state  of  that  name.  In  1826  they  were 
united  into  one  body,  and  now  form  the 
American  Home  Missionary  Society.* 

This  society,  from  its  very  outset,  has 
advanced  with  great  vigour,  and  been  di- 
rected with  singular  zeal  and  energy.  At 
its  first  meeting  in  1827,  it  reported  that 
in  the  course  of  the  year  that  had  closed 
it  had  employed  169  ministers,  who  had 
laboured  in  196  congregations  and  mission- 
ary districts.  Its  receipts  for  the  same 
period  amounted  to  20,031  dollars.  This 
auspicious  commencement  must  be  as- 
cribed to  its  having  assumed  all  the  en- 
gagements of  the  Donv  stic  Missionary  So- 
ciety, out  of  which  it  sprang.  The  Society 
soon  drew  into  affiliation  with  it  all  the 
State  Domestic  Missionary  Societies  of 
New-England,  some  of  which,  such  as 
those  of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut, 
were  of  long  standing  and  well  estab- 
lished.! 

It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  his- 
tory of  an  institution  which  has  been  so 
much  blessed  to  a  vast  number  of  new  and 
poor  churches  throughout  all  the  states 
and  territories  of  the  American  Confedera- 
cy. But  we  can  only  present  a  summary 
of  its  operations  at  two  epochs,  during  the 
sixteen  years  that  it  has  been  distributing 
blessings  with  a  liberal  hand. 

In  the  year  ending  May  1st,  1835,  the 

*  The  epithet  American,  employed  by  this  society 
and  others,  which  do  not  comprise  all  the  religious 
denominations,  has  been  greatly  objected  to  as  sa- 
vouring of  arrogance,  and  as  if  intimating  that  the 
whole  of  America  belonged  to  them  exclusively  as  a 
field  of  labour.  Such  an  idea  probably  never  enter- 
ed the  minds  of  those  who  use  the  word  in  the  de- 
nomination of  their  societies.  All  that  they  mean  in 
employing  it  is,  to  signify  that  the  field  to  which 
their  attention  is  directed  is  not  a  single  state,  or  a 
few  states,  but  the  whole  country.  The  American 
Home  Missionary  Society  embraces  the  orthodox 
Congregational  churches  in  New-England  and  out 
of  it,  the  New  School  Presbyterians,  and,  to  some 
extent,  the  Reformed  Dutch,  Lutheran,  and  German 
Reformed  Churches. 

t  These  societies,  in  a  great  degree,  manage  their 
own  affairs,  appoint  and  support  the  missionaries 
who  labour  within  their  bounds,  and  pay  over  the 
surplus  of  their  collections,  if  they  have  any,  to  the 
American  Home  Missionary  Society.  If  they  need 
help  from  that  society  at  any  time,  they  receive  it. 
In  the  year  1843  the  Maine  Missionary  Society  em- 
ployed sixty-eight  missionaries  (four  fifths  of  all  the 
Congregational  churches  in  that  state  were  planted 
by  this  society)  ;  that  of  New-Hampshire,  forty-sev- 
en ■:  that  of  Vermont,  fifty-three  ;  that  of  Massachu- 
setts, seventy-eight ;  that  of  Connecticut,  thirty-nine  ; 
and  that  of  Rhode  Island,  three  ;  making,  in  all,  289 
missionaries  sustained  in  young  and  feeble  churches- 
in  the  six  New-England  States. 


Chap.  VII.] 


HOME   MISSIONS. 


141 


society  employed  719  agents  and  mission- 
aries. Of  these,  481  were  settled  as  pas- 
tors, or  employed  as  "  stated  supplies,"  in 
single  congregations ;  185  extended  their 
labours  to  two  or  three  congregations 
each,  and  fifty  were  employed  on  larger 
districts.  In  all,  1050  congregations,  mis- 
sionary districts,  and  fields  of  agency,  were 
thus  supplied  in  whole  or  in  part.  The 
persons  added  to  the  churches  under  the 
care  of  the  Society's  missionaries  that 
year  were  estimated  at  5000  ;  namely,  1700 
by  letters  of  recommendation  from  other 
churches,  and  3300  by  examination  on 
profession  of  their  faith.  Several  of  the 
churches  were  reported  to  have  been 
blessed  with  seasons  of  more  than  ordina- 
ry interest  in  religion  ;  in  the  Sunday- 
schools  attached  to  them  there  were  about 
40,000  scholars,  and  about  12,000  persons 
attended  the  Bible-classes.  The  number 
of  persons  who  had  joined  the  temperance 
associations  had  reached  70,000.  The  ex- 
penditure amounted  to  83,394  dollars  ;  the 
receipts  to  88,863. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  what  was  done  by 
the  Society  in  the  year  ending  1st  May, 
1843.  During  that  year  it  had  848  mis- 
sionaries and  agents,  of  whom  623  had  been 
in  its  service  the  preceding  year,  and  225 
were  employed  for  the  first  time.  These 
men  laboured  in  all  the  States  and  Terri- 
tories of  the  Union  ;  a  few,  also,  in  Cana- 
da, and  one  in  Texas.  The  number  of  Pres- 
byterian and  Congregational  churches  in 
Iowa  and  Wisconsin*  had  been  greatly  aug- 
mented in  the  course  of  the  year  by  the 
Society's  means.  The  number  of  congre- 
gations and  missionary  stations  occupied 
was  1047,  and  the  Sunday-schools  and  Bi- 
ble-classes, under  the  direction  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, were  attended  by  68,400  persons. 
In  308  congregations  the  sum  of  13,000 
dollars  had  been  collected  for  religious  and 
benevolent  societies,  and  many  of  the  feeble 
churches  had  contributed  largely  for  them, 
in  aid  of  missions  to  the  heathen.  There 
had  been  revivals  in  233  churches,  and 
6858  conversions  were  reported  as  their 
fruits.  And  it  was  estimated  that  there 
were  146,000  members  of  temperance  so- 
cieties in  the  fields  of  the  Society's  opera- 
tions. The  disbursements  of  the  society 
were  107,823  dollars  ;  the  receipts  100,804. 

The  plan  pursued  by  this  society,  and 
by  all  the  other  societies  and  boards  es- 
tablished for  the  promotion  of  home  mis- 
sions, is  never  to  support  a  missionary  at 
its  sole  charges,  if  it  can  be  avoided  ;  but 
to  give  100,  or  150,  or  200  dollars,  rarely 
more  than  100  or  120,  to  a  young  and  fee- 
ble church,  or  two  congregations  near  to 
each  other,  on  condition  of  their  making 


*  In  the  autumn  of  the  year  which  is  just  termi- 
nated (1843),  this  society  sent  thirty-eight  young  and 
•well-educated  ministers  of  the  Gospel  into  the  Ter- 
ritories of  Wisconsin  and  Iowa. 


up  the  deficiency  in  the  missionary's  sala- 
ry. Thus  they  are  stimulated  and  encour- 
aged to  help  themselves,  and  as  soon  as 
they  can  walk  alone,  if  I  may  use  the  ex- 
pression, the  Society  leaves  them  for  oth- 
ers which  have  been  just  organized,  and 
which  need  assistance.  In  this  way  hun- 
dreds of  congregations  have  been  built  up, 
and  hundreds  are  at  this  moment  emerging 
from  the  weakness  of  childhood  into  the 
vigour  of  youth  and  manhood.  In  no  case, 
however,  does  the  Society  do  anything  to- 
wards the  erection  of  church  edifices.  The 
people  must  find  these  for  themselves,  and 
this  they  willingly  do.  The  cheapness  of 
materials  in  the  new  settlements,  and  in 
the  villages  of  the  interior,  renders  it  easy 
to  erect  such  houses  as  will  suffice  until 
the  flock  gathers  strength,  and  can  do 
something  more. 

The  Society  engages,  in  some  cases, 
men  of  talent  and  experience  to  travel  over 
a  given  district,  and  to  ascertain  at  what 
points  the  people  attached  to  one  or  other 
of  the  denominations  which  it  represents 
might,  with  proper  efforts,  be  formed  into 
congregations.  The  labours  of  such  agents 
are  of  the  utmost  importance,  and  they 
necessarily  receive  their  whole  salaries 
from  the  Society. 

It  is  a  beautiful  feature  in  our  institu- 
tions for  domestic  missions,  that  while  en- 
couraging and  stimulating  new  and  feeble 
congregations  to  do  their  utmost  to  secure 
for  themselves  the  regular  enjoyment  of 
Gospel  ordinances,*  they  cultivate  the  kind- 
ly feelings  of  churches  in  the  older  parts 
of  the  country,  and  more  favourably  situa- 
ted. Many  of  the  latter  support  one  mis- 
sionary, and  some  of  them  several  each,  in 
the  new  and  destitute  settlements,  through 
the  agency  of  the  American  Home  Mission 
Society.  Nay,  there  are  juvenile  societies 
in  the  Sunday-schools  that  support  each 
of  them  one,  and  some  even  two  or  three 
missionaries,  if  not  more.  Individuals  are 
to  be  found  in  the  Atlantic  States  who 
support  a  missionary  each,  and  thus  preach 
the  Gospel,  as  they  say,  "  by  proxy."  Still 
more,  there  are  persons  in  New- York  and 
other  cities,  who  have  each  paid  the  entire 
salary  and  travelling  expenses  of  an  agent 
labouring  in  a  large  district.  One  of  these, 
with  whom  I  have  long  been  acquainted,  a 
hatter,  of  by  no  means  great  fortune,  who 
works  with  his  hands  at  the  trade,  gave 
600  dollars  for  years  to  support  one  such 
labourer  in  Ohio.  Beautiful  as  this  is,  it 
is  perhaps  a  finer  sight  still  to  see  churches 
and  congregations,  which  were  aided  by 
the  Society  in  their  day,  now  in  their  turn 
bearing  a  part,  if  not  the  whole  expense 
of  a  missionary  labouring  in  a  congrega- 
tion not  yet  emerged  from  the  feeble  state 


*  Jt  is  believed  that  the  churches  aided  by  the 
Society  raise,  in  one  way  and  another,  nearly  three 
times  as  much  as  they  receive ! 


142 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


which  they  once  were  in  themselves.  And 
there  are  now  many  such  throughout  the 
United  States. 

In  1805  there  was  scarcely  a  Presby- 
terian or  Congregational  church  in  the  dis- 
trict now  covered  by  the  seventeen  most 
westerly  counties  of  New- York.  A  few 
missionaries  were  sent  thither  at  different 
limes,  but  the  increase  was  small  until  the 
Agency  for  Home  Missions,  now  in  con- 
nexion with  the  American  Home  Mission- 
ary Society,  was  established  there  in  1826. 
Now  there  are  on  this  field  380  Presbyte- 
rian and  Congregational  churches,  contain- 
ing, it  is  supposed,  30,000  communicants. 
During  the  fifteen  years  of  its  operations, 
the  American  Home  Missionary  Society 
has  aided  264  of  those  churches,  and  nearly 
100  of  them  are  now  able  to  sustain  the 
Gospel  without  assistance.  The  churches 
have  nearly  doubled  since  1826,  and  the 
communicants  have  probably  trebled.  Such 
is  the  wonderful  work  God  has  wrought  in 
this  section  of  the  state.  Such  has  been 
the  triumph  of  the  Gospel.  It  is  indeed 
the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  is  marvellous  in 
our  eyes. 

Passing  by  other  facts  showing  the  col- 
lateral good  accomplished  by  this  effort  to 
plant  the  Gospel  in  Western  New- York, 
we  mention,  that  many  of  the  foreign  mis- 
sionaries are  the  sons  of  those  churches.  One 
of  them  is  now  pastor  of  a  church  at  the 
Sandwich  Islands  of  7000  members,  prin- 
cipally gathered  through  the  blessing  of 
God  on  his  labours.  Besides  repaying  the 
parent  society  more  than  $60,000  expend- 
ed on  this  field,  those  churches  have  given 
$40,000  to  send  the  Gospel  to  the  more 
destitute  beyond  them.  Nor  is  this  all ; 
they  have  been  most  generous  helpers  of 
every  good  cause.  In  1839,  this  small  part 
of  a  state,  where  home  missions  have  been 
vigorously  sustained,  paid  to  the  American 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  $14,000. 

We  conclude  our  notice  of  this  society 
by  giving  the  following  extract  from  its 
Fourteenth  Annual  Report : 

"  The  results,  indeed,  of  that  mysterious 
and  wonder-working  influence  which  a  God 
of  grace  exerts  through  the  ministry  of 
reconciliation,  and  which  he  connects  with 
the  missionary  enterprise,  all  surpass  finite 
comprehension.  While  the  missionaries 
are  preaching  Christ  and  Him  crucified  to 
the  living,  they  are  laying  broad  and  deep 
the  foundations  of  many  generations  ;  they 
are  setting  in  motion  trains  of  moral  influ- 
ences, which  will  not  cease  when  they  are 
dead ;  they  are  kindling  up  lights  in  Zion, 
which  will  shine  brighter  and  brighter  unto 
the  perfect  day.  Churches,  that  were  near 
unto  death,  are  quickened,  and  become  able 
of  themselves  to  sustain  the  Gospel,  and  to 
hand  down  its  blessings  to  those  who  shall 
come  after  them.  New  churches  are  or- 
ganized, to  throw  open  their  portals  to  the 


fathers,  and  the  children,  and  the  children's 
children,  through  many  generations,  and  to 
send  out  their  influences  to  the  ends  of  the 
world.  The  organization,  or  resuscitation 
of  a  church — Heaven's  own  institution — 
that  may  stand  through  all  coming  time, 
and  bring  its  multitudes  of  redeemed  ones 
to  glory,  is  a  great  event.  And  to  plant 
such  churches,  wherever  there  are  souls 
to  be  gathered  into  them,  our  country  over, 
and  nurture  them  till  they  no  longer  need 
our  aid,  but  become  our  most  efficient  fel- 
low-labourers in  hastening  forward  the  uni- 
versal reign  of  the  Son  of  God,  is  surely  a 
great  work  !  And  yet,  this  is  the  work 
in  which  infinite  condescension  and  mercy 
permits  us,  as  friends  of  home  missions, 
to  engage,  and  some  of  which  it  is  our 
privilege  here  to  record." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

PRESBYTERIAN    BOARD    OF    DOMESTIC    MISSIONS, 
UNDER     THE     DIRECTION     OF     THE     GENERAL 

ASSEMBLY. 

Presbyterianism  owes  its  foundation  in 
the  United  States  chiefly  to  persons  who 
had  been  exiled  from  Scotland  on  account 
of  their  religious  principles,  and  to  Presby- 
terian emigrants  from  the  north  of  Ireland. 
These  were  joined  in  many  places  by  set- 
tlers from  New-England,  who  had  no  ob- 
jections to  unite  with  them  in  forming 
congregations  on  Presbyterian  principles. 
Presbyterians  of  Scottish  and  Irish  origin 
coalesced  in  other  places  with  Huguenots 
from  France,  and  with  colonists  originally 
of  the  Dutch  or  German  Reformed  Church- 
es. Thus  did  Presbyterian  congregations 
begin  to  be  formed  towards  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  The  first  preachers 
were  from  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  New- 
England.  They  were  few  in  number  at 
first,  and  were  often  invited  to  preach  in 
neighbourhoods  where  some  resident  Pres- 
byterians might  desire  to  hear  the  Gospel 
preached  by  men  of  the  same  religious 
principles  with  themselves. 

The  first  presbytery  was  constituted  in 
1705.  and  the  first  synod  in  1716.  After 
that  the  work  of  home  missions  began  to 
acquire  greater  consistency.  Ministers 
were  sent  out  on  preaching  tours  among 
the  small  Presbyterian  flocks,  or,  rather, 
scattered  groups  of  Presbyterian  families, 
particularly  in  the  Middle  and  Southern 
provinces.  In  1741,  the  synod  was  divided 
into  two  bodies,  one  retaining  the  old  name 
of  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  the  other  calling 
itself  the  Synod  of  New- York.  The  for- 
mer, soon  after  being  constituted,  had  its  at- 
tention drawn,  "  not  only  to  the  wants  of 
the  people  within  their  immediate  bounds, 
but  to  those  also  of  the  emigrants  who 
were  rapidly  extending  themselves  through 


Chap.  VIII.] 


HOME    MISSIONS. 


143 


Virginia  and  North  Carolina."  They  wrote, 
accordingly,  to  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  asking  for  minis- 
ters to  preach  in  these  colonies,  and  for 
assistance  in  establishing  a  seminary  for 
the  education  of  suitable  young  men  for 
the  ministry.  A  letter  was  also  addressed 
to  the  deputies  of  the  Synods  of  North  and 
South  Holland,  in  which  they  expressed 
their  willingness  to  unite  with  the  Calvin- 
istic  Dutch  churches  in  promoting  the 
common  interests  of  religion. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  New- 
York  in  1745,  the  circumstances  of  the 
people  of  Virginia  were  brought  before 
them,  and  the  opinion  unanimously  ex- 
pressed that  Mr.  Robinson*  was  the  proper 
person  to  visit  that  colony.  He  visited  it 
accordingly,  and  on  that,  as  well  as  on  a 
former  visit,  was  the  instrument  of  doing 
much  good.  He  was  followed  by  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Davies,  formerly  mentioned. 

In  1758,  the  two  synods  were  merged 
in  the  one  Synod  of  New- York  and  Phila- 
delphia, and  from  that  time  domestic  mis- 
sions began  to  receive  considerable  atten- 
tion, and  collections  for  that  object  were 
ordered  to  be  made  in  the  churches.  In 
1767,  or  1768,  the  synod  had  an  overture, 
or  proposal,  sent  from  the  Presbytery  of 
New- York, "  that  there  should  be  an  annu- 
al collection  in  every  congregation  ;  that 
every  presbytery  should  appoint  a  treasu- 
rer to  receive  and  transmit  the  funds  thus 
obtained  ;  that  the  synod  should  appoint  a 
general  treasurer,  to  whom  all  these  pres- 
byterial  collections  should  be  sent ;  and 
that  every  year  a  full  account  of  the  re- 
ceipts and  disbursements  should  be  printed 
and  sent  down  to  the  churches."  This 
was  the  germe  of  the  present  Board  of  Mis- 
sions. In  the  same  year  petitions  for 
"  supplies"  were  received  from  twenty-one 
places  in  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and 
Georgia. 

Collections  were  thenceforward  made  in 
the  churches.  In  1772,  it  was  ordered  that 
a  part  of  these  moneys  should  be  appropri- 
ated to  the  purchase  and  distribution  of  use- 
ful religious  books,  and  to  the  promotion 
of  the  Gospel  among  the  Indians.  Two 
years  afterward,  it  was  seriously  contem- 
plated to  send  missionaries  to  Africa  ;  but 
on  the  war  of  the  Revolution  breaking  out 
in  the  following  year,  the  project  fell  to  the 
ground.  Even  during  the  war  there  was  a 
considerable  demand  for  ministers  from 
destitute  congregations,  and  to  meet  this 
many  faithful  ministers  made  missionary 


*  This  Mr.  Robinson  was  a  remarkable  man.  His 
manners  were  plain,  his  eloquence  simple,  animated, 
and  attractive.  He  had  but  one  eye,  and  was  from 
that  circumstance  called  "  one-eyed  Robinson."  The 
Rev.  Dr.  Alexander,  professor  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Princeton,  New-Jersey,  says,  that  it  was 
no  uncommon  thing  for  people  to  go  twenty,  thirty, 
and  even  forty  miles,  to  hear  him  preach  a  single 
sermon. 


tours,  at  no  small  personal  hazard  from  the 
dangers  of  war.  Measures  were  taken  in 
1788  for  forming  the  General  Assembly, 
which  was  organized  in  1789,  and  at  its 
very  first  meeting  much  attention  was  paid 
to  the  subject  of  missions. 

"  It  is  believed,"  says  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  living  ministers  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  "  that  at  this  time  (1789) 
there  was  not  in  the  United  States  another 
religious  denomination,  besides  the  Presby- 
terian, that  prosecuted  any  domestic  mis- 
sionary enterprise,  except  that  then,  as 
since,  the  Methodists  sent  forth  their  cir- 
cuit-preachers in  all  directions."* 

In  the  year  1800,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Chapman 
was  appointed  a  missionary  in  the  western 
part  of  the  State  of  New- York,  and  to  his 
labours  we  must  so  far  ascribe  the  great 
diffusion  of  Presbyterianism  in  that  impor- 
tant section  of  the  country.  In  1802,  the 
General  Assembly  appointed  a  "  standing 
committee,"  to  attend  to  the  greatly-in- 
creased interests  of  the  missionary  cause — 
a  measure  which  led  to  a  farther  extension 
of  the  work.  A  correspondence  was  com- 
menced with  all  the  known  missionary  so- 
cieties of  Europe.  The  committee  gave 
much  of  its  attention  to  the  coloured  popu- 
lation, a  class  among  whom  the  late  John 
Holt  Rice,  D.D.,  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished ministers  that  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States  has  ever  pos- 
sessed, laboured  as  a  missionary  during 
seven  years. 

In  1816,  the  General  Assembly  enlarged 
the  powers  of  the  standing  committee,  and 
gave  it  the  title  of  "  the  Board  of  Missions, 
acting  under  the  authority  of  the  General 
Assembly."  Many  missionaries  went  forth 
under  its  auspices,  to  labour  among  the 
destitute  Presbyterian  congregations  that 
were  continually  forming  in  the  Southern 
and  Western  States.  Meanwhile,  many 
local  societies,  under  the  direction  of  syn- 
ods, presbyteries,  and  other  bodies,  had 
sprung  up,  and  were  separately  prosecuting 
the  same  objects  to  a  considerable  extent. 

The  General  Assembly  again  took  up  the 
subject  of  missions  in  1828,  and  farther  en- 
larged the  powers  of  the  Board,  fully  au- 
thorizing it  to  establish  missions,  not  only 
in  destitute  parts  of  the  United  States,  but 
among  the  heathen  abroad.  Such,  how- 
ever, was  the  demand  for  labourers  at 
home,  especially  in  the  Western  States 
and  Territories,  that  nothing  of  importance 
could  be  done  for  foreign  lands.  It  was 
found,  besides,  that  home  and  foreign  mis- 
sions could  not  well  be  united  under  one 
board,  so  that  in  the  course  of  a  few  years 
the  latter  were  committed  to  the  charge  of 
another  board,  appointed  for  that  purpose 
by  the  Assembly.  Of  its  operations  we 
shall  have  occasion  to  speak  elsewhere. 


*  "  History  of  the  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,"  by  the  Rev.  Ashbel  Green,  D.D 


144 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


The  cause  of  domestic  missions  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church  now  went  on  with 
fresh  vigour,  and  the  synodical  and  pres- 
byterial  societies  becoming  either  merged 
in  the  Assembly's  board,  or  affiliated  with 
it,  the  whole  assumed  a  more  consolidated 
form  and  greater  consistency.  From  1828 
to  1843,  the  missionaries  increased  from 
31  to  296.  The  Report  for  the  latter  year 
presents  a  summary  of  296  missionaries 
employed  ;  900  Sunday-schools,  attended 
by  at  least  30,000  scholars,  connected  with 
the  churches  under  their  care  ;  4800  mem- 
bers added  to  the  churches,  of  whom  3600 
upon  examination  of  their  faith,  and  1200 
upon  letters  of  recommendation  from  other 
churches ;  the  receipts  were  about  35,000 
dollars,  and  the  expenditures  exceeded 
31,000.  The  average  expense  of  each  mis- 
sionary is  130  dollars.  The  Board  pursues 
the  wise  course  of  simply  helping  congre- 
gations that  as  yet  are  unable  to  maintain 
pastors,  by  granting  them  so  much  on  their 
undertaking  to  make  up  the  deficiency. 

Such  is  a  brief  notice  of  the  operations 
of  the  Home  Missions  of  the  General  As- 
sembly of  that  branch  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  commonly  called  the  Old  School, 
to  distinguish  it  from  another  branch  call- 
ed the  New  School.  The  Board  has  been 
instrumental,  under  God,  in  giving  a  per- 
manent existence  to  some  hundreds  of 
churches.  The  divine  blessing  has  been 
remarkably  vouchsafed  to  its  efforts.  Its 
affairs  are  managed  with  great  wisdom 
and  energy,  and  the  Church  is  much  in- 
debted to  the  Rev.  Ashbel  Green,  D.D., 
for  the  deep  interest  which,  during  a  long 
life,  he  has  felt  in  this  cause,  and  for  the 
devotedness  with  which  he  has  laboured 
to  promote  it.  Nor  can  it  fail  to  be  a  great 
consolation  to  him,  in  his  declining  days, 
to  see  his  love  and  zeal  for  this  enterprise 
crowned  with  abundant  success. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HOME    MISSIONS    OF    THE    EPISCOPAL,    BAPTIST, 
AND   REFORMED    DUTCH  CHURCHES. 

A  society  was  formed  in  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  of  the  United  States, 
for  the  promotion  of  Home  and  Foreign 
Missions,  in  the  year  1822.  During  the 
first  thirteen  years  of  its  existence,  that  is, 
up  to  1835,  it  had  employed  fifty-nine  la- 
bourers in  its  home  missions,  occupying 
stations  in  various  parts  of  the  Union,  but 
chiefly  in  the  West.  The  society  was  re- 
organized in  1835,  and,  as  now  constituted, 
is  under  the  direction  of  a  Board  of  thirty 
members,  appointed  by  the  General  Con- 
vention of  the  Church.  The  bishops,  to- 
gether with  such  persons  as  had  become 
patrons  of  the  society  previously  to  the 
meeting  of  the  Convention  in  1829,  are 


members  of  the  Board,  and  to  it  is  com- 
mitted the  whole  subject  of  missions.  But 
the  better  to  expedite  the  business  intrust- 
ed to  it,  the  Home  and  Foreign  depart- 
ments are  directed,  respectively,  by  two 
committees,  each  consisting  of  four  cler- 
gymen and  four  laymen,  under  the  presi- 
dency of  the  bishop  of  the  diocess  in  which 
the  committee  resides,  and  both  commit- 
tees are  ex  officio  members  of  the  Board. 

It  is  only  since  1835  that  the  home  mis- 
sions of  the  society  have  been  prosecuted 
with  much  vigour,  but  every  year  now 
bears  witness  to  the  increasing  interest 
felt  by  the  Episcopal  churches  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  in  the  work  of  building  up 
churches  in  the  new  settlements,  and  oth- 
er places  where  none  of  that  communion 
had  before  existed. 

During  the  year  ending  21st  June,  1843, 
the  Board  had  employed  ninety-four  mis- 
sionaries, and  that  they  did  not  labour 
without  effecting  much  good,  is  apparent 
even  from  the  imperfect  statements  of  the 
Report.  The  number  of  communicants  in 
84  out  of  the  180  places  to  which  the  mis- 
sionaries had  extended  their  labours  was 
2190  ;  and  that  of  the  children  under  cate- 
chetical instruction  was  2014.  The  income 
for  the  home  missions,  collected  through- 
out the  thirty  diocesses  into  which  the  coun- 
try is  divided,  was  $38,835.  From  1822  to 
1841, 186  stations  had  been  adopted  as  fields 
of  special,  permanent,  and,  as  far  as  practi- 
cable, regular  labour.  During  the  same  pe- 
riod eighty  church  edifices  had  been  erect- 
ed in  those  stations,  and  the  number  of 
these  once  aided,  but  no  longer  requiring 
assistance,  was  forty-four. 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  this  soci- 
ety has  not  laboured  in  vain,  but  that  it, 
likewise,  is  an  instrument  by  which  church- 
es that  have  long  been  favoured  with  the 
Gospel,  and  highly  prize  it,  are  enabled  to 
assist  others,  until  they,  too,  have  grown 
up  into  a  vigorous  independence  of  foreign 
aid.  "  Freely  ye  have  received ;  freely 
give  ;"  this  admonition  and  command 
should  never  be  forgotten.  It  is  the  true 
basis  of  the  whole  Voluntary  System. 

We  shall  only  add,  that  the  missionaries 
employed  by  the  Board  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  are  chiefly  confined  to  the  Western 
States  and  Territories. 

The  American  Baptist  Home  Missionary 
Society  was  instituted  in  1832,  and  has 
been  eminently  useful  since  in  building  up 
churches  of  that  denomination,  both  in  the 
West  and  in  many  of  the  Atlantic  States, 
where  the  assistance  of  such  an  institu- 
tion was  required,  as  well  as  in  establish- 
ing Sunday-schools  and  Bible-classes.  Its 
great  field  of  labour,  however,  like  that  of 
all  the  other  Societies  and  Boards  for  do- 
mestic missions,  has  been  the  "  Valley  of 
the  Mississippi."  It  has  numerous  branch- 
es and  auxiliaries  in  all  parts  of  the  United 


Chap.  X.] 


HOME    MISSIONS. 


145 


States ;  and  during  the  year  ending  in  May, 
1843,  had  ninety-three  agents  and  mis- 
sionaries in  its  own  immediate  service,  and 
275  in  that  of  its  auxiliaries,  making  a  total 
of  3G8,  all  of  whom  were  ministers  of  the 
Gospel,  and  believed  to  be  faithful  and  ca- 
pable labourers.  They  preached  statedly 
at  762  stations,  and  had  travelled  175.035 
miles  !  They  reported  4920  conversions 
and  baptisms,  the  organization  of  fifty 
churches,  and  the  ordination  of  twenty- 
three  ministers.  By  their  instrumentality 
6520  persons  had  been  induced  to  join  the 
temperance  societies;  11,742  young  per- 
sons had  been  gathered  into  Sunday-schools 
and  Bible-classes,  taught  by  about  1500 
teachers.  The  receipts  of  the  parent  soci- 
ety and  its  auxiliaries  amounted  to  $40,583. 

In  addition  to  what  the  regular  Baptists 
are  doing  for  home  missions,  it  ought  to 
be  stated  that  the  Free-Will  Baptists  have 
a  Home  Missionary  Society,  which  em- 
ploys some  six  or  eight  men. 

The  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church  has  a  Board  of  Domestic 
Missions,  which  is  now  prosecuting,  with 
zeal  and  wisdom,  the  work  of  gathering 
together  new  congregations,  and  fostering 
them  during  their  infancy,  wherever  it  can 
find  openings  for  so  doing.  For  several 
years  past  it  has  been  extending  its  oper- 
ations, and  during  that  ending  in  June, 
1843,  it  aided  forty-seven  new  or  feeble 
churches  and  two  stations.  Five  of  these 
were  in  the  Western  States,  and  in  these 
five  missionaries  were  occupied  in  preach- 
ing the  Gospel.  The  receipts  for  that  pe- 
riod amounted  to  $5127. 

If  the  truth  is  to  be  carried  into  every 
hamlet  and  neighbourhood  of  the  United 
States,  it  can  only  be  by  all  denominations 
of  evangelical  Christians  taking  part  in  the 
enterprise  ;  and  it  is  delightful  to  trace  the 
proofs  of  this  conviction  being  widely  and 
deeply  felt.  All  are  actually  engaged  in 
the  good  work,  and  send  forth  and  support 
missionaries  in  some  portion  or  other  of 
the  country. 


CHAPTER  X. 

HOME   MISSIONS    OF  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH. 

It  has  been  said,  with  truth,  that  the 
Methodist  Church  is  in  its  very  struc- 
ture emphatically  missionary,  and  it  is  an 
inexpressible  blessing  that  it  is  so,  as  the 
United  States  strikingly  prove.  The  whole 
country  is  embraced  by  one  General  Con- 
ference ;  it  is  again  subdivided  into  thirty- 
two  Annual  Conferences,  each  including 
a  large  extent  of  country,  and  divided  into 
districts.  Each  district  comprehends  sev- 
eral circuits,  and  within  each  circuit  there 
are  from  five  or  six  to  above  twenty  preach- 
ing places. 


K 


Ordinarily,  as  often  as  once  in  the  fort- 
night, a  circuit-preacher  conducts  a  regu- 
lar service  at  each  of  these  preaching  pla- 
ces, whether  it  be  a  church,  schoolroom, 
or  a  dwelling-house.  In  the  largest  towns 
and  villages  such  services  are  held  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  on  a  week-day  or  evening 
in  other  places,  and  thus  the  Gospel  is 
carried  into  thousands  of  remote  spots,  in 
which  it  never  would  be  preached  upon 
the  plan  of  having  a  permanent  clergy, 
planted  in  particular  districts  and  parishes. 

It  was  a  remark,  I  believe,  of  the  cele- 
brated Dr.  Witherspoon,  that  "  he  needed 
no  other  evidence  that  the  Rev.  John  Wes- 
ley was  a  great  man,  than  what  the  system 
of  itinerating  preaching  presented  to  his 
mind,  and  of  which  that  wonderful  man 
was  the  author."  The  observation  was  a 
just  one.  It  is  a  system  of  vast  importance 
in  every  point  of  view ;  but  that  from  which 
we  are  at  present  to  contemplate  it  is,  its 
rilling  up  a  void  which  must  else  remain 
empty.  Of  its  other  advantages  we  shall 
have  to  speak  in  another  place. 

But,  capable  as  the  system  is  of  being 
made  to  send  its  ramifications  into  almost 
every  corner  of  the  country,  and  to  carry 
the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  into  the  most 
remote  and  secluded  settlements,  as  well 
as  to  the  more  accessible  and  populous 
towns  and  neighbourhoods,  many  places 
were  found,  particularly  in  the  South  and 
West,  so  situated  as  to  be  beyond  the 
reach  of  adequate  supply  from  itinerant  la- 
bourers ;  a  fact  which  led  to  the  formation 
of  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  1819. 

This  society,  like  that  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  was  formed  for  the 
double  object  of  promoting  missions  at 
home  and  abroad.  Reserving  the  latter 
for  future  notice,  I  turn  at  present  to  the 
former.  According  to  the  twenty-fourth 
annual  report,  being  that  for  1843,  I  find 
that  it  employed  210  missionaries  within 
the  limits  of  the  United  States,  exclusive 
of  those  labouring  among  the  Indians, 
whether  within  or  immediately  beyond 
those  limits.  The  churches  enjoying  the 
services  of  these  missionaries  comprised 
above  30,000  members,  and  many  of  them 
had  flourishing  Bible-classes  and  Sunday- 
schools.  The  report  also  states,  that 
among  the  members  of  the  Society's  mis- 
sionary churches,  there  were  not  fewer 
than  13,320  coloured  people. 

Perhaps  of  all  the  fields  cultivated  by 
this  society,  the  two  most  interesting,  and, 
in  some  respects,  most  important,  are 
those  presented  by  the  slaves  in  the  ex- 
treme Southern  States,  and  by  the  German 
emigrants  found  in  great  numbers  in  our 
chief  cities.  The  missions  among  the  for- 
mer were  commenced  in  1828,*  and  origi- 

*  I  speak  here  of  missions  technically  so  called, 
for,  in  their  ordinary  labours,  the  Methodists,  from 


146 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  IT. 


nated  in  a  proposal  made  by  the  Hon. 
Charles  C.  Pinckney,  a  distinguished  Chris- 
tian layman  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in 
South  Carolina,  and  which  has  been  car- 
ried into  effect  with  much  success,  the 
slaveholders  themselves,  in  many  places, 
if  not  all,  being  pleased  to  have  the  mis- 
sionaries preach  the  Gospel  to  their  people. 

The  following  paragraph  from  the  report 
of  1841  will  give  the  reader  some  idea  of 
the  hazardous  nature  of  this  work :  "  In 
the  Southern  and  Southwestern  Conferen- 
ces, it  will  be  seen,  under  the  head  of  do- 
mestic missions,  that,  with  commendable 
zeal  and  devotion,  our  missionaries  are 
still  labouring  in  the  service  of  the  slaves 
upon  the  rice-fields,  sugar  and  cotton  plant- 
ations, multitudes  of  whom,  though  des- 
tined to  toil  and  bondage  during  their  earth- 
ly pilgrimage,  have  by  their  instrumental- 
ity been  brought  to  enjoy  the  liberty  of  the 
Gospel,  and  are  happily  rejoicing  in  the 
blessings  of  God's  salvation.  In  no  por- 
tion of  our  work  are  our  missionaries  call- 
ed to  endure  greater  privations,  or  make 
greater  sacrifices  of  health  and  life,  than 
in  these  missions  among  the  slaves,  many 
of  which  are  located  in  sections  of  the 
Southern  country  which  are  proverbially 
sickly,  and  under  the  fatal  influence  of  a 
climate  which  few  white  men  are  capable 
of  enduring,  even  for  a  single  year.  And 
yet,  notwithstanding  so  many  valuable  mis- 
sionaries have  fallen  martyrs  to  their  toils 
in  these  missions,  year  after  year  there  are 
found  others  to  take  their  places,  who  fall 
likewise  in  their  work, '  ceasing  at  once  to 
work  and  to  live.'  Nor  have  our  superin- 
tendents any  difficulty  in  finding  missiona- 
ries ready  to  fill  up  the  ranks  which  death 
has  thinned  in  these  sections  of  the  work, 
for  the  love  of  Christ,  and  the  love  of  the 
souls  of  these  poor  Africans  in  bonds,  con- 
strain our  brethren  in  the  itinerant  work 
of  the  Southern  conferences  to  exclaim, 
'  Here  are  we,  send  us !'  The  Lord  be 
praised  for  the  zeal  and  success  of  our 
brethren  in  this  self-denying  and  self-sac- 
rificing work." 

Not  less  interesting  are  the  Society's 
missions  among  the  Germans  resident  in 
the  chief  towns  and  cities  of  the  Valley  of 
the  Mississippi.  Beginning  at  Pittsburgh 
and  Alleghany  Town,  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Alleghany,  opposite  Pittsburgh,  it  has 
missionaries  among  these  foreigners  in 
many  of  the  chief  towns  on  the  Ohio,  such 
as  Wheeling,  Marietta,  Portsmouth,  Mays- 
ville,  Cincinnati,  Lawrenceburg,  New  Al- 
bany, &c,  as  well  as  in  towns  remote  from 
the  river,  such  as  Dayton  and  Chillicothe. 

the  first,  have  had  much  to  do  with  the  slaves  in  the 
South,  as  well  as  with  the  free  negroes  of  the  North. 
In  fact,  no  other  body  of  Christians,  perhaps,  has 
done  so  much  good  to  the  unfortunate  children  of 
Africa  in  the  United  States  as  the  followers  of  John 
Wesley. 


It  has  a  mission,  also,  at  St.  Louis,  on  the 
Upper  Mississippi.  The  churches  gathered 
by  the  Society's  missionaries  from  among 
the  Germans  in  those  places  had  no  fewer 
than  1366  members  in  1843,  and  of  these 
more  than  200  had  been  Roman  Catholics. 
Yet  this  work  had  commenced  only  a  few 
years  before.  Twenty  missionaries  were 
engaged  in  it,  and  several  of  these  were 
men  of  considerable  talent  and  learning,  as 
well  as  zeal.  One  of  them,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Nast,  at  Cincinnati,  conducts  a  religious 
paper  with  a  circulation  of  above  1500 
copies,  and  which  seems  to  be  doing  good. 

The  Society  has  a  mission,  likewise, 
among  the  Germans,  reckoned  at  30,000 
at  least,  in  the  city  of  New- York.  The 
income  of  this  excellent  and  efficient  soci- 
ety, for  the  year  ending  April  20th,  1843, 
amounted  to  109,452  dollars,  and  its  ex- 
penditure, including  both  its  foreign  and 
domestic  missions,  was  145,035. 

Here  I  close  these  brief  notices  of  the 
home  missions  of  the  chief  evangelical 
churches  in  the  United  States.  They  will 
give  the  reader  some  idea  of  the  mode  in 
which  new  and  feeble  congregations  are 
aided  by  the  oider  and  stronger  until  able 
to  maintain  the  institutions  of  religion 
themselves.  The  societies  which  we  have 
passed  under  review  in  these  four  chap- 
ters supported,  in  all,  nearly  1900  ministers 
of  the  Gospel,  in  the  year  1843,  in  new, 
and,  as  yet,  feeble  churches  and  flocks. 
Year  after  year  many  of  these  cease  to  re- 
quire assistance,  and  then  others  are  taken 
up  in  their  turn.  Be  it  remembered,  that 
the  work  has  been  systematically  prosecu- 
ted for  no  long  course  of  time.  Twenty 
years  ago,  in  fact,  the  most  powerful  and 
extensive  of  these  societies  did  not  exist ; 
others  were  but  commencing  their  opera- 
tions. It  is  an  enterprise  with  respect  to 
which  the  churches  have  as  yet  but  par- 
tially developed  their  energies  and  resour- 
ces ;  still,  they  have  accomplished  enough 
to  demonstrate  how  much  may  be  done  by 
the  voluntary  principle  towards  the  calling 
into  existence  of  churches  and  congrega- 
tions in  the  settlements  rapidly  forming, 
whether  in  the  new  or  the  old  states. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  VOLUNTARY  PRINCIPLE  DEVELOPED. IN- 
FLUENCE OF  THE  VOLUNTARY  PRINCIPLE  ON 
EDUCATION. OF    PRIMARY   SCHOOLS. 

We  have  seen  how  the  voluntary  prin- 
ciple operates  in  America  in  relation  to 
the  building  of  churches,  and  also  the  sup- 
port of  ministers  of  the  Gospel  in  the  new 
settlements  forming  every  year,  more  or 
less,  in  all  quarters.  We  now  come  to 
consider  its  influence  on  education.  Hun- 
dreds of  ministers,  it  will  be  perceived,  are 


Chap.  XL] 


PRIMARY    SCHOOLS. 


147 


required  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  rap- 
idly-augmenting population.  Where  are 
these  to  come  from  1  Besides,  in  a  coun- 
try where  the  right  of  suffrage  is  almost 
universal,  and  where  so  much  of  the  order, 
peace,  and  happiness,  that  are  the  true  ob- 
jects of  all  good  government,  depend  on 
officers  chosen  in  the  directest  manner 
from  among  themselves,  these  must  be  in- 
structed before  they  can  become  intelli- 
gent, virtuous,  and  capable  citizens.  Igno- 
rance is  incompatible  with  the  acquisition 
or  preservation  of  any  freedom  worth  pos- 
sessing; and,  above  all,  such  a  republic  as 
that  of  the  United  States  must  depend  for 
its  very  existence  on  the  wide  diffusion  of 
sound  knowledge  and  religious  principles 
among  all  classes  of  the  people.  Let  us, 
therefore,  trace  the  bearings  of  the  volun- 
tary principle  upon  education,  in  all  its 
forms,  among  the  various  ranks  of  society 
in  the  United  States.  We  shall  begin  with 
primary  schools. 

It  may  well  be  imagined  that  emigrants 
to  the  New  World,  who  fled  from  the  Old 
with  the  hope  of  enjoying  that  religious 
freedom  which  they  so  much  desired, 
would  not  be  indifferent  to  the  education 
of  their  children.  Especially  might  we 
expect  to  find  that  the  Protestant  colo- 
nists, who  had  forsaken  all  for  this  boon, 
would  not  fail  to  make  early  provision  for 
the  instruction  of  their  children,  hi  order 
that  they  might  be  able  to  read  that  Book 
which  is  the  "religion  of  Protestants." 
And  such  we  find  to  have  been  the  fact. 
Scarcely  had  the  Puritans  been  settled  half 
a  dozen  years  in  the  colony  of  Massachu- 
setts before  they  began  to  make  provision 
for  public  primary  schools,  to  be  supported 
by  a  tax  assessed  upon  all  the  inhabitants.* 
And  such  provision  was  actually  made,  not 
only  in  Massachusetts,  but  in  every  New- 
England  colony.  And  such  provision  ex- 
ists to  this  day  in  all  the  six  New-England 
States.  Schools  are  maintained  in  every 
school  district,  during  the  whole  or  part  of 
every  year,  by  law. 

With  the  exception  of  the  State  of  Con- 
necticut, where  all  the  public  schools  are 
maintained  upon  the  interest  of  a  large 
school  fund,  primary  instruction  is  provi- 
ded for  by  an  annual  assessment — a  school 


*  The  small  colony  of  Plymouth,  as  soon  as  it  was 
in  some  measure  settled,  set  about  providing  schools 
for  the  children,  and  this  was  several  years  before 
the  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  was  planted. 

But  if  the  New-England  Puritans  were  zealous  in 
the  cause  of  education  and  learning,  the  Virginia 
colonists  seem  not  to  have  had  any  such  spirit,  for 
one  of  their  governors,  Sir  William  Berkeley,  in  1670, 
in  replying  to  the  inquiries  addressed  to  him  by  the 
Lords  of  Plantations,  says, "  I  thank  God,  there  are  no 
free  schools  nor  printing,  and  I  hope  we  shall  not  have 
them  these  hundred  years  ;  for  learning  has  brought 
disobedience,  and  heresy,  and  sects  into  the  world,  and 
printing  has  divulged  them,  and  libels  against  the 
best  government.  God  keep  us  from  both!" — Hen- 
ing'x  Laws  of  Virginia,  Appendix. 


being  taught,  in  every  school  district,  by  a 
master  for  the  older  youth  during  winter, 
and  by  a  mistress  for  the  little  children 
during  summer.  Wherever  we  find  the 
descendants  of  the  Puritans  in  America,, 
we  find  a  people  who  value  education  as 
the  first  of  all  earthly  blessings  ;  and  when 
a  colony  from  New-England  plants  itself, 
whether  amid  the  forests  of  Ohio,  or  on 
the  prairies  of  Illinois,  two  things  are  ever 
considered  as  indispensable  alike  to  their 
temporal  and  to  their  spiritual  and  their 
eternal  welfare — a  church  and  a  school- 
house. 

Nor  was  this  thirst  for  education  con- 
fined to  the  New-England  Puritans  ■  it  pre- 
vailed to  no  small  degree  among  the  Scotch? 
and  Irish  Presbyterians,  the  Huguenots,, 
the  early  German  emigrants  ;  among  all, 
in  fact,  who  had  fled  from  Europe  for  the 
sake  of  their  religion.  It  is  owing  to  this 
that  primary  education  has  been  diffused 
so  widely  throughout  the  United  States,, 
and  that  no  less  effective  legal  provision 
has  been  made  at  length  for  the  support 
of  common  schools  in  New- York,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  in  Ohio,  than  in  the  New- 
England  States,  and  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent, also,  in  New-Jersey  and  Delaware, 
while  in  all  the  others  it  has  led  to  the 
adoption  of  measures  for  the  education  of 
the  children  of  the  poor,  and  to  the  crea- 
tion of  school  funds,  which,  taken  together 
with  other  means,  promise  one  day  to  be 
available  for  the  education  of  all  classes. 

The  white  population  of  the  United  States 
amounted  in  1840  to  14,189,218,  of  which 
number  it  was  ascertained  that  549,693  per- 
sons, above  twenty  years  of  age,  could 
neither  read  nor  write.  A  large  propor- 
tion of  these  must  have  been  foreigners — 
Irish,  Germans,  Swiss,  and  French — as  is 
evident  from  13,041  of  them  being  found  in? 
the  six  New-England  States,  where  educa- 
tion is  nearly  as  universal  as  can  well  be 
imagined.  That  a  native  of  either  sex,  irt 
short,  above  the  age  of  twenty,  may  be 
found  in  Connecticut  or  Massachusetts 
who  cannot  read,  is  not  denied  ;  but  that 
there  should  be  520  such  persons  in  the 
former  of  these  states,  and  4448  in  the  lat- 
ter, cannot  be  believed  by  any  one  who' 
knows  the  condition  of  the  people  there~ 
The  greater  number  were  not  native  Amer- 
icans, and  of  those  that  remained  the  mar 
jority  were  idiots. 

By  the  census  of  1840,  it  appears  that 
the  number  of  primary  or  common  schools 
amounted  to  47,209,  attended  by  1,845,245 
scholars  ;  of  whom  468,264  were  taught  at 
the  public  charge,  the  remainder  at  that 
of  their  parents  and  friends.  From  this  it 
will  be  seen  that  education  in  America  de- 
pends very  much  on  the  Voluntary  Princi- 
ple. But  though  primary  schools  were  Hk 
all  parts  of  the  country  originated  and  sus- 
tained at  first,  as  in  most  of  the  states  it 


148 


RELIGION  IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  IVr. 


continues  to  be,  by  the  people  themselves, 
or,  rather,  by  the  friends  of  education,  state 
after  state  is  beginning  to  be  induced  by 
the  efforts  of  these  to  make  a  legal  provis- 
ion, to  a  certain  extent  at  least,  for  the  in- 
struction of  all  who  may  choose  to  avail 
themselves  of  it,  for  in  this  they  do  not  see 
that  they  violate  any  rights  of  conscience. 

The  right  of  giving  instruction  is,  in  the 
United  States,  universal.  Even  where 
there  is  an  all-pervading  system  of  public 
schools,  any  number  of  families  may  join 
together,  and  employ  any  teacher  for  their 
children  whom  they  may  prefer.  Nor  has 
that  teacher  to.  procure  any  license  or 
"  brevet  of  instruction"  before  entering  on 
the  duties  of  his  office.  His  employers 
are  the  sole  judges  of  his  capacity,  and 
should  lie  prove  incapable  or  inefficient, 
the  remedy  is  in  their  own  hands.  The 
teachers  employed  by  the  state  pass  an 
examination  before  a  proper  committee. 
In  all  the  states  where  there  is  a  legal  pro- 
vision for  primary  schools,  there  is  a  year- 
ly report  from  each  to  a  committee  of  the 
township,  from  which,  again,  there  is  a  re- 
port to  a  county  committee,  and  that,  in  its 
turn,  sends  a  report  to  the  Secretary  or 
School  Commissioner  of  the  state. 

In  most  cases,  a  pious  and  judicious 
teacher,  if  he  will  only  confine  himself  to 
the  great  doctrines  and  precepts  of  the 
Gospel,  in  which  all  who  hold  the  funda- 
mental truths  of  the  Bible  are  agreed,  can 
easily  give  as  much  religious  instruction 
as  he  chooses.  Where  the  teacher  him- 
self is  not  decidedly  religious,  much  reli- 
gious instructien  cannot  be  expected  ;  nor 
should  any  but  religious  teachers  attempt 
to  give  anything  more  than  general  moral 
instruction,  and  make  the  scholars  read 
portions  of  the  Scriptures,  and  of  other 
good  books. 

The  Bible  is  very  generally  used  as  a 
reading  book  in  our  primary  schools,  though 
in  some  places,  as  at  St.  Louis,  the  Roman 
Catholics  have  succeeded  in  excluding  it, 
and  they  have  been  striving  to  do  the  same 
in  the  city  of  New- York.  In  so  far  as  re- 
lates to  public  schools,  I  see  no  other 
course  but  that  of  leaving  the  question  to 
the  people  themselves  ;  the  majority  deci- 
ding, and  leaving  the  minority  the  alterna- 
tive of  supporting  a  school  of  their  own. 
This  will  generally  be  done  by  Protestants 
rather  than  give  up  the  Bible. 

In  most  parts  of  the  United  States,  it  has 
been  found  extremely  difficult  to  procure 
good  teachers,  few  men  being  willing  to 
devote  their  lives  to  that  occupation  in  a 
country  so  full  of  openings  in  more  lucra- 
tive and  inviting  professions  and  employ- 
ments. Hence  very  incompetent  teach- 
ers— not  a  few  from  Ireland  and  other 
parts  of  the  British  dominions — are  all 
that  can  be  found.  This  is  particularly 
the  case  in  the  Middle,  Southern,  and  West- 


ern States.  But  it  is  an  evil  which  dimin- 
ishes with  the  increase  of  population,  and, 
besides,  much  attention  has  of  late  been 
paid  to  the  training  of  teachers.  A  very 
laudable  effort  is  now  making  in  New- 
England,  and  also  in  New- York,  and  some 
other  states,  to  attach  a  library  of  suitable 
books  to  each  school.  The  plan  is  excel- 
lent, and  promises  much  good. 

Primary  instruction  in  the  United  States 
owes  almost  everything  to  Religion,  as 
the  most  efficient  of  all  the  principles  that 
prompts  to  its  promotion.  Not  that  the 
Protestants  of  that  country  interest  them- 
selves in  the  primary  schools  for  the  pur- 
pose of  proselytizing  children  to  their 
views,  but  rather  that  at  these  schools  the 
youth  of  the  nation  may  be  qualified  for 
receiving  religious  instruction  effectually 
elsewhere,  and  for  the  due  discharge  of 
their  future  duties  as  citizens.  And,  how- 
ever much  they  may  wish  to  see  religious 
instruction  given  at  the  common  schools, 
they  will  not  for  a  moment  give  in  to  the 
opinion  that  all  is  lost  where  this  cannot 
be  accomplished.  Primary  instruction, 
even  when  not  accompanied  with  any  re- 
ligious instruction,  is  better  than  none ; 
and  in  such  cases,  they  that  love  the  Gos- 
pel have  other  resources — in  the  pulpit, 
the  family  altar,  the  Bible-class,  and  the 
Sabbath-school. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

GRAMMAR-SCHOOLS    AND    ACADEMIES. 

But  if  Primary  Schools  in  the  United 
States  owe  much  to  religion,  Grammar- 
schools  and  Academies,  which  may  be  call- 
ed secondary  institutions,  owe  still  more. 

In  1647,  only  twenty-seven  years  after 
the  settlement  of  the  Puritans  in  New- 
England,  we  find  the  colony  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay  making  a  legal  provision,  not 
only  for  primary,  but  for  secondary  schools 
also.  "  It  being  one  chief  project  of  Sa- 
tan," says  the  statute,  "  to  keep  men  from 
the  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  by  dis- 
suading from  the  use  of  tongues ;  and  to 
the  end  that  learning  may  not  be  buried 
in  the  graves  of  our  forefathers  in  Church 
and  commonwealth,  the  Lord  assisting  our 
endeavours ;  therefore  be  it  enacted,  that 
every  township,  after  the  Lord  hath  in- 
creased them  to  the  number  of  fifty  house- 
holders, shall  appoint  one  to  teach  all  chil- 
dren to  write  and  read ;  and  where  any 
town  shall  increase  to  the  number  of  100 
families,  they  shall  set  up  a  grammar- 
school,  the  masters  thereof  being  able  to 
instruct  youth  so  far  as  they  may  be  fitted 
for  the  university."  Such  was  the  origin 
of  the  grammar-schools  of  New-England, 
and  now  they  are  so  numerous  that  not 
only  has  almost  every  county  one,  but 


Chap.  XII.] 


GRAMMAR-SCHOOLS   AND  ACADEMIES. 


149 


many  of  the  more  populous  and  wealthy 
possess  several. 

Not  only  so  ;  all  the  other  states  have 
incorporated  academies  and  grammar- 
schools  in  very  considerable  numbers. 
Some,  by  a  single  act,  have  made  an  ap- 
propriation for  the  establishment  of  one 
such  institution  in  every  county  within 
their  jurisdiction.  Thus,  in  Pennsylvania, 
many  years  ago,  2000  dollars  were  granted 
for  the  erection  of  a  building  for  a  gram- 
mar-school, at  the  seat  of  justice  for  each 
county,  and  a  board  of  trustees,  with  pow- 
er to  fill  up  vacancies  as  they  might  occur 
in  their  numbers,  was  appointed  for  each. 
These  buildings  are  now  occupied  by  mas- 
ters who  teach  the  higher  branches  of  an 
English  education,  and,  in  most  cases,  also 
the  Latin  and  Greek  languages,  besides 
such  instruction  in  the  mathematics,  and 
other  studies,  as  may  qualify  the  pupils 
for  entering  college.  Like  provisions  have 
been  made  by  other  states,  and  even  the 
newest  of  them  in  the  West  are  continual- 
ly encouraging  learning  by  passing  such 
acts.  In  no  case,  however,  does  a  state 
endow  such  an  institution.  A  grant  is 
made  at  the  outset  for  the  edifice  that  may 
be  required  ;  in  most  cases,  this  is  all  that 
is  done  by  the  state,  after  which  the  insti- 
tution has  to  depend  upon  the  fees  paid  by 
the  scholars  for  the  support  of  the  master 
or  masters  employed.  In  some  instances, 
as  in  the  State  of  New- York,  the  grammar- 
school  has  a  yearly  subsidy  from  the  state  ; 
in  which  case,  there  is  usually  some  con- 
dition attached  to  the  grant,  such  as  the 
giving  of  gratis  instruction  to  a  certain 
number  of  poor  lads,  or  of  youths  intend- 
ing to  become  teachers  of  primary  schools. 
But  in  most,  even  of  the  cases  in  which 
they  have  been  aided  by  the  state,  these 
institutions  have  not  only  been  privately 
commenced  and  carried  to  a  certain  point 
previously  to  such  assistance,  but  owe 
much  more  afterward  to  the  spontaneous 
support  of  their  friends.  Indeed,  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  grammar-schools,  and 
some  of  these  the  very  best,  may  be  found 
which  owe  their  existence  purely  to  indi- 
vidual or  associated  efforts.  Such  is  the 
"  Burr  Seminary,"  in  the  town  of  Man- 
chester, in  the  Stale  of  Vermont,  which 
originated  in  a  legacy  of  10,000  dollars,  left 
by  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Joseph 
Burr,*  for  the  education  of  poor  and  pious 
young  men  for  the  ministry.    By  the  terms 

*  Mr.  Burr  had  been  for  many  years  a  resident  at 
Manchester,  in  Vermont.  By  patient  industry  and 
upright  dealings,  he  acquired  a  fortune  estimated  at 
150,000  dollars  at  the  time  of  his  death.  A  large 
part  of  this  sum  he  bequeathed  to  the  American  Bi- 
ble Society,  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  American  Home  Missionary  Soci- 
ety, and  American  Education  Society,  besides  en- 
dowing a  professorship  in  one  college,  and  contribu- 
ting largely  to  the  same  object  in  another.  And  in 
addition  to  all  this,  by  the  above  bequest  of  10,000 
dollars  he  founded  the  Seminary  that  bears  his  name. 


of  his  will,  in  case  of  an  equal  sum  being 
raised  by  the  citizens  of  the  place  for  the 
erection  of  a  suitable  building,  the  purchase 
of  apparatus,  library,  &c,  then  his  legacy  of 
10,000  dollars  might  be  invested  as  a  perma- 
nent fund,  the  interest  of  which  was  to  be 
applied  to  paying  for  the  education  of  such 
young  men  as  he  should  designate.  This 
was  done  even  beyond  the  extent  required 
by  the  testator.  A  large  and  commodious 
edifice  was  erected,  containing  rooms  for 
the  recitation  of  lessons,  lectures,  library, 
philosophical  apparatus,  &c.  The  school 
was  opened  on  the  15th  of  May,  1833,  and 
the  number  of  scholars  for  the  first  term 
was  146;  many  of  whom  were  pious  youths, 
devoting  themselves  to  study  with  a  view 
to  the  ministry.  The  institution  still  flour- 
ishes under  the  instructions  of  excellent 
men  ;  and  being  situated  in  a  secluded  and 
moral  village  in  the  midst  of  the  Green 
Mountains,  where  living  is  cheap,  it  is  at- 
tended by  choice  youths,  some  thirty  or 
forty  of  whom  are  educated  gratuitously. 
Such,  again,  is  "  Philips'  Academy,"  at 
Andover,  in  Massachusetts,  about  twenty 
miles  north  of  Boston.  Founded  in  1778, 
by  the  joint  liberality  of  two  brothers,  the 
Hon.  Samuel  Philips,  of  Andover,  and  the 
Hon.  John  Philips,  of  Exeter,  New-Hamp- 
shire, it,  two  years  afterward,  received  a 
charter  of  incorporation  from  the  state. 
The  fund  supplied  by  these  two  brothers 
was  afterward  augmented  by  the  bequest 
of  a  third,  the  Hon.  William  Philips,  of 
Boston. 

This  Academy,  which  is  one  of  the  best 
endowed  in  the  United  States,  has  been 
truly  a  blessing  to  the  cause  of  Religion 
and  Learning.  By  the  terms  prescribed 
by  its  pious  founders,  it  is  open  to  all  youth 
of  good  character,  but  they  have  placed  it 
under  the  control  of  Protestants,  and  the 
religious  instruction  given  must  be  ortho- 
dox in  the  true  sense  of  the  word.  In- 
struction is  required  to  be  given  in  the 
English,  Latin,  and  Greek  languages  ;  in 
writing,  arithmetic,  and  music ;  in  the  art 
of  speaking;  also  in  practical  geometry, 
logic  ;  and  any  other  of  the  liberal  arts, 
sciences,  or  languages,  as  opportunity  and 
ability  may  from  time  to  time  admit,  and 
the  trustees  shall  direct.  As  the  educa- 
tion of  suitable  young  men  for  the  minis- 
try was  a  leading  consideration  with  the 
founders,  so  has  the  institution  been,  in  this 
respect,  abundantly  blessed.  Many  such 
youths  have  here  pursued  their  preparato- 
ry studies ;  and  in  1808,  availing  them- 
selves of  a  provision  contained  in  the  plan 
marked  out  by  the  founders,  the  trustees 
ingrafted  on  the  institution,  or,  rather,  es- 
tablished in  the  same  village,  and  under  the 
same  direction,  a  Theological  Seminary, 
which  has  become  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished of  the  kind  in  the  United  States,  and 
will  call  for  more  ample  notice  hereafter. 


150 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


A  large  proportion  of  the  grammar- 
schools  and  academies  in  the  United 
States,  whether  incorporated  or  not,  are 
under  the  direction  and  instruction  of  min- 
isters of  the  Gospel  of  different  evangeli- 
cal denominations.  These  ministers,  in 
some  cases,  devote  their  whole  time  to  the 
work  of  academical  instruction ;  in  other 
cases,  they  have  also  the  charge  of  a 
church  or  congregation,  and  as  they  have 
to  perform  the  double  duties  of  pastor  and 
head  of  a  grammar-school,  they  have  usu- 
ally an  assistant  teacher  in  the  latter.  The 
teachers  in  these  academies  are  often  pi- 
ous young  men,  of  small  pecuniary  re- 
sources, who,  after  completing  their  stud- 
ies at  college,  betake  themselves  to  this 
employment  for  a  few  years,  in  order  to 
find  the  means  of  supporting  themselves 
while  attending  a  theological  school.  But 
whether  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  or  grad- 
uates fresh  from  college,  such  teachers 
generally  communicate  instruction  of  a  de- 
cidedly religious  character.  The  Scrip- 
tures are  daily  read  ;  the  school  is  usually 
opened  and  closed  with  prayer ;  and  in 
many  cases,  a  Bible-class,  comprising  all 
the  pupils,  meets  on  the  Sabbath  after- 
noon, or  morning,  for  the  study  of  the  Sa- 
cred Volume.  Thus,  by  the  favour  of  God 
resting  on  these  institutions,  and  making 
them  effectual  to  the  converting  of  many 
of  the  youths  that  attend  them,  they  prove 
blessings  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  as  well 
as  to  the  State. 

I  may  add,  that  within  the  last  ten  or 
twenty  years,  a  great  many  excellent  in- 
stitutions for  the  education  of  young  ladies 
liave  sprung  up  in  different  parts  of  the 
United  States,  through  associated  or  indi- 
vidual efforts.  The  course  of  instruction 
at  these  is  excellent  and  extensive,  embra- 
cing all  branches  of  valuable  knowledge 
proper  for  the  sex.  Upon  many  of  these, 
also,  God  has  caused  his  blessing  to  de- 
scend, and  has  brought  not  a  few  of  the 
young  persons  attending  them  to  the 
knowledge  of  Himself.  They  are  gener- 
ally conducted  by  ladies  ;  but  the  teachers 
in  some  cases  are  gentlemen,  clergymen 
especially,  assisted  by  pious  ladies.  In  no 
other  country,  probably,  has  the  higher  ed- 
ucation of  females  made  greater  progress 
than  in  the  United  States  during  the  last 
few  years.  The  Christian  community 
there  begins  to  feel  that  mothers  have,  in 
a  great  measure,  the  formation  of  the  na- 
tional character  in  their  hands. 

According  to  the  census  of  1840,  the 
Grammar-schools  and  Academies  for  both 
sexes  in  the  United  States  amounted  to 
3242,  attended  by  164,159  pupils. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


COLLEGES    AND    UNIVERSITIES. 

In  the  census  of  the  United  States  for 
1840,  the  number  of  universities  and  col- 
leges is  put  down  at  173,  and  that  of  stu- 
dents at  16,233.  This,  however,  includes 
not  only  the  Theological,  Medical,  and  Law 
schools,  but  several  other  institutions  im- 
properly called  colleges.  A  more  accu- 
rate list  makes  the  colleges  amount  to 
103,  and  the  students  to  9607.  But  even 
this  estimate  includes  several  institutions, 
which,  though  incorporated  as  colleges,  are 
scarcely  so  far  organized  as  to  be  entitled 
to  the  name.  In  some  cases,  too,  the  stu- 
dents in  the  preparatory  departments  are 
reckoned  along  with  the  under-graduates, 
properly  so  called,  that  is,  the  students  in 
the  four  regular  classes  of  seniors,  juniors, 
sophomores,  and  freshmen,  into  which  the 
students  of  our  colleges  are  divided. 

It  would  be  absurd  to  compare  the  col- 
leges of  America  with  the  great  universi- 
ties of  Europe.  The  course  of  studies  is 
widely  different.  For  while  sufficiently 
comprehensive  in  almost  all  the  colleges 
that  deserve  that  name,  it  is  not  to  be  com- 
pared, in  general,  as  respects  depth  and  ex- 
tent of  investigation  in  particular  branch- 
es, with  that  of  the  older  universities  of 
Europe.  But,  upon  the  whole,  the  educa- 
tion to  be  had  at  one  of  our  colleges  bet- 
ter capacitates  a  man  for  the  work  that  is 
likely  to  await  him  in  America  than  would 
that  which  the  universities  of  Europe  could 
give  him,  if  one  may  be  allowed  to  judge 
from  experience. 

In  almost  all  instances,  the  colleges  in 
the  United  States  have  been  founded  by 
religious  men.  The  common  course  in  es- 
tablishing them  is  as  follows :  A  company 
is  organized,  a  subscription  list  opened, 
and  certain  men  of  influence  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood consent  to  act  as  trustees.  A 
charter  is  then  asked  from  the  Legislature 
of  the  state  within  which  the  projected  in- 
stitution is  to  be  placed,  and  a  grant  in 
aid  of  the  funds  at  the  same  time  solicited. 
The  charter  is  obtained,  and  with  it  a 
few  thousand  dollars,  perhaps,  by  way  of 
assistance.  What  else  is  required  for  the 
purchase  of  a  site,  erecting  buildings,  pro- 
viding a  library,  apparatus,  &c,  &c,  must 
be  made  up  by  those  interested  in  the  proj- 
ect. Thus  have  vast  sums  been  raised, 
particularly  during  the  last  twenty  years, 
for  founding  colleges  in  all  parts  of  the 
country,  especially  in  the  West.  A  great 
portion  of  these  sums  have  been  subscribed 
by  persons  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  more 
directly  interested  in  the  success  of  the 
undertakings  subscribed  for ;  but  in  many 
cases,  money  to  a  large  amount  has  been 
obtained  from  the  churches  along  the  At- 
lantic coast. 

Sixty-two   of   the    103  colleges    in  the 


Chap.  XIII.] 


COLLEGES  AND   UNIVERSITIES. 


151 


United  States  have  been  opened  within  the 
last  twenty-five  years.  Many  of  these  are, 
of  course,  in  their  infancy,  and  not  very 
well  organized.  Without  reckoning  grants 
made  by  the  states,  it  would  be  difficult 
to  find  one  that  has  not  cost  its  founders 
above  10,000  dollars,  and  many  have  cost 
them  twice  that  sum.  Several*  have  cost 
even  50,000  dollars,  if  not  more,  while,  at  the 
same  time,  several  of  the  older  colleges, 
such  as  Yale,  New-Jersey,  Rutgers,  Will- 
iams, Hamilton,  &c,  have  raised  large 
sums  by  voluntary  effort  among  their  re- 
spective friends,  for  the  purpose  of  aug- 
menting the  advantages  they  offer  to  the 
students  that  attend  them.  Upon  the  whole, 
I  consider  that  it  were  not  too  much  to 
say,  that  from  1,500,000  to  -2,000,000  dollars 
have  been  raised  by  voluntary  subscrip- 
tions and  donations  for  the  erection  and  en- 
dowment of  colleges,  since  the  year  1816. 

I  have  said  that  the  state  gives  some 
aid  to  many  such  enterprises.  But,  except- 
ing the  Universities  of  Virginia,  Alabama, 
Michigan,  and  those  of  Ohio  and  Miami, 
both  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  Jefferson 
College  in  Mississippi,  and  Jefferson  Col- 
lege in  Louisiana,  I  am  not  aware  of  any 
in  the  country  that  can  be  said  to  have  been 
wholly  endowed  by  the  government  of  any 
state.  The  Universities  of  North  Caroli- 
na and  Georgia,  and  Columbia  College  in 
South  Carolina,  may  possibly  be  so  far  aid- 
ed by  the  states  in  which  they  are  respect- 
ively situated,  as  to  have  something  like 
an  endowment,  but  the  aid  so  rendered,  I 
apprehend,  is  far  from  sufficient.  So,  also, 
Congress  has  aided  from  time  to  time 
Xl  Columbian  College,"  situated  near  Wash- 
ington City,  and  within  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia,! but  the  aid  so  received  has  never 
been  at  all  adequate  to  the  purposes  for 
which  it  was  required. 

There  are  not  above  six  or  seven  col- 
leges or  universities  in  the  United  States 
over  which  the  civil  or  political  govern- 
ments can  exercise  any  direct  control.  It 
is  well  that  it  is  so.  A  State  Legislature,  or 
Congress  itself,  would  be  found  very  unfit 
to  direct  the  affairs  of  a  college  or  univer- 
sity. Wherever,  in  fact,  they  have  re- 
served such  power  to  themselves  in  the 
charters  they  have  granted,  they  have 
sooner  or  later  nearly,  if  not  altogether, 


*  For  instance,  Pennsylvania  College,  at  Gettys- 
burg, Pennsylvania;  Centre  College,  at  Danville, 
Kentucky  ;  Illinois  College,  at  Jacksonville,  Illinois  ; 
Western  Reserve  College,  Ohio ;  to  say  nothing  of 
some  of  the  Roman  Catholic  colleges,  which  have 
not  cost  much  less,  from  first  to  last,  than  50,000 
dollars  ;  Amherst  College,  in  Massachusetts,  has  cost 
more  than  that  sum,  probably;  while  the  Universi- 
ty of  New- York  has  cost  three  or  four  times  that 
amount. 

t  This  college  comes  properly  within  the  sphere 
of  the  legislation  of  Congress,  and  is  the  only  one 
that  does  so.  All  the  others  come  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  several  states  within  whose  territories 
they  stand. 


ruined  the  institutions  on  which  they  have 
laid  their  unhallowed  hands.  A  college  or 
university  is  no  place  for  party  politics, 
and  so  well  is  this  understood,  that  the 
Legislatures  of  the  several  states  hesitate 
not  to  grant  a  college  charter  to  a  body  of 
respectable  citizens,  and  to  appoint  at  once 
the  persons  recommended  as  trustees  or 
directors,  with  power  to  fill  up  the  vacan- 
cies that  may  occur;  after  which,  these 
office-bearers,  having  sworn  to  do  nothing 
in  that  capacity  contrary  to  the  laws  and 
Constitution  of  the  country,  are  empow- 
ered to  manage  and  govern  the  proposed 
college  according  to  their  own  best  judg- 
ment, and  the  regulations  they  may  lay 
down  to  that  effect.  While  acting  within 
the  limits  prescribed  by  the  charter  and 
their  oath,  that  charter  must  remain  invio- 
late. So  it  has  been  determined  by  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

I  have  said  that  almost  every  college  ex- 
isting in  the  country  may  be  traced  to  re- 
ligious motives,  and  how  true  this  is,  will 
appear  from  the  fact,  that  of  the  103  col- 
leges now  in  operation,  twelve  are  under 
the  influence  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  eleven  under  that  of  the  Metho- 
dists, twelve  under  that  of  the  Baptists, 
forty-two  under  that  of  the  Presbyterians 
and  Congregationalists ;  one  is  Lutheran, 
one  German  Reformed,  two  Dutch  Re- 
formed, two  Cumberland  Presbyterian ; 
eleven  are  Roman  Catholic,  one  Univer- 
salist,  one  Unitarian,  and  the  religious 
character  of  seven  of  thein  I  do  not  know. 
In  this  calculation  I  place  each  institution 
under  the  church  to  which  its  president 
belongs.  This  rule  is  the  best  that  I  know, 
and  although  it  does  not  hold  in  every  case, 
the  exceptions  are  few  ;  and,  without  any 
exception,  it  indicates  the  general  faith  by 
which  the  institution  is  influenced. 

Thus  we  see  that  of  these  103  universi- 
ties and  colleges,  eighty-three  are  under  de- 
cided evangelical  and  orthodox  influence. 
Their  presidents,  and,  I  may  add,  many  of 
their  professors,  are  known  to  be  religious 
men,  and  sound  in  the  faith  ;  all  of  the  for- 
mer, with  three  or  four  exceptions,  are 
ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  many  of  them 
men  of  great  eminence  in  the  Church. 
The  seven  colleges  whose  religious  char- 
acter I  do  not  know,  are  probably  under 
evangelical  influence ;  all  of  the  seven,  I 
have  reason  to  believe,  are  Protestant. 
I  need  not  say  how  much  cause  for  grati- 
tude to  God  we  have,  that  so  many  young 
men  of  the  first  families,  and  possessing 
fine  talents,  should  be  educated  in  colleges 
that  are  under  the  influence  of  evangelical 
principles.  In  many  of  them  the  Bible  is 
studied  by  the  students  every  Sabbath,  un- 
der the  guidance  of  their  teachers.  In  all 
they  receive  a  great  deal  of  religious  in- 
struction, and  are  daily  assembled  for 
prayers.     God  has  often  visited  some  ®f 


152 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  Iv. 


them  with  the  outpourings  of  his  Spirit. 
Not  that  this  religious  instruction  is  intend- 
ed to  proselytize  from  one  Protestant  and 
evangelical  church  to  another.  In  that  re- 
spect, a  Presbyterian  father  might  with  all 
safety  commit  his  son  to  an  Episcopalian, 
Methodist,  or  Lutheran  college.  Here  I 
speak  from  facts  that  I  myself  have  known. 
Several  of  the  most  distinguished  dignita- 
ries of  the  Episcopal  Church  were  educa- 
ted at  Princeton  College,  New-Jersey,  a 
Presbyterian  institution,  and  founded  by 
Presbyterians.  Some  of  them  received 
their  first  religious  convictions  there,  and 
yet,  I  believe,  they  can  testify  that  no  office- 
bearer of  that  college  ever  attempted  to 
bring  them  over  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  Any  advice  of  that  kind,  on  the 
contrary,  would  have  been  that  they  should 
join  the  church  in  which  they  were  born, 
that  is,  the  Episcopal.* 

As  none  of  the  universities  but  that  of 
Harvard,  situated  in  the  town  of  Cam- 
bridge, not  far  from  Boston,  have  all  the 
four  faculties  of  literature,  law,  medicine, 
and  theology,  with  that  exception  they 
ought  rather  to  be  called  colleges.  The 
theology  at  Harvard  is  Unitarian.  Several 
of  the  other  universities  have  faculties  of 
medicine  attached  to  them.  On  the  other 
hand,  Yale  College,  at  New-Haven,  in  Con- 
necticut, ought  rather  to  be  called  a  uni- 
versity, for  it  has  all  the  four  faculties,  and 
is  attended  by  far  more  students  than  go 
to  Harvard. 

I  may  add,  that  Harvard  University  was 
the  first  literary  institution  established  in 
the  United  States.  It  was  founded  in  1638, 
eight  years  after  Massachusetts  Bay,  and 
eighteen  after  Plymouth  was  first  colo- 
nized ;  so  that  there  were  not  many  more 
than  5000  settlers  at  the  time  in  all  New- 
England.  Hardly  had  the  forests  been 
cleared  away  for  the  streets  of  their  settle- 
ments, when  they  began  to  project  a  col- 
lege or  university.  And  yet  these  were 
the  Puritans  now  so  much  vilified  and  slan- 
dered !  Great  were  the  efforts  made  by 
those  exiles  to  attain  their  object.  The 
General  Court  granted  for  the  erection  of 
a  proper  edifice  a  sum  equal  to  a  year's 
rate  of  the  whole  colony.  John  Harvard, 
who  had  come  to  the  New  World  only  to 
die,  bequeathed  to  the  college  half  his  es- 
tate, and  all  his  library.  Plymouth  and  Con- 
necticut often  sent  their  little  offerings,  as 
did  the  eastern  towns  within  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  present  State  of  Maine.  The 
rent  of  a  ferry  was  made  over  to  it.  All 
the  families  in  the  Puritan  settlements  each 
gave  once  a  donation  of  at  least  twelve 

*  The  Rev.  Dr.  M'llvaine,  the  distinguished  Bish- 
op of  Ohio,  and  the  no  less  excellent,  though  per- 
haps less  known  assistant  Bishop  of  Virginia,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Johns,  were  both  educated  and  converted  at 
Princeton  College.  The  late  Bishop  Hobart,  of  New- 
York,  was  educated  in  that  institution,  and  was  for 
some  time  a  tutor  there. 


pence,  or  a  peck  of  corn,  while  larger  gifts 
were  made  by  the  magistrates  and  wealth- 
ier citizens.  It  was  for  a  long  time  the 
only  college  in  New-England,  and  in  its 
halls  the  great  men  of  the  country  were 
educated.  For  a  century  and  a  half  it  was 
a  precious  fountain  of  living  waters  for  the 
Church  of  God.  But,  alas  !  for  the  last 
half  century,  or  nearly  so,  it  has  been  in 
the  hands  of  men  who  hold  "  another  gos- 
pel" than  that  held  by  its  pious  founders.* 
The  second  college  founded  in  the  Uni- 
ted States  was  that  of  William  and  Mary, 
at  Williamsburg,  in  Virginia,  in  1693.  The 
third  was  Yale  College  above  mentioned, 
founded  in  1700.  The  fourth  was  Prince- 
ton College,  New-Jersey,  founded  in  1746. 
The  University  of  Pennsylvania  dates  from 
1755  ;  Columbia  College,  in  New- York, 
from  1754  ;  Brown  University,  from  1764  ; 
Rutgers  and  Dartmouth  Colleges,  from 
1770.  These  were  all  that  were  founded 
previously  to  the  Revolution. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. AMERICAN   SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

UNION    AND     OTHER     SUNDAY     SCHOOL     SOCI- 
ETIES. 

One  of  the  most  efficient,  as  well  as  the 
simplest  instruments  of  doing  good,  is  the 
Sunday-school ;  an  institution,  the  history 
of  which  is  too  well  known  to  require  any 
detail  in  this  work.  Mr.  Robert  Raikes,. 
of  Gloucester,  in  England,  towards  the 
close  of  the  last  century,  established  the 
first  that  was  ever  conducted  upon  any- 
thing like  the  plan  now  generally  pursued, 
and  the  excellence  of  which  has  been  pro- 
ved by  long  experience. 

The  first  attempt  to  introduce  Sunday- 
schools  into  the  United  States  was  made 
by  the  Methodists  in  1790,  but  from  some 
cause  or  other  it  failed.  A  society  was 
soon  after  formed  at  Philadelphia,  with 
the  late  Bishop  White  at  its  head,  and  a 
few  schools  were  established  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  poor,  taught  by  persons  who  re- 
ceived a  certain  compensation  for  their 
trouble.  Early  in  the  present  century, 
schools  began  to  be  established  in  vari- 
ous places  under  voluntary  and  gratuitous 
teachers,  and  gradually  becoming  better 
known  and  appreciated,  the  number  was 
found  very  considerable  in  1816.  Associ- 
ations for  promoting  them  more  extensive- 
ly began  then  to  be  formed  in  Philadelphia, 
New- York,  and  other  cities,  and  the  publi- 
cation of  spelling  and  hymn  books,  scrip- 
tural catechisms,  &c,  for  the  children  was 
commenced.  Some  persons  also  did  much 
to  advance  this  good  work  by  their  indi- 
vidual efforts. f 


*  A  voluminous  and  interesting  history  of  this 
university,  by  its  present  president,  Josiah  Quincy, 
L.L.D.,  has  lately  been  published. 

■f  Among  whom  may  be  mentioned  the  late  Divie- 


Chap.  XIV.] 


SUNDAY    SCHOOLS. 


153 


Measures  were  taken  in  1823  for  the 
forming  of  a  national  society  which  should 
extend  the  benefit  of  Sunday-schools  to  all 
parts  of  the  country ;  and,  accordingly,  the 
American  Sunday-school  Union  was  insti- 
tuted ;  an  association  composed  of  excel- 
lent men  of  all  evangelical  denominations, 
but  in  which  no  particular  denomination  is 
represented  as  such.  It  has  now  been  diffu- 
sing its  blessings  for  more  than  nineteen 
years.  The  board  of  managers  is  com- 
posed of  intelligent  and  zealous  laymen  of 
the  various  evangelical  denominations,  the 
greater  part  residing  in  Philadelphia  and  its 
vicinity,  as  that  is  the  centre  of  the  socie- 
ty's operations. 

Its  grand  object  is  twofold  :  to  promote 
the  establishment  of  Sunday-schools  where 
required,  and  to  prepare  and  publish  suita- 
ble books,  some  to  be  employed  as  manu- 
als in  the  schools,  and  others  for  libraries, 
intended  to  furnish  the  children  with  suit- 
able reading  at  home.  In  both  depart- 
ments much  good  has  been  done.  In  the 
former,  Sunday-school  missionaries,  com- 
monly ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  some- 
times capable  laymen,  have  been  employed 
in  visiting  almost  all  parts  of  the  country. 
They  hold  public  meetings  in  every  dis- 
trict or  neighbourhood  where  they  have 
any  prospect  of  success,  endeavour  to  in- 
terest the  people  in  the  subject,  and  to  es- 
tablish a  school.  Time  and  care  are  re- 
quired for  such  a  work.  The  nature  of  a 
Sunday-school  must  be  well  explained ; 
fit  persons  must  be  engaged  as  teachers ; 
these  must  have  their  duties  pointed  out 
to  them,  and  the  motives  that  ought  to 
prompt  them  to  undertake  the  office  pre- 
sented and  enforced  ;  and  money  must  be 
collected  for  the  purchase  of  books. 

In  1830,  the  society  resolved  to  estab- 
lish a  Sunday-school  in  every  neighbour- 
hood that  was  without  one,  throughout  the 
Western  States  or  Valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, wherever  practicable.  Three  years 
thereafter  it  adopted  a  like  resolution  with 
respect  to  the  Southern  States.  Both,  but 
particularly  the  former  of  these  resolu- 
tions, called  forth  much  effort.  Large 
sums  were  collected,  and  a  great  many 
schools  were  established.  Every  year 
since  its  commencement  the  society  has 
employed  a  number  of  agents  and  mission- 
aries ;  in  some  years  as  many  as  twenty, 
thirty,  forty,  and  even  fifty  such.  These 
traverse  the  country  throughout  its  vast 
extent,  resuscitate  decaying  schools,  es- 
tablish new  ones,  and  encourage  all. 

In  its  other  department  the  society  has 
rendered  great  services  to  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion, and,  I  may  add,  to  that  of  literature 
also.  Exclusive  of  the  Scriptures,  spelling- 
books,  primers,  catechisms,  maps,  cards  for 

Bethune,  Esq.,  who  published  at  his  own  expense  a 
number  of  little  books  for  the  instruction  of  youth  in 
Sunday-schools. 


infant  schools,  &c,  it  has  published  about 
450  volumes  of  books  for  libraries,  a  com- 
plete set  of  which,  well  bound,  costs  sev- 
enty-five dollars.  It  has  published,  like- 
wise, a  selection  from  these  as  a  library 
for  common  schools.  Among  its  publica- 
tions may  be  mentioned  its  admirable  man- 
uals or  aids  for  studying  the  Bible  ;  name- 
ly, a  Geography  of  the  Bible,  Natural  His- 
tory of  the  Bible,  Dictionary  of  the  Bible, 
Antiquities  of  the  Bible,  Scriptural  Biog- 
raphies, Maps  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  Books 
of  Questions,  in  several  volumes,  on  al- 
most all  parts  of  the  Bible,  for  the  use  of 
children  and  teachers.  While  all  these 
publications  are  thoroughly  Protestant  in 
their  character,  they  contain  nothing  re- 
pugnant to  the  doctrines  of  any  of  the 
evangelical  denominations,  so  that  there 
is  nothing  to  forbid  their  being  used  in  the 
Sunday-schools  of  any  of  the  Protestant 
churches.  This  is  a  great  advantage,  and 
enables  the  society  to  establish  hundreds 
of  schools  in  places  where  various  reli- 
gious bodies  intermingle,  and  where  none 
of  them  is  strong  enough  to  support  a 
school  by  itself.  The  society  publishes 
also  a  very  valuable  journal,  which  appears 
once  in  a  fortnight.  It  is  replete  with  in- 
teresting and  instructive  matter,  and  adapt- 
ed alike  to  scholars,  teachers,  and  parents. 
It  also  publishes  small  monthly  magazines 
and  gazettes  for  children. 

But  besides  this  great  society,  which 
stands  ready  to  promote  the  cause  any- 
where, and  on  the  most  catholic  principles, 
there  are  other  Sunday-school  societies, 
not  less  efficient  in  their  respective  spheres. 
The  Episcopalians  have  theirs,  the  Bap- 
tists theirs,  the  Episcopal  Methodists  theirs, 
the  Lutherans  theirs,  and  so  forth.  The 
Presbyterians,  strictly  speaking,  have  no 
Sunday-school  society  of  their  own,  but 
by  their  Publication  Board  they  publish 
books  for  Sunday-school  libraries.  Indeed, 
all  the  denominational  Sunday-school  so- 
cieties publish  books  for  their  own  schools, 
and  in  these  they  set  forth  and  defend  the 
peculiar  views  they  hold  respectively,  on 
points  of  doctrine  or  discipline,  to  such  an 
extent  as  they  deem  proper.  This  is  not 
unnatural,  for  each  school  is  mainly  attend- 
ed by  the  children  of  parents  attached  to 
churches  of  the  same  denomination  with 
that  of  the  society  that  supports  the  school. 
Not  that  all  the  publications  of  a  denomi- 
national Sunday-school  society  are  of  what 
may  be  termed  a  sectarian  character.  This 
is  by  no  means  the  case,  and,  besides,  these 
more  limited  societies  buy  from  the  Amer- 
ican Sunday-school  Union  whatever  books, 
upon  its  list  they  may  think  proper  to  add 
to  their  own. 

It  is  impossible  to  calculate  the  extent 
to  which  the  Sunday-school  libraries,  com- 
posed as  they  are  of  most  interesting  books 
on  almost  all  subjects  of  a  moral  and  reli- 


154 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


gious  character,  are  fostering  a  taste  for 
reading  among  the  rising  youth,  and  the 
adult  population,  also,  of  the  country.  The 
scholars  receive  from  them  one  or  two 
volumes  each,  according  to  the  size,  ev- 
ery Sabbath,  to  read  in  the  course  of  the 
week,  and  return  on  the  Sabbath  follow- 
ing, and  these  volumes  thus  pass  into  the 
hands  of  older  brothers  and  sisters,  parents, 
and  other  members  of  the  household.  The 
proceeds  of  the  sales  of  books  by  the  Amer- 
ican Sunday-school  Union  amounted  last 
year  (1843)  to  $55,895.  If  we  add  to  this 
ihe  value  of  those  sold  by  the  denomina- 
tional Sunday-school  societies,  we  should 
find  it  rise  to  at  least  $100,000.  And  if  we 
farther  add  the  cost  of  Sunday-school  books 
purchased  from  the  booksellers,  we  shall 
have  a  total  far  exceeding  the  last  amount 
as  the  value  of  books  bought  in  one  year 
for  the  use  of  Sunday-schools,  and  mainly 
for  the  libraries  attached  to  them. 

Besides  the  series  of  450  volumes  pub- 
lished by  the  American  Sunday-school 
Union,  a  far  greater  number  have  been 
published  by  the  denominational  societies.* 
Neither  pains  nor  money  have  been  spared 
in  the  preparation,  improvement,  and  pub- 
lication of  these  volumes,  and  in  this  re- 
spect, I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  Amer- 
ican Sunday-school  Union  has  outstripped 
every  similar  institution  in  other  countries. 
Much,  notwithstanding,  remains  to  be  done 
in  order  to  render  these  Sunday-school 
books  all  that  they  ought  to  be.  It  is  no 
easy  task  to  write  books  for  children  well. 
Much  talent  has  been  bestowed  upon  it  of 
late  years  in  the  United  States,  and  such 
has  been  the  demand  for  children's  books, 
created  by  the  Sunday-schools,  that  the 
booksellers  have  found  it  for  their  ad- 
vantage to  publish  such  books  for  those 
schools.  Many  of  these  are  good,,  but 
many,  too,  are  worthless  enough,  as  may 
readily  be  supposed  where  there  is  no  in- 
telligent committee  rigorously  to  examine 
them  previous  to  publication,  and  to  de- 
termine what  should  go  forth  to  the  public 
and  what  should  not. 

Sunday-schools  are  held  in  various  pla- 
ces ;  sometimes  in  churches,  or  in  the  lec- 
ture-rooms attached  to  many  of  our  large 
churches,  or  in  rooms  fitted  up  expressly 
for  the  purpose  in  the  basement  story  of 
many  of  our  city  churches ;  sometimes  in 
the  schoolhouses,  which  are  very  numer- 
ous ;  and,  especially  in  the  new  settle- 
ments, in  private  houses.  In  summer  they 
sometimes  meet  in  barns  ;  and  I  once  su- 
perintended a  Sunday-school  myself  which 
met  for  many  months  in  a  large  kitchen 


*  The  series  published  by  the  Methodist  "  Book 
Concern"  exceeds  250 ;  that  of  the  American  Bap- 
tist Publication  and  Sunday-school  Society  170; 
while  those  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal,  the  Prot- 
estant Methodist,  the  Lutheran,  the  Free-Will  Bap- 
tists, and  several  local  societies,  are  considerable. 


attached  to  a  farmhouse  in  the  State  of 
New-Jersey. 

The  hours  of  meeting  are  very  various. 
In  the  cities  and  large  towns  they  com- 
monly meet  twice  in  the  day  ;  at  eight  or 
nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  according  to 
the  season,  and  at  two  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, for  about  an  hour  and  a  half  each 
time.  Ih  the  villages  and  country  church- 
es they  usually  meet  for  two  hours,  once 
a  day,  immediately  before,  or  immediately 
after,  the  public  services.  In  some  cases 
I  have  known  a  pastor,  with  a  parish  ex- 
tending many  miles  in  all  directions  from 
the  church,  meet,  during  an  hour  before 
his  public  service,  with  nearly  all  the  adult 
part  of  his  flock  in  a  Bible-class,  and  go 
over  with  them  the  portion  of  Scripture 
given  out  to  his  Sunday-schools  for  that 
day ;  and  then,  instead  of  having  service 
in  the  afternoon,  he  would  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  day  visit  one  or  other,  in  their 
order,  of  the  ten  or  twelve  schools  held  by 
his  people  in  as  many  different  neighbour- 
hoods. On  these  occasions  he  would  ad- 
dress, not  only  the  children  and  teachers, 
but  also  the  parents  and  others  who  crowd- 
ed to  hear  him.  And  how  could  a  pastor 
instruct  his  people  more  effectually1?* 

A  word  or  two  may  not  be  amiss  on  the 
manner  of  conducting  our  Sunday-schools. 
Each  is  under  a  superintendent — a  gentle- 
man where  there  are  scholars  of  both  sex- 
es, but  usually  a  lady  where  there  are  only 
girls.  The  scholars  are  divided  into  class- 
es, according  to  their  age  and  capacity. 
All  the  reading  classes  learn  the  same  part 
of  Scripture,  going  through  a  certain  book 
inN  order.  Suppose,  for  instance,  the  fif- 
teenth chapter  of  Luke,  from  the  eleventh 
verse  to  the  end.  It  is  the  parable  of  the 
prodigal  son.  As  soon  as  the  school  is 
opened  the  scholars  take  their  places.  The 
service  begins  with  prayer  by  the  superin- 
tendent or  some  other  person.  Each  class 
— composed  usually  of  six  or  eight  per- 
sons— has  its  teacher,  to  whom  the  schol- 
ars repeat  the  lesson  in  the  Scriptures  for 
the  day.  When  that  is  done  the  teacher 
takes  the  book  of  Bible  Questions  (a  copy 
of  which  each  scholar  should  have),  and 
asks  the  questions  in  it  relating  to  the  pas- 
sage which  the  class,  in  common  with  the 
others,  have  learned.  The  answers  to 
these  questions  the  pupils  must  find  out 
through  their  own  efforts,  or  with  help 
from  their  parents,  during  the  week.  The 
teacher  asks,  also,  such  other  questions  as 
he  may  think  useful,  and  calculated  to  lead 
to  a  more  perfect  understanding  of  the  sub- 
ject. An  hour,  perhaps,  is  spent  in  this 
exercise.  After  that  the  scholars  return 
the  books  which  they  had  received  from 
the  librarian  on  the   preceding  Sabbath, 


*  In  some  of  the  large  cities  Sunday-schools  are 
held  at  night,  especially  for  the  benefit  of  the  colour- 
ed people. 


Chap.  XIV.] 


SUNDAY  SCHOOLS. 


155 


and  obtain  others.  Then  the  superintend- 
ent, or  pastor,  if  he  be  present,  addresses 
a  few  words  to  the  whole  school  on  the 
passage  which  they  have  learned,  and  en- 
deavours to  impress  upon  their  minds  the 
importance  of  the  truths  which  it  teaches. 
A  hymn  is  sung,  and  a  prayer  offered  up, 
and  the  school  closes. 

If  there  be  any  children  that  cannot  read, 
they  are  arranged  in  classes  by  themselves, 
and  taught  that  important  acquirement. 
In  many  of  the  schools  there  is  a  consid- 
able  number  of  such,  and  persons  beyond 
the  years  of  childhood,  who  have  had  no 
opportunities  of  learning  to  read  before, 
sometimes  make  the  attainment  in  the 
course  of  a  few  months  at  a  Sunday-school. 

In  all  the  free  states,  and  in  such  of  the 
slaveholding  ones  as  permit  the  slaves  to 
be  taught,  there  are  Sunday-schools  for  the 
coloured  people.*  In  these  schools  thou- 
sands and  tens  of  thousands  of  them  have 
learned  to  read  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and 
have  made  much  progress  in  divine  knowl- 
edge. 

The  superintendents  of  the  Sunday- 
schools  are  sometimes  elders  and  deacons 
of  the  churches ;  sometimes  they  are  pi- 
ous lawyers,  and  other  intelligent  gentle- 
men ;  and  in  the  vicinity  of  our  colleges  and 
theological  seminaries  they  are  often  stu- 
dents of  religious  character,  who  may  be 
prosecuting  their  studies  with  a  view  to 
the  ministry.  The  teachers  are,  for  the 
most  part,  young  people  of  both  sexes  be- 
longing to  the  churches  and  congregations. 
Wherever  truly  pious  persons  can  be  found 
willing  to  be  thus  employed,  they  are  pre- 
ferred ;  but  where  this  is  not  the  case,  se- 
riously-disposed and  moral  persons,  who 
desire  to  be  engaged  in  this  benevolent 
work,  are  taken,  and  almost  invariably  it 
happens  that,  in  teaching  others,  they  them- 
selves become  instructed  out  of  the  "  law 
of  God."  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  most 
of  the  ladies,  after  they  become  wives  and 
mothers,  have  too  many  domestic  cares 
and  duties  to  allow  them  to  continue  as 
teachers  in  the  Sabbath-school.  Some, 
however,  there  are  who  persevere  in  this 
blessed  employment,  their  zeal  triumphing 
over  every  obstacle. 

As  to  gentlemen,  many  more  of  them 
may  continue  in  the  work  after  they  have 
become  heads  of  families.  Hence  we  oft- 
en find  men  of  age  and  experience  among 
Sunday-school  teachers,  encouraging  and 


*  There  are  Sunday-schools  held  by  some  pious 
slaveholders  in  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  and  per- 
haps some  other  states,  in  which  portions  of  Scrip- 
ture are  often  repeated  to  the  assembled  slaves,  and 
remarked  upon  until  they  have  committed  much  of 
them  to  memory.  Prayer  and  singing  are  added  to 
these  exercises.  Such  schools  no  laws  can  well 
hinder,  no  more  than  they  can  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel  to  the  slaves.  These  schools  have  only  been 
commenced  within  a  few  years,  and  are  spreading  in 
several  places. 


aiding  them  in  their  toils.  And  it  is  not 
uncommon  to  find  some  of  those  who  hold 
the  very  highest  offices  in  the  State  or 
General  Government,  spending  a  portion 
of  their  Sabbaths  in  giving  instruction  to 
a  class  of  young  persons  in  a  Sunday- 
school.  I  have  known  several  governors 
and  their  ladies,  members  of  Congress,  and 
of  the  Legislatures  of  the  states,  judges, 
eminent  lawyers,  mayors  of  cities,  &c, 
who  were,  and  who  are  at  the  present  time, 
Sabbath-school  teachers,  and  who  have 
felt  it  no  degradation  to  be  thus  employed. 
The  present  distinguished  Chancellor  of 
the  University  of  New- York  was  the  su- 
perintendent of  a  Sunday-school,  even 
when  he  held  the  office  of  attorney-gen- 
eral of  his  native  State,  and  afterward, 
when  he  was  a  senator  in  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States ;  he  is  a  Sabbath-school 
teacher  still,  and  delights  to  associate  him- 
self with  the  youngest  teachers  engaged 
in  that  heavenly  employment. 

The  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Butler  was  a 
Sabbath-school  teacher,  even  while  hold- 
ing the  distinguished  office  of  attorney- 
general  to  the  United  States.  The  late 
Chief-justice  Marshall,  and  the  late  Judge 
Washington,  both  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  former  of 
whom,  it  is  admitted,  was  the  most  distin- 
guished jurist  the  country  has  ever  pro- 
duced, were  warm  friends  and  patrons  of 
Sunday-schools.  Both  were,  in  their  day, 
vice-presidents  of  the  American  Sabbath- 
school  Union.  Within  five  years  of  his 
death,  I  saw  Chief-justice  Marshall  march 
through  the  city  of  Richmond,  in  Virginia, 
where  he  resided,  at  the  head  of  the  Sun- 
day-schools on  the  occasion  of  a  celebra- 
tion. And,  finally,  the  late  President  Har- 
rison, who  in  his  youth  had  been  a  rough 
and  far  from  religious  soldier,  but  towards 
the  close  of  his  life  became  interested  in 
the  things  that  concerned  his  everlasting 
peace,  taught  for  several  years  a  class  of 
young  persons  in  an  humble  Sunday-school 
on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  ;  and  the  Sab- 
bath before  he  left  his  home  for  Washing- 
ton, there  to  become  his  country's  Chiet 
Magistrate  —  and,  alas  !  within  a  month 
thereafter  to  die  —  he  met,  as  usual,  his 
Bible-class. 

I  have  dwelt  the  longer  on  this  subject 
because  of  its  great  importance.  A  Sab- 
bath-school is  so  simple  an  affair  that  it 
may  be  begun  wherever  two  or  three  per- 
sons are  found  disposed  to  undertake  it.  I 
have  known  even  a  single  individual  keep 
one  himself,  and  spend  several  hours  every 
Sabbath  in  instructing  some  dozen  or  twen- 
ty poor  youth,  who  came  around  him  to 
learn  to  read  and  understand  the  Word  of 
God.  I  have  known  a  lady,  who,  as  her 
health  did  not  permit  her  to  go  to  a  Sun- 
day-school, received  a  class  of  young  ladies 
in  her  parlour  every  Sabbath  for  years. 


156 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


Why,  then,  should  not  Sabbath-schools  be 
established  in  every  city,  town,  hamlet,  and 
neighbourhood,  where  there  are  only  two 
or  three  persons  with  hearts  to  love  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  hands  to  promote  it  1 
Were  such  a  spirit  to  prevail  in  all  lands 
professedly  Christian,  how  soon  would 
they  show  a  very  different  aspect  from 
what  they  do  at  present  1 

It  is  impossible  to  state  with  accuracy 
the  present  number  of  Sunday-schools  in 
the  United  States.  They  were  reckoned 
seven  years  ago  at  16,000;  the  teachers  at 
130,000  or  140,000  ;  and  the  scholars,  com- 
prising, it  was  supposed,  100,000  adults,  at 
1,000,000!  These  numbers  must  be  much 
greater  now.  Who  can  estimate  the  amount 
of  good  resulting  from  1,000,000  of  minds 
being  brought  into  contact  every  Sabbath 
with  the  word  of  Him  who  hath  said  that 
His  "  word  shall  not  return  unto  him  void  ?" 
Thousands  and  tens  of  thousands,  both 
teachers  and  scholars,  are  known  to  have 
become  enlightened  and  saved,  by  means  of 
the  lessons  given  and  received  at  Sunday- 
schools.  But  a  whole  volume  would  not 
suffice  to  unfold  all  the  benefits  conferred 
by  this  blessed  institution,  to  which  may 
be  emphatically  applied  the  words  of  the 
celebrated  Adam  Smith,  in  speaking  of 
popular  education  in  general,  that  it  is 
"  the  cheap  defence  of  nations." 


HAPTER  XV. 


BIBLE-CLASSES. 


Akin  to  Sunday-schools  are  Bible-class- 
es. Indeed,  the  former,  conducted  as  at 
present  in  America,  are  little  more  than  an 
assemblage  of  the  latter. 

What  are  commonly  called  Bible-classes 
are  composed  of  a  comparatively  large 
number  of  persons,  all  taught  by  the  pastor 
of  the  church,  or  some  other  individual 
whom  he  engages  to  act  for  him.  To  pre- 
side over  a  Bible-class  of  from  twenty  to 
some  hundreds  of  persons,  the  greater 
number,  if  not  all,  of  whom  are  adults,  and 
some  of  them,  perhaps,  remarkably  intelli- 
gent and  well  informed,  requires  far  higher 
qualifications  than  simply  to  teach  a  small 
class  in  a  Sunday-school. 

These  Bible-classes  are  generally  con- 
ducted by  the  pastors,  and  so  highly  are 
they  valued  as  a  means  and  occasion  of 
good,  that  few  settled  ministers  have  not 
one  or  more  among  their  flocks.  In  some 
cases,  one  for  each  sex  is  held  once  in  the 
week — that  for  gentlemen  in  the  evening, 
that  for  ladies  during  the  day.  They  meet 
according  to  circumstances,  in  the  church, 
lecture-room,  vestry-room,  schoolroom,  or 
in  some  private  house.  The  pastor  some- 
times devotes  his  Sabbath  nights  to  a  Bib- 
lical service,  for  the  benefit  of  all  who  can 


attend  ;  a  practice  feasible  only  where  the 
population  is  compact,  and  the  flock  within 
an  easy  distance  of  the  place  of  meeting. 
In  country  churches,  these  classes  often 
hold  their  meetings  in  church  before  the 
regular  service  commences,  or  in  the  inter- 
val between  the  morning  and  afternoon 
services.  This  is  convenient,  but  is  apt  to 
produce  fatigue. 

I  have  known  pastors  in  country  church- 
es who  had  no  fewer  than  500  persons  in 
one  Bible-class,  if  I  can  call  it  so,  which 
met  in  the  afternoon  instead  of  the  regular 
service  ;  and  others,  whose  Bible-classes 
included  the  whole  adult  part  of  their 
flocks,  and  met  previous  to  the  forenoon 
service,  or  in  the  interval  between  that  and 
the  afternoon  service. 

In  conducting  these  classes,  the  common 
method  is  to  go  through  some  particular 
book  of  the  sacred  volume  in  course,  and 
some  system  of  Bible  questions  is  general- 
ly pursued.  Upon  this  plan,  all  who  have 
time  and  inclination  f  r  the  task,  prepare 
themselves,  by  reading  and  study,  for  an- 
swering the  questions  to  be  found  in  the 
book  of  questions  that  is  used.*  But  it  is 
not  the  practice  of  any  well-informed  pas- 
tor to  confine  himself  to  the  questions  con- 
tained in  the  book.  These  he  employs  as 
he  sees  fit ;  by  the  questions  he  puts  he 
assists  in  sustaining  the  attention  of  the 
people ;  and  he  takes  occasion  to  give  a 
great  amount  of  scriptural  instruction. 

To  conduct  a  Bible-class  in  a  manner  at 
once  interesting  and  profitable  requires  no 
little  preparation  ;  and,  when  well  done, 
few  methods  of  instruction  are  more  edify- 
ing, either  to  the  people  or  to  the  minister 
himself.  The  divine  blessing  has  rested 
most  remarkably  upon  it.  Nor  could  we 
expect  that  it  should  be  otherwise.  What 
more  likely  to  secure  the  divine  benediction 
than  to  bring  the  mind  to  the  study  of  that 
which  God  himself  hath  spoken  1  "  The 
entrance  of  thy  words  giveth  light ;  it  giv- 
eth  understanding  to  the  simple."  "  Sanc- 
tify them  by  thy  truth  ;  thy  word  is  truth." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

MATERNAL    SOCIETIES. 

I  must  not  omit,  among  the  means  which 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  God  has 
greatly  blessed  to  the  advancing  of  his 
kingdom  in  the  United  States,  the  Maternal 
Societies — institutions  that  have  not  been 


*  Several  excellent  clergymen  of  the  United  States 
have  written  systems  of  Bible  Questions,  among 
whom  may  be  mentioned  the  Rev.  Drs.  M'Dow- 
ell,  Tyng,  Barnes,  Professor  Holdich,  and  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  Covel,  J.  Longking,  and  Newcomb.  The  Bi- 
ble Questions  published  by  the  American  Sunday- 
school  Union  are  good,  as  are,  also,  several  of  those 
printed  by  the  denominational  Sunday-school  socie- 
ties. 


Chap.  XVII.] 


EDUCATION    SOCIETIES. 


157 


of  many  years'  standing  among  us,  but 
which  have  existed  long  enough  to  produce 
much  good. 

These  societies  are  composed  of  pious 
mothers,  who  meet  in  parties,  not  incon- 
veniently numerous,  once  in  the  week, 
fortnight,  or  month,  for  the  purpose  of 
conversing  on  the  subject  of  bringing  up 
their  children  for  the  Lord,  listening  to  the 
reading  of  valuable  remarks  and  hints  on 
the  best  means  of  discharging  this  great 
duty,  and  mingling  their  prayers  before  the 
throne  of  grace  in  behalf  of  themselves 
and  their  beloved  offspring.  These  little 
meetings  prove  very  precious  seasons  to 
many  an  anxious,  perplexed,  and  disheart- 
ened mother,  by  communicating  grace,  and 
strength,  and  support,  and  light,  for  ena- 
bling her  to  fulfil  her  fearfully  responsible 
part.  God  has  greatly  blessed  them.  For 
the  benefit  of  mothers,  some  excellent 
periodicals  have  been  published  in  the 
United  States  during  several  years  past. 
Among  these  let  me  mention  "  The  Mother's 
Magazine,"  issued  in  New- York,  and  re- 
published in  London.  It  appears  once  a 
month,  is  neatly  printed,  and  costs  only  a 
dollar  a  year.  It  has  a  very  extensive  cir- 
culation, and  furnishes  much  admirable  mat- 
ter for  reading  at  the  Maternal  Societies' 
meetings,  as  well  as  in  the  family  circle. 
Another  valuable  periodical  is  published  at 
Utica,  in  the  central  part  of  the  State  of 
New- York,  and  is  read  in  several  thousands 
of  families.  It  is  conducted  by  a  talented 
lady  of  the  Baptist  Church.  A  similar 
journal  has  been  commenced  at  Boston  ; 
while  all  our  religious  newspapers  contain 
many  articles  on  the  same  subject. 

On  the  other  hand,  several  publications 
appear  once  a  month,  or  once  in  two 
months,  for  the  benefit  of  fathers  and  of 
entire  families.  One  such  is  published  in 
the  city  of  New-York,  and  is  entitled  "  The 
Christian  Family  Magazine,  or  Parents' 
and  Children's  Journal."  It  is  said  to  have 
an  extensive  circulation.  Other  journals 
of  like  character,  and  having  the  same  ob- 
ject, are  published  in  other  pai*ts  of  the 
country.  Moreover,  almost  all  the  reli- 
gious newspapers,  now  very  numerous, 
and  some  one  or  more  of  which  are  read 
in  almost  every  Christian  family,  contain 
much  that  bears  upon  the  religious  educa- 
tion of  children,  and  the  whole  economy 
of  a  Christian  household. 

The  subject  is  one  of  vast  moment. 
The  world  has  never  yet  seen  the  full  re- 
sults of  the  Christian  education  of  children. 
Parents  have  much  to  learn  in  this  respect, 
and  need  all  the  helps  and  appliances  possi- 
ble, to  enable  them  rightly  to  discharge  their 
important  duties.  Were  all  fathers  and 
mothers  in  a  nation  such  as  they  ought  to 
be,  how  mighty  would  be  the  influence  of 
the  Gospel  upon  it !  Were  the  fathers  and 
mothers  in  the  Church  of  Christ  such  as 


they  ought  to  be,  how  different  would  it 
soon  become  from  what  we  see  it  now !  A 
praying,  devoted,  holy  mother  !  What  an 
interesting  being!  Such  was  the  mother 
of  Samuel,  of  Timothy,  and  of  thousands 
besides,  who  have  been  eminently  useful 
in  the  world. 

I  have  known  Christian  fathers  who 
met  once  a  week  for  years  to  pray  togeth- 
er for  their  children,  and  their  meetings 
have  been  eminently  useful  and  happy.  I 
have  seen  another  kind  of  meeting  which 
I  wish  were  more  common — a  quarterly 
prayer-meeting  specially  for  parents  and 
children.  It  was  affecting  to  see  parents, 
the  unconverted  as  well  as  the  converted, 
bringing  with  them  their  children,  dear  to 
them  as  life  itself,  into  the  sanctuary  on 
such  occasions,  that  they  might  share  in 
the  earnestly-sought  blessing. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

EDUCATION    SOCIETIES. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  develop- 
ments of  the  voluntary  principle  in  promo- 
ting religion  in  the  United  States,  is  seen 
in  the  Education  Societies ;  institutions  of 
comparatively  recent  date,  and  having  for 
their  object  the  granting  of  assistance  to 
pious  youths  of  promising  talents  but  small 
means,  in  preparing  for  the  ministry. 

One  of  the  first  of  these  was  the  Amer- 
ican Education  Society,  formed  at  Boston 
in  1816.  Hence  it  has  been  in  existence 
for  twenty-eight  years,  and  rarely  has  any 
society  been  the  instrument  of  more  good.* 

In  all  denominations  of  evangelical  Chris- 
tians in  the  United  States,  there  are  to  be 
found  among  those  classes  of  society  whose 
means  are  too  limited  to  give  their  sons  a 
college  education,  young  men  of  talent,  to 
whom  God  has  been  pleased  to  impart  the 
knowledge  of  his  grace,  and  in  whose 
hearts  he  implants  a  strong  desire  to  preach 
the  Gospel.  Now,  before  the  Education 
Societies  appeared  upon  the  field,  such 
youths  used  to  find  it  very  difficult,  and 
sometimes  even  impossible,  to  obtain  such 
an  education  as  was  required  by  the  rules 
of  the  church  in  whose  ministry  they  wish- 
ed to  place  themselves.  Some,  indeed, 
might  succeed  by  their  own  exertions  ;  by 
dint  of  industry  and  economy  they  might 
lay  up  enough  to  enable  them  to   com- 


*  This  society  published  from  the  year  1827  to 
1843  a  valuable  periodical,  entitled  "  The  American 
Quarterly  Register."  It  was  originated  by  the  late 
Rev.  Dr.  Cornelius  and  the  Rev.  B.  B.  Edwards,  the 
secretaries  of  the  society  at  the  first-named  epoch, 
and  continued  by  the  latter  gentleman  to  1S43,  aided 
for  several  years  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cogswell,  succes- 
sor of  Dr.  Cornelius  ;  and  afterward  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Riddel,  who  has  taken  the  place  of  Dr.  Cogswell. 
Mr.  Edwards  is  a  professor  in  the  theological  semi- 
nary at  Andover. 


158 


RELIGION   IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


mence  a  course  of  study  at  college.  By 
interrupting  their  college  studies  occasion- 
ally, in  order  to  recruit  their  finances  by 
teaching  a  school,  they  might,  after  long 
delays,  be  able  to  complete  the  requisite 
course  at  last ;  and  then,  by  similar  efforts, 
carry  themselves  through  the  required  the- 
ological course  at  a  seminary.  Others, 
more  fortunate,  might  be  so  far  assisted 
by  a  church  or  some  wealthy  and  benev- 
olent patron  or  friend.*  But  the  greater 
number,  in  despair  of  success,  were  likely 
to  renounce  all  expectation  of  being  able 
to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  to  resign  them- 
selves to  the  necessity  of  spending  their 
lives  in  the  ordinary  pursuits  of  business, 
not  in  making  known  the  "  unsearchable 
riches"  of  Christ  to  their  fellow-men. 

These  remarks,  it  will  be  perceived,  ap- 
ply to  such  youths  only  as  conscientious- 
ly cleave  to  those  churches  which  require 
a  college  education,  as  preliminary  to  a 
theological  one,  in  all  aspirants  to  the  sa- 
cred ministry.  This  is  the  rule,  except 
in  very  extraordinary  cases,  with  the  whole 
of  the  Presbyterian  churches,  excepting 
the  "  Cumberland  Presbyterians  ;"  with 
the  Episcopalians,  and  with  the  Congre- 
gationalists.  The  Baptists  and  the  Meth- 
odists, as  we  have  seen,  are  less  strict, 
and  are  satisfied  with  a  common  English 
education,  and  a  competent  knowledge  of 
theology.  But  even  among  these,  great 
and  laudable  efforts  are  now  put  forth  in  or- 
der to  give  a  higher  education  to  as  many  of 
their  candidates  for  the  ministry  as  possi- 
ble ;  and  it  is  on  this  account,  as  well  as 
for  more  general  objects,  that  they  have 
established  so  many  colleges  within  the 
last  few  years.  God  is  granting  his  rich 
blessing  to  their  efforts  in  this  great  cause ; 
of  this  every  year  furnishes  cheering  evi- 
dence. 

To  meet  the  demands  of  the  churches  for 
a  vastly-augmented  number  of  ministers  of 
the  Gospel,  and  to  help  those  young  men 
who  desire  to  respond  to  this  demand,  the 
American  Education  Society  was  formed 
on  the  broad  basis  of  rendering  its  aid  to  all 
pious  young  men,  of  suitable  talents,  who 
appear  to  be  called  to  preach  Christ,  and 
who  belong  to  any  of  the  evangelical  de- 
nominations. The  only  conditions  imposed 
upon  the  recipients  of  its  bounty  are  an  en- 


*  Several  of  the  colleges  possess  funds  bequeathed 
to  them  for  the  express  purpose  of  educating  poor 
and  pious  young  men  for  the  ministry.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Green,  in  his  historical  notices  of  the  College  of 
New-Jersey,  relates  that,  more  than  half  a  century 
since,  a  pious  young  man  of  the  name  of  Leslie  was 
educated  at  that  institution  for  the  ministry  of  the 
Gospel ;  but,  fearing  to  assume  the  responsibility  of 
that  office,  he  devoted  himself  to  teaching  a  school 
of  a  high  order,  in  which  employment  he  was  emi- 
nently successful.  At  his  death  he  bequeathed  to 
the  college  the  sum  of  15,000  dollars,  the  interest  of 
which  was  to  be  devoted  to  the  education  of  poor 
young  men  for  the  ministry.  This  fund  has  already 
educated  a  large  number  of  excellent  ministers. 


gagement,  1.  To  go  through  a  full  course 
of  collegiate  and  theological  education  in 
some  approved  college  and  seminary;  and, 
2.  To  refund  the  sums  advanced  to  aid 
them,  should  the  providence  of  God,  in  af- 
ter life,  give  them  the  means  of  doing  so. 

Such  are,  in  few  words,  its  principles. 
A  rigid  supervision  is  maintained  over 
those  Avho  accept  its  patronage.  And  set- 
ting out  in  its  admirable  career  with  a  few 
young  men,  it  has  gone  on,  under  the  fa- 
vour of  God,  diffusing  its  blessings  far  and 
wide.  It  has  rendered  aid  to  young  men 
belonging  to  eight  different  Evangelical 
Churches.  At  one  period,  some  three  or 
four  years  ago,  the  number  of  persons 
whom  it  was  aiding  exceeded  1100!  Du- 
ring the  year  ending  May  1st,  1843,  the 
number  aided  was  468.  These  were  pur- 
suing their  education  at  institutions  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country  ;  some  in  acad- 
emies and  grammar-schools,  some  in  col- 
leges, and  the  rest  in  theological  schools. 
And  the  whole  number  of  those  who  had 
been  aided,  up  to  that  time,  was  3182. 
The  receipts  for  that  year  were  33,789  dol- 
lars, and  the  expenditure  29,290.  The 
amount  refunded  that  year  by  beneficiaries 
who  had  completed  their  course  of  educa- 
tion was  2157  dollars.  The  earnings  of 
the  young  men  under  the  patronage  of  the 
society,  chiefly  from  teaching  schools  du- 
ring their  vacations,  have  some  years 
amounted  to  no  less  a  sum  than  20,000 
dollars.* 

The  sums  granted  by  this  society  to 
those  who  are  admitted  to  its  benefits  vary 
from  forty-eight  to  seventy-five  dollars  a 
year,  the  latter  sum  being  rarely  exceed- 
ed. Its  funds  have  been  liberally  aug- 
mented by  bequests  from  devoted  Chris- 
tian friends  who  loved  it  during  life,  and 
remembered  it  in  death.  Its  first  presi- 
dent gave  it  1000  dollars  during  his  life- 
time, and  left  it  a  legacy  of  5000.  Mr. 
Burr,  whom  we  have  already  had  occasion 
to  speak  of,  also  left  it  a  handsome  legacy. 
The  late  Dr.  Porter,  for  many  years  a  dis- 
tinguished professor  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Andover,  though  far  from  be- 
ing a  man  of  much  wealth,  bequeathed  to 
it  15,000  dollars.  Many  of  its  friends  have 
given  proof  of  large  and  enlightened  views 
by  the  patronage  they  have  given  it.  It 
has  assisted  a  great  number  of  most  valu- 
able ministers  of  the  Gospel  in  the  course 
of  their  education,  and  to  these  we  have 
to  add  no  fewer  than  sixty  of  the  mission- 
aries supported  in  foreign  lands  by  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  one  of  the  largest  and 
oldest  foreign  missionary  societies  in  the 
United  States. 

Of  late  years,  however,  the  number  of 
young  men  assisted  by  this  Society  has. 

*  This  society  has  permanent  funds  to  the  amount 
of  73,000  dollars. 


Chap.  XVIII.] 


THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARIES. 


159 


greatly  diminished ;  partly  owing  to  the 
very  difficult  times  through  which  the 
country  has  passed ;  partly  because  of 
higher  requirements  in  the  department  of 
preliminary  studies ;  and  partly  from  most 
of  the  evangelical  communions  having  now 
education  societies  of  their  own.  Thus 
the  "  Old  School"  Presbyterians  have  a 
Board  of  Education  under  the  direction  of 
their  General  Assembly,  which  prosecutes 
its  work  most  wisely  and  efficiently.  It 
had  350  beneficiaries  during  the  year  end- 
ing 1st  May,  1843,  and  had  assisted  1330 
young  men  in  all.  Its  receipts  for  that 
year  amounted  to  30,000  dollars.* 

A  number  of  devoted  clergymen  and  lay- 
men of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
having  met  at  Georgetown,  in  the  District 
of  Columbia,  for  the  purpose  of  laying  the 
foundation  stone  of  an  Episcopal  church, 
were  providentially  led  to  talk  of  the  im- 
portance of  having  a  plan  for  aiding  pious 
but  indigent  youths,  of  suitable  talents,  in 
preparing  for  the  ministry.  The  result 
was  the  formation,  in  1818,  of  the  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Education  Society.  It  has 
proved  a  great  blessing  to  the  Church  and 
to  the  world.  It  may  be  said  to  have 
originated  the  Episcopal  theological  school 
near  Alexandria,  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia ;  and  nearly  a  tenth  part  of  the  clergy 
of  the  church  to  which  it  belongs  have  been 
more  or  less  assisted  by  it.  A  sixth  part 
of  the  present  clergy  in  Ohio,  an  eighth  of 
those  in  Pennsylvania,  a  fifth  of  those  in 
Maryland,  and  a  large  proportion  of  those 
in  Virginia,  have  been  aided  from  its  funds  ; 
and  it  is  now  assisting  a  seventh  of  all  the 
students  in  the  several  theological  schools 
of  that  church  in  the  United  States. f  I  do 
not  know  the  precise  number  of  its  pres- 
ent beneficiaries,  but  believe  it  exceeds 
eighty. 

There  are  also  several  Education  Soci- 
eties among  the  Baptists,  which  have  aid- 
ed a  large  number  of  young  men. J    That 

*  The  American  churches  have  long  been  im- 
pressed with  the  importance  of  having  a  competent 
and  sufficiently  numerous  ministry.  The  friends  of 
the  American  Education  Society  observe  the  last 
Thursday  of  February  yearly  as  a  day  of  special 
prayer  for  colleges,  academies,  and  other  institutions 
of  learning,  that  God  may  be  pleased  to  pour  out  his 
Spirit  upon  them,  bring  many  of  the  students  to  a 
saving  knowledge  of  his  Gospel,  and  incline  their 
hearts  to  preach  it.  The  General  Assembly  of  the 
"Old  School"  Presbyterian  Church  recommended 
last  year,  to  all  the  churches  under  their  care,  to  ob- 
serve the  first  Sabbath  of  November  as  a  day  of  spe- 
cial prayer  to  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  "  that  he 
would  send  more  labourers  into  his  harvest."  They 
recommended  the  subject  also  to  the  daily  interces- 
sions of  Christians,  in  view  of  the  vast  demand  for 
ministers  of  the  Gospel. 

t  Dr.  Hawks's  "  History  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  Virginia,"  p.  261. 

+  In  particular,  "  The  Northern  Baptist  Education 
Society,"  and  "  The  Baptist  Education  Society  of 
New-York."  The  former  of  these  was  instituted  in 
1814,  and  has  the  seat  of  its  operations  in  Boston.  Du- 


of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  supported 
twenty-four  last  year.  A  Methodist  Edu- 
cation Society  has  also  been  formed  at 
Boston. 

These  statements  will  give  the  reader 
some  idea  of  our  Education  Societies. 
Though  of  recent  origin,  they  are  exerci- 
sing an  immense  influence  in  training  up 
a  more  thoroughly-educated  ministry.  In 
the  absence  of  precise  information,  the 
young  men  now  receiving  assistance  from 
them  may  be  moderately  estimated  at 
1600  in  all,  and  of  these  at  least  250  annu- 
ally finish  their  studies,  and  enter  on  the 
work  of  preaching  the  Gospel. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARIES. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  various  literary 
institutions,  in  their  several  gradations, 
through  which  our  youth  may  pass  in  pre- 
paring for  the  professional  course  with 
which  they  usually  close  their  studies.  I 
have  noticed  also  the  education  societies 
for  assisting  poor  but  pious  young  men,  of 
suitable  capacity,  in  their  preparations  for 
the  ministry.  And  1  now  come  to  speak 
of  the  theological  schools,  in  which  a  very 
large  number  of  our  candidates  for  the 
ministry  complete  their  studies  for  the  sa- 
cred office. 

Formerly  the  young  men  who  sought  to 
enter  the  ministry  among  the  denomina- 
tions which  require,  in  those  who  occupy 
their  pulpits,  a  college  and  theological  ed- 
ucation— I  use  the  term  in  a  technical 
sense,  and  mean  nothing  invidious — were 
compelled  to  study  theology,  more  or  less 
immediately  under  some  individual  pas- 
tor, and  it  was  common  for  six  or  eight  of 
them  to  place  themselves  under  this,  and 
a  few  under  that  other,  distinguished  divine. 
They  often  resided  in  the  house  of  their 
spiritual  teacher;  sometimes  they  boarded 
in  families  near  his  house  ;  they  availed 
themselves  of  his  library,  and  were  direct- 
ed by  him  in  their  studies. 

But  this  was  obviously  a  very  imperfect 
method.  Few  pastors  could  afford  time  to 
do  their  pupils  justice  ;  fewer  still  possess- 
ed such  a  range  of  learning  as  to  fit  them 
for  conducting  others  to  the  acquisitions, 
in  various  branches  of  knowledge,  required 
in  order  to  a  competent  preparation  for  the 
ministry. 

To  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  John  M.  Mason,  of 
New- York,  one  of  the  most  eminent  divines 


ring  the  eight  years  from  1831  to  1839  it  had  aided. 
279  young  men  in  preparing  for  the  ministry,  and 
supported  134  in  1840.  It  was  mainly  owing  to  its 
efforts  that  the  Baptist  Theological  Seminary  at 
Newton  was  founded  in  1827.  The  latter  society 
was  founded  in  1817,  and  has  maintained  many  stu- 
dents at  the  Hamilton  Literary  and  Theological  In 
stitution,  founded  in  1820. 


160 


RELIGION   IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


that  America  has  ever  produced,  we  owe 
the  first  attempt  to  establish  anything  that 
could  be  called  a  theological  school.  He 
collected  in  Europe  an  extensive  and  valu- 
able theological  library,  and  commenced  a 
course  of  instruction  in  various  branches 
of  theological  study  about  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century.  For3'ears  he  carried 
it  on  almost  single-handed,  and  many  young 
men  heard  at  his  feet  the  masterly  instruc- 
tions that  he  was  so  capable  of  giving  them. 

The  theological  seminary  at  Andover 
was  founded  in  1808,  and  being  the  first,  on 
a  complete  plan,  founded  in  the  United 
States,  and  the  most  celebrated,  I  shall  no- 
tice it  more  amply  than  the  rest. 

The  college  buildings  are  beautifully  sit- 
uated on  elevated  ground  near  the  village 
of  Andover,  about  twenty  miles  to  the  north 
of  Boston.  They  consist  of  two  large  edi- 
fices for  the  residence  of  the  students,  and 
a  central  building,  in  which  are  the  chapel, 
the  library,  lecture-rooms,  &c.  At  a  due 
distance  behind  these  stand  the  refectory 
and  steward's  house.  The  grounds  in  front 
are  tastefully  laid  out,  and  their  walks  and 
avenues  adorned  with  various  sorts  of  for- 
est trees.  Facing  the  seminary  buildings, 
and  forming  one  side  of  a  street  which  bor- 
ders the  grounds  in  front,  stands  a  row  of 
houses  where  most  of  the  professors  re- 
side. The  grounds  are  very  ample,  the 
situation  salubrious,  and  the  buildings  re- 
markably convenient. 

This  seminary  forms  a  branch,  as  we 
have  elsewhere  stated,  of  Phillips'  Acad- 
emy, which  stands  in  the  immediate  vicin- 
ity, though  the  two  institutions  are  no  far- 
ther connected  than  by  being  both  under 
the  same  board  of  trustees. 

The  history  of  the  Andover  Seminary 
may  be  given  in  a  few  words.  It  origina- 
ted in  a  growing  conviction  of  the  need 
there  was  for  a  higher  standard  of  qual- 
ification in  the  clergy,  and  in  the  obvious 
necessity  of  having  something  to  take 
the  place  of  the  University  of  Harvard  on 
its  defection  from  the  Faith.  Farther,  the 
good  providence  of  God  was  manifested  in 
the  undertaking,  by  his  giving  both  the 
necessary  means  and  the  heart  to  four  or 
five  enterprising  merchants  to  lay  the 
foundation. 

One  of  these  was  the  aged  Samuel  Ab- 
bot, of  Andover,  who  had  already  executed 
a  will  bequeathing  funds  to  a  large  amount 
for  the  support  of  professors  and  indigent 
students  of  theology  in  Harvard  Universi- 
ty. But  having  lived  to  witness  the  new 
movements  there,  and  to  be  convinced  of 
the  danger  of  trusting  a  legacy  to  an  insti- 
tution which,  in  his  view,  had  perverted  the 
funds  left  by  Mr.  Hollis*  for  the  support 

*  Thomas  Hollis,  Esq.,  a  highly-esteemed  Chris- 
tian merchant,  was  born  in  England  in  1659,  and  died 
in  1731.  He  founded  the  professorships  of  theology 
and  mathematics  in  Harvard  University,  and  pre- 


of  an  orthodox  professorship  of  divinity,  he 
was  led  to  unite  with  Mrs.  Phillips,  widow 
of  the  late  Hon.  Samuel  Phillips,  one  of  the 
founders  of  Phillips'  Academy,  and  her 
son,  in  a  plan  for  connecting  with  that 
academy  the  erection  of  buildings,  and  the 
appropriation  of  certain  funds  for  the  sup- 
port of  a  theological  professor,  and  of  indi- 
gent students  of  theology. 

Meanwhile,  a  similar  plan  for  another 
seminary  was  formed  by  the  late  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Spring,  D.D.,  of  Newburyport,  and  the 
Rev.  Leonard  Woods,  D.D.,  of  West  New- 
bury, now  a  professor  in  the  Seminary  at 
Andover,  and  funds  were  pledged  for  its 
endowment  by  Mr.  Bartlett  and  Mr.  Brown, 
two  parishioners  of  Dr.  Spring,  and  by  Mr. 
Norris,  of  Salem — all  at  the  solicitation  of 
Dr.  Spring,  who  was  the  author  of  this 
scheme.  Dr.  Woods,  in  whose  parish  the 
institution  was  to  be  placed,  was  to  be  pro- 
fessor, and  a  colleague  was  to  be  appointed 
to  assist  him  in  his  pastoral  duties. 

Thus  far  had  the  parties  proceeded,  not 
only  without  concert,  but  although  living 
within  the  compass  of  twenty  miles,  and 
several  of  them  having  friendly  intercourse 
with  each  other,  without  being  cognizant 
of  one  another's  plans.  This  seems  to 
indicate  the  intervention  of  a  kind  omnis- 
cient Providence,  and  may  have  been  a  link 
in  the  chain  of  causes  which  cordially  uni- 
ted, in  the  end,  the  two  parties  into  which 
the  orthodox  Congregationalists  of  New- 
England  were  then  divided,  and  to  the 
adoption  of  a  better  creed  for  the  seminary 
than  it  might  have  had  otherwise. 

These  parties  were,  on  the  one  hand,  the 
so-called  moderate  Calvinists,  moderate 
both  in  action  and  speculation,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  Hopkinsians,  the  keen- 
sighted,  active,  fervid,  pungent,  and  per- 
haps rather  ultra  men  of  their  time.  Now, 
to  have  continued  and  widened  the  separa- 
tion of  these  parties  by  their  having  con- 
tiguous and  rival  seminaries,  would  have 
been  no  less  disastrous  than  their  union 
was  desirable,  both  for  the  nearer  approx- 
imation of  both  to  exact  truth,  and  for  its 
common  defence  against  the  advance  of 
Unitarianism ;  and  nothing  could  well  have 
been  imagined  more  likely  to  produce 
prompt  and  effectual  union,  than  their  being 
led  to  co-operate  in  establishing  a  common 
seminary.  But  it  seems  very  doubtful  how 
far  they  would  ever  have  thus  combined 
their  efforts,  had  not  certain  members  of 
each  been  led,  in  the  providence  of  God,  by 
ways  that  they  knew  not,  and  for  a  high 
end  which  they  never  contemplated,  each 
to  advance  thus  far  in  their  projects.  The 
evil  sure  to  result  from  there  being  two 
such  seminaries  was  obvious  ;  the  benefits 
to  be  derived  from  their  being  united  in  one 
were  appreciated,  at  least  to  a  certain  ex- 


sented  to  it  a  philosophical  apparatus  and  many 
books. 


Chap.  XVIII.] 


THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARIES. 


161 


tent. ;  yet  this  union  of  the  two  institutions, 
and  the  adjustment  of  principles  common  to 
both,  cost  nearly  two  years  of  anxious  and 
incessant  labour,  during  which  the  negotia- 
tions were  more  than  once  wellnigh  bro- 
ken oft",  and  at  one  time  quite  abandoned. 
"  No  one,"  says  the  Rev.  Dr.  Woods,  "who 
did  not  himself  act  a  leading  part  in  these 
interesting  transactions,  can  ever  have  an 
adequate  conception  of  the  unnumbered  dif- 
ficulties which  the  principal  agents  had  to 
encounter,  or  of  the  amount  of  solicitude, 
and  of  effort,  which  fell  to-  their  lot,  or  of 
the  variety  of  dangers  to  which  the  great 
object  was  from  time  to  time  exposed."* 

The  greatest  difficulty  in  the  way  of  the 
union  was  the  adjustment  of  a  common 
creed,  to  be  subscribed  by  the  professors  of 
the  seminary.  The  founders  of  Phillips' 
Academy  had  already  adopted  the  West- 
minster Assembly's  Shorter  Catechism. 
To  this  Dr.  Spring,  with  the  advice  and 
support  of  his  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Emmons, 
strenuously  objected,  because  some  parts 
of  it  were  widely  understood  to  imply  what 
he  did  not  believe,  and,  partly,  because  he 
thought  that  more  definite  and  extended 
statements  on  several  points  of  doctrine 
were  desirable.  He  and  his  friends,  also, 
wished  for  additional  barriers  against  her- 
esy, and  particularly  for  a  Board  of  Vis- 
iters, professing  the  same  creed,  and  with 
ample  powers  for  tne  correction  of  errors. 
These  difficulties  were  adjusted  at  last  by 
the  institution  of  such  a  board,  and  by  the 
adoption  of  a  new  creed,  drawn  up  by  a 
committee  from  both  parties,  and  couched 
very  much  in  the  language  of  the  cate- 
chism, but  with  some  omissions  and  some 
additions.  And  this  creed  is  to  be  solemn- 
ly repeated  and  subscribed  in  the  presence 
of  the  trustees  of  the  academy,  by  every 
professor  and  every  visiter,  on  his  induc- 
tion into  office  ;  and  the  same  is  to  be  re- 
peated, in  like  manner,  by  each  of  them, 
once  every  five  years,  during  his  continu- 
ance in  office. 

In  this  adjustment  the  Hopkinsians  gain- 
ed their  main  object,  but,  at  the  same  time, 
sacrificed  some  favourite  points  which  they 
would  gladly  have  introduced  into  a  semi- 
nary of  a  more  sectarian  character.  Some, 
indeed,  a  few  of  whom  are  still  to  be  found, 
persisted  in  their  objections  to  the  semina- 
ry on  this  account ;  but  nearly  the  whole 
orthodox  community  of  New-England  have 
cordially  acquiesced  in  it,  so  that  the  ar- 
rangement has  most  happily,  though  silent- 
ly, become  a  virtual  bond  of  union  among 
them.  Foreign  missions,  and  other  great 
benevolent  enterprises  to  which  the  semi- 
nary soon  gave  birth,  hastened  and  con- 
firmed this  coalescence  by  bringing  the 
two  parties  more  frequently  to  pray,  sym- 


*  Manuscript  History  of  the  Theological  Semina- 
ry at  Andover,  from  which  much  of  the  information 
here  given  was  derived. 


pathize,  and  act  together.  These  results 
are  matters  of  devout  astonishment  to  many 
a  beholder  of  what  God  has  wrought  amid 
the  movements  of  our  times. 

The  opposition,  in  various  forms,  to  or- 
thodoxy was  considerable,  but  was  of  little 
avail  in  retarding  its  progress.  Fears  were 
at  one  time  entertained  lest  a  majority  of 
the  trustees  of  Phillips'  Academy,  under 
whose  guardianship  the  seminary  is  placed, 
should  ultimately  be  found  men  of  lax  opin- 
ions ;  but,  as  most  of  the  suspected  parties 
died  or  resigned  their  seats  within -a  few 
years,  those  fears  gradually  subsided  on 
the  vacancies  being  filled  up  by  others  who 
were  unquestionably  sound  in  the  faith.* 
Anxiety  on  this  head  led  to  a  greater  so- 
licitude about  creating  a  Board  of  Visiters, 
and  the  quinquennial  renewal  of  subscrip- 
tion by  the  professors  and  visiters,  though 
this  could  not  be  extended  to  the  trustees, 
no  provision  to  that  effect  having  been 
made  at  the  institution  of  that  board. 

With  all  these  guards,  and  looking  to 
the  present  character  of  the  boards,  the 
friends  of  the  institution  consider  that 
there  is  none  in  the  country  more  com- 
pletely guarded  against  perversion.  At 
the  same  time,  the  most  perfect  freedom 
of  inquiry  is  allowed,  and  even  encouraged 
among  the  students,  in  order  that  their 
faith  may  rest  on  conviction,  not  on  hu- 
man authority  or  constraint.  No  subscrip- 
tion to  a  creed  is  required  of  them,  nor 
can  any  one  who  gives  to  the  professors 
satisfactory  evidence  of  Christian  charac- 
ter be  debarred  from  entering  the  semina- 
ry, or  dismissed  from  it  on  the  ground  of 
his  belief.  This  condition  was  required 
by  the  State  Legislature  on  their  enlarging 
the  powers  of  the  trustees,  so  as  to  enable 
them  to  hold  the  additional  funds  required 
for  the  establishment  of  the  seminary. 
And  although  its  expediency  has  by  some 
been  doubted,  it  seems  as  yet  to  have  had 
no  bad  consequences.  It  has  been  thought 
unreasonable  to  require  a  minute  profes- 
sion of  faith  from  students  who  go  to  the 
institution  for  the  very  purpose  of  learning 
what  is  truth,  as  well  as  how  to  teach  it. 

The  seminary  was  opened  in  the  autumn 
of  1808.  For  several  years  there  were 
only  three  professors,  but  now  there  are 
five,  one  of  whom  acts  as  president  of  the 
institution.  Each  member  of  the  faculty 
has  a  salary  of  1500  dollars  per  annum,  to- 
gether with  the  use  of  a  family  dwelling- 
house,  and  is  debarred  from  receiving  any 
compensation  for  preaching  abroad. 

The  departments  of  the  professors  are, 
Sacred  Literature,  including  the  Greek  and 


*  It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  Phillips'  Academy 
was  founded  in  1778,  when  Unitarianjsm  had  not  yet 
developed  itself  in  the  United  States,  though  the  er- 
rors which  led  to  it  were  to  be  found  in  Boston  and 
its  neighbourhood.  When  it  did  develop  itself,  it 
was  not  strange  that  the  Board  of  Phillips'  Acade- 
my should  have  been  infected  with  it. 


1G2 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


Hebrew  Scriptures,  chiefly  during  the  first 
year;  Christian  Theology,  chiefly  during 
the  second  year ;  and  Sacred  Rhetoric,  Ec- 
clesiastical History,  and  Pastoral  Theolo- 
gy during  the  third  year.  The  instruction 
is  given  partly  by  written  lectures  and 
partly  by  the  use  of  text-books,  which  are 
recited  in  substance  by  the  students,  and 
accompanied  with  remarks  by  the  profes- 
sors. 

The  students  are  not  allowed  to  preach, 
nor  are  they  required  to  write  sermons  till 
their  senior  or  last  year.  Each  may  then 
be  called  on  to  preach  in  the  chapel,  and  is 
also  allowed  to  preach  abroad  for  six  Sab- 
baths in  his  last  term,  within  certain  limits 
as  to  distance,  so  as  to  avoid  being  absent 
from  any  of  the  lectures.  The  remainder 
of  the  preaching  in  the  chapel  is  chiefly 
performed  by  the  professors  in  rotation. 

Most  of  the  students  are  graduates  of 
colleges,  and  all  are  admitted  on  examina- 
tion in  regard  to  their  attainments,  evi- 
dence of  piety,  &c.  During  the  first  year 
they  attend  two  lectures  a  day  ;  afterward, 
usually  but  one. 

Great  attention  is  required  of  the  pro- 
fessors in  the  cultivation  of  piety  among 
the  students,  which  has  ever  been  regard- 
ed by  them,  as  well  as  by  the  founders  and 
guardians,  as  a  grand  object  of  the  institu- 
tion. For  this  purpose,  they  meet  the 
students  for  a  devotional  exercise  every 
Wednesday  evening.  The  students  also 
hold  many  conferences  and  prayer-meet- 
ings by  themselves. 

Indigent  students,  of  whom  there  are 
many,  receive  half  the  price  of  their  board 
in  commons  gratuitously.  No  charge  is 
in  any  case  made  for  tuition,  and  but  a 
small  one  for  the  use  of  the  library,  and 
for  rooms  and  furniture. 

As  the  design  of  the  seminary  is  to 
furnish  an  able  as  well  as  a  pious  clergy, 
and  as  its  privileges  are,  to  a  great  extent, 
gratuitous,  each  student  is  required,  at  his 
matriculation,  to  promise  to  complete  a 
regular  three  years'  course  of  study,  "  un- 
less prevented  by  some  unforeseen  and 
unavoidable  necessity,"  which  is  to  be 
judged  of  by  the  faculty.  This  is  a  much 
longer  course  than  had  commonly  been 
pursued  under  the  guidance  of  private  p'as- 
tors,  and  it  has  been  found  very  difficult  thus 
far  to  elevate  the  views  of  the  community, 
and  fully  to  reconcile  the  feelings  of  the 
students  to  this  requisition.  Indeed,  the 
rule  itself  was  not  ipade  for  a  considerable 
number  of  the  first  years. 

As  this  is  the  oldest  theological  semina- 
ry in  the  country,  it  has  had  to  make  its 
own  way,  unaided  by  previous  experience  ; 
and  very  many  are  the  changes,  mostly 
for  the  better,  it  is  believed,  which  have 
been  made  from  time  to  time  in  its  ar- 
rangements. 

There  were  not  many  students  for  some 


[Book  IV. 

years  at  first,  but  they  have  gradually  in- 
creased from  about  thirty  to  about  150, 
which  has  been  not  far  from  the  number 
on  the  list  for  many  years.  Any  farther 
increase  has  been  prevented  by  the  mul- 
tiplication of  kindred  seminaries  since  us 
reaching  that  number.  The  whole  that 
have  been  admitted  from  the  first  amount 
to  about  1500,  though,  partly  from  deaths, 
partly  from  many  having  failed  to  com- 
plete their  course,  or  gone  to  other  institu- 
tions, not  more  than  950  of  these  have 
graduated.  Nearly  100  have  devoted  them- 
selves to  foreign,  and  many  more  to  do- 
mestic missions.  The  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  were 
indebted  to  this  seminary  for  all  their  mis- 
sionaries but  one  for  the  first  ten  years  ; 
and  many  of  its  students  have  lived  to  be- 
come presidents  and  professors  of  colleges 
and  theological  schools,  and  secretaries 
and  agents  of  benevolent  societies. 

It  possesses  peculiar  advantages  for  the 
training  of  missionaries.  The  "  Society 
of  Inquiry  on  Missions,"  of  which  almost 
all  the  students  are  members,  is  nearly 
coeval  with  it.  It  has  a  valuable  library 
and  museum,  and  exerts  a  very  salutary 
influence  on  the  spirit  and  piety  of  the  in- 
stitution. The  doctrine  is  taught  at  this, 
as  at  most  of  the  other  theological  semina- 
ries in  the  United  States,  that  every  pastor 
should  be  a  missionary  at  heart,  and  that 
every  student  should  be  willing  to  go 
whithersoever  God  may  call  him.  There 
are  great  facilities  at  Andover  for  having 
early  intelligence  from  the  American  mis- 
sionaries, by  constant  correspondence,  by 
visits  of  returned  members,  and  by  inter- 
course with  the  secretaries  and  other  offi- 
cers of  the  American  Board. 

The  "  Porter  Rhetorical  Society,"  so 
named  from  its  founder,  the  late  Rev.  Dr. 
Porter,  the  first  president  of  the  seminary, 
has  an  excellent  library,  and  exercises 
much  influence. 

The  library  of  the  seminary  itself  is 
thought  to  be  one  of  the  best  in  the  coun- 
try. It  was  selected  for  the  purpose, 
contains  14,000  volumes,  and  has  a  fund 
to  provide  for  its  constant  augmentation.' 
Some  of  the  large  number  of  German 
books  contained  in  it  being  of  a  neological 
character,  it  was  at  one  time  feared  by 
many  that  these  might  do  mischief;  but 
such  apprehensions  have  now  yielded,  in 
the  minds  of  those  who  felt  them,  to  the 
consideration  of  the  importance  of  having 
such  books  in  an  institution  where  men 
are  to  be  trained  to  face  an  enemy,  not  to 
flee  from  him. 

The  institution  is  under  strict  discipline. 
Monitors'  bills  are  kept ;  all  are  required 
to  attend  to  their  studies,  and  to  be  pres- 
ent at  the  lectures  of  the  professors,  at 
the  morning  and  evening  chapel  prayers, 
and   at  Divine  service  on  the   Sabbath.' 


Chap.  XVIII.] 


THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARIES. 


163 


There  are  instances  of  students  being  dis- 
missed for  irregularity  of  conduct. 

The  total  sums  that  have  been  given  for 
the  erection  of  the  seminary  buildings,  the 
endowing  of  professorships,  the  support  of 
indigent  students,  the  library,  &c,  cannot 
be  precisely  ascertained,  but  they  proba- 
bly exceed  400,000  dollars.  Mr.  Bartlett, 
the  most  munificent  of  the  donors,  is  sup- 
posed to  have  given  100,000  dollars,  be- 
sides a  legacy  of  50,000  dollars.  He  is 
said  never  to  have  told  any  one  how  much 
some  of  the  buildings  that  were  erected  at 
his  instance  cost  him.  Mr.  Abbot  gave 
about  120,000  dollars.  Mr.  Brown  and  Mr. 
Norris  also  gave  large  sums.  No  general 
solicitation  has  ever  been  made  in  behalf 
of  the  institution,  though  it  has  received 
from  individuals  many  benefactions  of  from 
500  to  5000  dollars. 

Connected  with  the  seminary  is  a  print- 
ing establishment,  known  as  the  Codman 
press,  from  its  having  a  fount  of  Oriental 
types  presented  to  it  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cod- 
man,  of  Dorchester. 

Few  institutions  have  ever  been  more 
blessed  than  the  AndoverTheological  Sem- 
inary. It  has  been  intimately  associated 
with  the  origin  and  progress  of  foreign 
missions,  and  had  much  influence  in  origi- 
nating the  Bible,  Colonization,  Tract,  and 
Temperance  Societies,  through  the  exer- 
tions of  the  lamented  Mills*  and  his  coad- 
jutors, who  were  students  at  it.  I  have 
spoken  of  it  more  in  detail,  not  only  be- 
cause of  its  being  the  oldest,  the  most 
richly  endowed,  and  the  most  frequented 
of  our  theological  schools,  but  also  be- 
cause it  has  been,  in  some  sense,  a  model 
for  the  rest.f 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  established  a  theological  sem- 
inary at  Princeton,  in  New-Jersey,  in  1812, 
being  the  second  of  the  kind  in  the  United 
States.  Although  far  from  being  richly 
endowed  like  that  of  Andover,  and  has 
often  been  greatly  embarrassed  for  want 
of  adequate  pecuniary  support,  it  has  at- 


*  The  Rev.  Samuel  J.  Mills,  a  very  zealous  and 
able  young  man,  who  took,  a  leading  part  in  the  form- 
ation of  several  of  the  great  benevolent  societies  of 
America,  and  died  on  the  coast  of  Africa  when  look- 
ing for  a  place  where  a  colony  of  negroes  might  be 
founded. 

t  The  Andover  Faculty  consists  of  the  Rev.  Drs. 
Woods  and  Emerson,  and  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Stuart, 
B.  B.  Edwards,  and  Park,  professors. 

Professor  Stuart  is  well  known  for  his  Commenta- 
ries on  the  Epistles  to  the  Romans  and  Hebrews,  as 
well  as  for  his  Hebrew  grammar  and  other  writings. 
Dr.  Woods  has  published  some  valuable  small  works 
on  baptism,  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  &c.  Dr. 
Emerson  has  not  yet  published  much.  Mr.  B.  B. 
Edwards  has  written  much  and  ably  for  periodical 
publications,  and  is  the  author,  besides,  of  several 
■valuable  works  relating  to  missions ;  among  these  is 
a  missionary  gazetteer.  He  published  the  life  of  Dr. 
Cornelius ;  and  in  1839  took  a  joint  part  with  Pro- 
fessor Park  in  giving  to  the  world  an  interesting  vol- 
ume of  translated  selections  from  German  authors. 


tained  a  great  and  well-merited  celebrity 
by  the  distinguished  talents  of  its  profes- 
sors, as  well  as  the  excellent  course  of  its 
studies.  It  has  for  several  years  had  an 
annual  attendance  of  from  125  to  140  stu- 
dents, and  has  educated,  in  all,  above  1200. 
The  missionary  spirit  has  prevailed  in  it 
to  a  gratifying  degree,  almost  from  its 
first  establishment,  and  a  large  number  of 
its  alumni  have  gone  to  carry  the  Gospel  to 
heathen  lands.  There  is  a  flourishing"  Soci- 
ety of  Inquiry  on  Missions,"  with  a  valuable 
collection  of  books  relating  to  that  subject. 

The  Princeton  course  comprises  for  the 
first  year,  Hebrew,  the  Exegesis  of  the 
Original  Language  of  the  New  Testament, 
Sacred  Geography,  Sacred  Chronology, 
Jewish  Antiquities,  and  the  Connexion  of 
Sacred  and  Profane  History ;  for  the  sec- 
ond year,  Biblical  Criticism,  Church  His- 
tory, and  Didactic  Theology  ;  for  the  third 
year,  Polemic  Theology,  Church  History, 
Church  Government,  Pastoral  Theology, 
the  Composition  and  Delivery  of  Sermons. 

Instruction  is  given  both  by  lectures  and 
text-books,  and  the  entire  course  requires 
the  study  of  many  authors.  The  students 
must  read  essays  of  their  own  composition 
at  least  once  every  four  weeks,  and  are  ex- 
pected, also,  to  deliver  short  addresses  be- 
fore the  professors  and  their  fellow-stu- 
dents at  least  once  in  the  month.  One 
evening  in  the  week  is  devoted  to  the 
discussion  of  important  theological  ques- 
tions. Every  Sabbath  forenoon  a  sermon 
is  delivered  in  the  chapel  by  one  of  the 
professors.  In  the  afternoon,  the  students 
assemble  for  a  "  conference"  on  some  sub- 
ject in  casuistical  divinity,  their  professors 
presiding  and  closing  the  discussion  with 
their  remarks,  and  the  services  commen- 
cing and  concluding  with  singing  and  pray- 
er. Questions  such  as  the  following  are 
discussed :  What  constitutes  a  call  to  the 
ministry  and  the  evidences  of  it?  What 
is  proper  preparation  for  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per ?  What  is  repentance  1  What  is  faith  ? 
What  is  true,  preparation  for  death"! 

These,  and  a  hundred  such  subjects,  are 
seriously  and  faithfully  discussed,  and  none 
of  the  other  exercises,  probably,  is  so  in- 
structive or  so  important  to  the  students. 
It  is  there  that  the  deep  knowledge  in  spir- 
itual things  of  their  venerated  and  excel- 
lent professors  most  fully  manifests  itself. 
God  has  greatly  blessed  these  heart-search- 
ing services  to  the  students,  and  much  is  it 
to  be  wished  that  such  exercises,  and  such 
fidelity  on  the  part  of  the  professors  who 
conduct  them,  were  to  be  found  in  every 
theological  seminary  and  theological  de- 
partment of  a  university  in  the  world. 

It  is  matter  for  devout  thanksgiving  that 
the  venerable  professors*  appointed  to  the 
Princeton  Seminary  in  its  earliest  years, 


*  The  Rev.  Drs.  Alexander  and  Miller,  both  of . 
whom  have  earned  an  extensive  reputation  by  their 


164 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


are  still  spared  to  labour  for  its  good. 
Both  they  and  their  younger  colleagues 
rank  high  among  the  American  divines, 
and  have  great  weight  in  the  Church  to 
which  they  belong. 

The  General  Convention  of  the  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Church  opened  a  theological 
institution  at  New- York  in  1817,  which, 
though  removed  next  year  to  New-Haven, 
was  soon  after  re-established  at  New- York. 
It  originated  in  the  efforts  of  the  late  John 
Henry  Hobart,  long  bishop  of  the  diocess 
of  New- York,  and  has  five  professors,  who 
are  eminent  and  influential  men,  both  in 
their  own  church  and  in  the  community  at 
large.  Its  prosperity  has  been  almost  unin- 
terrupted. The  number  of  students  is  usu- 
ally about  seventy-five  or  eighty.  In  1822, 
.  the  diocesses  of  Virginia  and  Maryland  es- 
tablished another  Episcopal  seminary  in 
Fairfax  county,  Virginia,  a  few  miles  from 
the  city  of  Alexandria,  in  the  District  of 
Columbia.  This  seminary  has  four  valuable 
professors,  and  from  forty  to  fifty  students. 
It  has  been  a  great  blessing  to  the  Episco- 
pal Church  and  to  the  country. 

A  Baptist  theological  seminary,  estab- 
lished at  Newton,  a  town  about  six  miles 
from  Boston,  in  1825,  has  been  a  source 
of  much  good,  and  has  sent  forth  a  consid- 
erable number  of  excellent  preachers.  It 
has  three  able  professors,  and  usually  from 
thirty  to  forty  students.  The  Baptists 
also  established  a  Literary  and  Theologi- 
cal Institute  at  Hamilton,  in  the  State  of 
New-York,  in  1820.  It  has  above  150  stu- 
dents in  all,  and  in  the  theological  depart- 


ment upward  of  thirty,  under  four  profes- 
sors, who  give  instructions  in  the  other  de- 
partment also. 

A  Lutheran  theological  seminary  was 
established  in  182fi  at  Gettysburg,  in  Penn- 
sylvania, very  much  through  the  exertions 
of  the  Rev.  S.  S.  Schmucker,  D.D.,who  is 
its  professor  of  theology.  It  has  three 
professors,  with  from  thirty  to  forty  stu- 
dents in  all,  and  has  proved  a  rich  blessing 
to  the  Lutheran  Church.  Dr.  Schmucker 
is  well  known  in  the  churches  of  the  United 
States  by  his  various  writings,  and  his 
praiseworthy  endeavours  to  bring  about  a 
union  of  feeling  and  action  among  the  sev- 
eral branches  of  the  Protestant  denomina- 
tions. 

The  Reformed  Dutch  Church  has  an  able 
theological  faculty  in  its  seminary  at  New- 
Brunswick,  in  the  State  of  New-Jersey. 
The  foundation  dates  from  1784,  but  it  was 
for  a  long  time  unoccupied.  It  now  has 
three  professors  and  about  forty  students. 

Such  are  the  utmost  details  that  the  lim- 
its of  this  work  will  permit.  Let  me  sim- 
ply add,  that,  since  the  opening  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Mason's  theological  school,  about  the 
beginning  of  the  century,  these  institutions 
have  amazingly  increased.  Most  of  them, 
like  those  at  Andover  and  Princeton,  are 
quite  distinct  from  any  college  or  univer- 
sity ;  some,  under  the  title  of  Theological 
Departments,  are  connected  with  literary 
institutions,  but  have  their  own  professors, 
and,  in  reality,  are  very  distinct.  The  fol- 
lowing table,  presenting  a  summary  of  the 
whole,  will  probably  be  found  interesting. 


Denominations. 


Congrega- 
tionalists. 


1. 
2. 
3. 

1. 
5. 
.6. 

Old  School  2- 
Presbyteri-  <  3 
ans.  I 

f1' 
New  School  |  2. 

Presbyteri-    ^  3. 

ans.  I  4 

K5 


Episcopali- 
ans. 


i: 


Name  and  locality  of  the  institution. 

Andover 

Bangor      

Gilmanton 

Theological  Department  of  Yale  College 
Theological  Institute  of  Connecticut,  at  East  Windsor 
Theological  Department  of  the  Oberlin  Institute     . 
Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton 
Western  Theological  Seminary  at  Alleghany  town,  ) 

near  Pittsburgh > 

Union  Theological  Seminary 

Southern  Theological  Seminar}'  at  Columbia 
Indiana  Theological  Seminary  at  New- Albany 
New-York  Theological  Seminary,  in  New-York  city 
Theological  Seminary  at  Auburn    .... 
Theological  Department  of  Western  Reserve  College 
Lane  Seminary  at  Cincinnati 
Southwestern  Theological  Seminary  at  Maryville  . 
General  Theological  Seminary  of  the   Protestant  ) 
Episcopal  Church,  New-York       .        .        .        .    5 
Theological  Seminary,  Fairfax  county    . 


State  in  which  it  is 

•?^rc 

u  I 

Z  lr  § 

situated. 

v  4  .a 

£•! 

J   3fi 

=    £.' 

H    =  S3 

>.£* 

ftP, 

Z5S 

Massachusetts. 

1808 

5 

153 

Maine. 

1820 

3 

44 

New-Hampshire 

1835 

3 

26 

Connecticut. 

1822 

4 

72 

Connecticut. 

1833 

3 

29 

Ohio. 

4 

54 

New-Jersey. 

1812 

4 

110 

Pennsylvania. 

1828 

3 

29 

Virginia. 

1821 

3 

20 

South  Carolina. 

1832 

3 

18 

Indiana. 

1829 

2 

10 

New-York. 

1836 

3 

90 

New-York. 

1821 

4 

69 

Ohio. 

3 

14 

Ohio. 

1832 

3 

31 

Tennessee. 

2 

24 

New-York. 

1817 

5 

74 

Virginia. 

3 

43 

public  lectures  as  well  as  by  their  writings.  The 
younger  professors  are  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hodge  and  the 
Rev.  J.  A.  Alexander,  the  former  well  known  in  Eu- 
rope for  his  excellent  work  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans, and  the  .latter  author  of  many  articles  in  the 
Biblical  Repertory  and  Princeton  Review,  an  able 
quarterly  publication  which  has  been  conducted  for 
twenty  years  by  the  professors  of  the  seminary,  and 
of  the  College  of  New-Jersey,  both  situated  in  the 
village  of  Princeton. 


*  I  give  the  number  of  students  for  1840,  from  the 
American  Quarterly  Register  for  that  year.  The  list 
is  understated,  the  number  being  that  at  a  given 
epoch  in  the  year,  not  that  of  all  who  attended  during 
the  course  of  it.  For  instance,  were  the  number  of 
students  in  the  Princeton  Seminary  taken  in  the 
winter  of  1839-40,  it  might  have  been  J 20,  yet  by 
adding  the  students  who  joined  in  the  summer  ses- 
sion, the  number  for  the  academic  year  might  have 
been  130. 


Chap.  X HI!.] 


THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARIES. 


165 


Denominations.  Name  and  locality  of  the  institution. 


Episcopali-    i  3.  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Diocess  of  Ohio, 
ans.  (         Gambia 

1.  Thomaston  Theological  Institute    . 

2.  Theological  Institution  at  Newton  . 

3.  Hamilton   Literary  and   Theological   Institute, 
Hamilton 

Baptists.    ■{  4.  Virginia  Baptist  Seminary  at  Richmond 

5.  Furman  Theological  Seminary  at  High  Hills 

6.  Literary  and  Theological  Seminary  at  Eaton 

7.  Theological  Department  in  Granville  College 

8.  Alton  Theological  Seminary    .... 
Ref.  Dutch.    Theological  Seminary,  New-Brunswick 

{1.  Hartwick  Seminary 
2.  Theological  Seminary  at  Gettysburg 
3.  Theological  Seminary  at  Lexington 
4.  Theological  Seminary  at  Columbus 
German  Ref.     Theological  Seminary  at  Mercersberg 
Assoc.  Chur.     Theological  Department  in  Jefferson  College 
Assoc.  Ref.  <  1.  Theological  Seminary  at  Newburgh 
Church.     \  2.  Theological  Seminary  at  Alleghany-town 


State  in  which  it  is 


situated. 

f|S 

*;  1 

If* 

££& 

Ki 

K«J 

1  Ohio. 

1828 

3 

10 

Maine. 

1837 

2 

23 

Massachusetts. 

1825 

3 

33 

>   New-York. 
Virginia. 

1820 

4 

27 

1832 

3 

67 

South  Carolina. 

1838 

2 

30 

Georgia. 

1834 

2 

10 

Ohio. 

1832 

2 

8 

Illinois. 

New-Jersey. 

3 

36 

New- York. 

2 

15 

Pennsylvania. 

1826 

3 

26 

South  Carolina. 

1835 

2 

10 

Ohio. 

1 

10 

Pennsylvania. 

1825 

2 

20 

Pennsylvania.    . 

2 

22 

New-York. 

1836 

3 

11 

Pennsylvania. 

1828 

1 

19 

The  Reformed  Presbyterians  (Covenant- 
ers) have  a  theological  school  at  Allegha- 
ny-town, and  the  Moravians  have  one  at 
Nazareth,  in  Pennsylvania :  the  former  has 
two  professors  and  14  or  15  students,  the 
latter  one  professor  and  5  or  6  students. 

The  reader  will  remark  that  the  number 
of  students  in  the  theological  seminaries 
contained  in  the  preceding  table  is  that  for 
the  year  1840,  which  is  the  latest  complete 
statement  I  have  seen.  It  must  not  be 
considered  as  a  present  census  of  these 
institutions.  With  the  exception  of  the 
Seminary  at  Andover,  and,  perhaps,  two  or 
three  others,  the  number  of  students  at 
present  (the  commencement  of  1844)  is 
much  greater  than  it  was  in  1840.  In  some 
seminaries  it  is  almost  twice  as  great  as  it 
was  then.  The  whole  number  of  students 
in  these  seminaries  may  fairly  be  put  down 
as  greater  by  one  fourth  part  at  present 
than  it  was  when  the  above-given  list  was 
made. 

The  above  enumeration  comprises  the 
orthodox  evangelical  denominations  of 
Protestants  only.  The  Unitarians  have  a 
theological  department  at  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, which  had  two  professors  and  twen- 
ty-seven students  in  1840. 

The  Roman  Catholic  theological  semi- 
naries, according  to  the  Catholic  Almanac, 
stood  as  follows  in  1840  : 

That  at  Philadelphia  had 22  students. 

Baltimore   16     

Einmetsburg 20     

Frederick   20     

Charleston,  South  Carolina. 

Parish  of  Assumption  in  Louisiana. ..     9 

Bardstown  and  St.  Rose,  in  Kentucky 

Cincinnati  

Vincennes 9 

Barrens 12 

M  i  ssouri   


St.  Louis 


In  all,  twelve  institutions  and  114  stu- 
dents. But  this  list  was  probably  incom- 
plete, as  we  learn  from  the  same  authority 
that  in  1842  there  were  twenty-one  eccle- 


siastical institutions,  and  180  clerical  stu- 
dents.    At  present  there  are  261. 

I  shall  conclude  by  stating  that  the  en- 
tire number  of  theological  schools  and  fac- 
ulties belonging  to  the  orthodox  Protestant 
Churches  is  thirty-eight,*  with  about  105 
professors,  and  nearly,  if  not  quite,  1800 
students  at  the  present  time.  The  great- 
er number  of  these  institutions  are  in  their 
infancy.  Where  they  are  connected  with 
colleges,  the  theological  professor  gener- 
ally gives  lectures  in  the  literary  depart- 
ment also,  on  moral  philosophy,  meta- 
physics, logic,  &c.  Many  of  the  profes- 
sors in  the  new  and  smaller  seminaries 
are  pastors  of  churches  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  all  that  are  not  preach  much  in 
vacant  churches,  or  on  extraordinary  oc- 
casions, such  as  before  benevolent  or  lit- 
erary societies  and  bodies,  ecclesiastical 
assemblies,  &c.  Many  of  them,  too,  are 
expected  to  employ  their  leisure  moments 
in  giving  instruction  through  the  press. 
Though  the  number  of  professors  seems 
large  when  compared  with  that  of  the  stu- 
dents. I  can  assure  the  reader  that  few 
men  have  more  to  do,  or,  in  point  of  fact, 
do  more  for  the  cause  of  Christ.  There 
are  to  be  found  among  them  many  of  the 
first  ministers  of  the  churches  to  which 
they  respectively  belong.  If  not  quite 
equal  in  point  of  science  to  some  of  the 
great  professors  in  the  Old  World,  they 
are  all,  God  be  praised,  believed  to  be  con- 
verted, and  are  devoted,  faithful  men. 
Their  grand  object  is  to  train  up  a  pious  as 
well  as  a  learned  ministry.  I  am  not  aware 
that  there  is  one  of  them  that  does  not 
open  every  meeting  of  his  class  with  ear- 
nest prayer,  in  which  he  is  joined  by  his 
pupils — a  striking  contrast  to    what  one 


*  At  the  Wesleyan  University  at  Middletown, 
Connecticut,  theological  lectures  are  given  to  a  class 
in  divinity,  and  possibly  this  is  done  also  in  some  of 
the  other  Methodist  colleges. 


166 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


sees,  alas!  at  too  many  of  the  theological 
lectures  in  the  universities  of  Europe. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

EFFORTS  TO  DIFFUSE  THE  SACRED  SCRIPTURES. 

Much  has  been  done  in  the  United  States 
to  place  the  Sacred  Scriptures  in  the 
hands  of  all  who  can  read  them,  and  in 
this  endeavour  there  is  a  delightful  co-op- 
eration of  good  men  of  every  name.  Even 
statesmen,  though  they  may  not  be  deci- 
dedly religious,  or,  by  outward  profession, 
members  of  any  church,  lend  their  aid  in 
this  endeavour;  and  it  is  not  uncommon 
to  hear  men  of  the  first  rank  in  the  political 
circles,  some  occupying  high  places  in  the 
council  of  the  nation,  advocate  at  Bible 
Society  anniversaries  the  claims  of  the 
Word  of  God.  The  impression  prevails 
among  our  statesmen  that  the  Bible  is  em- 
phatically the  foundation  of  our  hopes  as 
a  people.  Nothing  but  the  Bible  can  make 
men  the  willing  subjects  of  law  ;  they  must 
first  acquiesce  with  submission  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  God,  before  they  can  yield  a 
willing  obedience  to  the  requirements  of 
human  governments,  however  just  these 
may  be.  It  is  the  religion  of  the  Bible  only 
that  can  render  the  population  of  any  coun- 
try honest,  industrious,  peaceable,  quiet, 
contented,  happy. 

It  is  twenty-six  years  since  the  Ameri- 
can Bible  Society  was  instituted,  and  it 
now  has  branches  in  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try. It  has  sent  out.  in  all,  3,269,678  cop- 
ies of  the  Bible,  or  of  the  New  Testament, 
from  its  depository.*  Last  year  alone 
216,605  copies  went  forth  to  bless  the  na- 
tion. In  the  years  1829  and  1830,  great 
and  systematic  efforts  were  made  to  place 
a  Bible  in  every  family  that  was  without 
one  throughout  the  whole  land.  Much 
was  accomplished,  yet  so  rapid  is  the  in- 
crease of  the  population,  that  these  efforts 
must  be  repeated  from  year  to  year ;  and 
the  work  can  only  be  done  by  dividing  the 
country  into  small  districts,  and  engaging 
active  and  zealous  persons  to  visit  every 
house  from  time  to  time,  ascertain  what 
families  are  destitute  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  supply  them  by  selling  or  giving  away 
copies,  according  to  circumstances.  Great 
efforts  are  also  made   at  New- York,  and 


*  As  some  Bible  societies  are  not  auxiliary  to  the 
American  Bible  Society — such  was  until  lately  the 
Philadelphia  Bible  Society,  and  such  is  at  present 
the  American  and  Foreign  Bible  Society — we  must 
not  suppose  that  the  number  of  copies  of  the  Scrip- 
tures mentioned  as  having  left  the  depository  of  the 
American  Bible  Society  includes  the  whole  which 
have  been  circulated  by  societies  in  the  United  States. 
Besides,  the  American  Sunday-school  Union,  and 
the  Methodist  Book  Concern,  for  a  time  published 
the  Bible. 


other  seaports,  to  supply  foreign  emigrants 
as  they  arrive  on  our  shores. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  what  has 
been  done  by  Bible  societies  seems  not  to 
have  interfered  with  the  business  of  the 
booksellers  ;  for  these  sell  more  copies  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures  than  they  did  before  the 
Bible  societies  existed.  The  more  the  Bi- 
ble is  known,  the  more  it  is  appreciated ;  in 
many  a  family  the  entrance  of  a  single  copy 
begets  a  desire  to  possess  several ;  besides 
which,  the  Bible  Society  distributions  great- 
ly augment  the  demand  for  Biblical  com- 
mentaries and  expositions,  and  thus  aug- 
ment the  trade  of  the  booksellers,  who  pub- 
lish and  put  into  circulation  immense  edi- 
tions of  such  works.  There  is  a  great  de- 
mand for  the  Scriptures,  also,  both  in  week- 
day and  Sabbath-schools,  and  great  num- 
bers of  these  are  furnished  by  the  book-trade. 

Nor  does  the  American  Bible  Society 
confine  its  efforts  to  the  United  States.  It 
has  for  many  years  associated  itself  with 
those  societies  which,  by  prosecuting  the 
same  work  in  foreign  lands,  are  labouring 
to  hasten  the  coming  of  that  day  when 
"  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  shall  fill  the 
earth. '-'  The  receipts  of  the  society  for 
the  last  year  amounted  to  126,348  dollars, 
of  which  15,516  were  appropriated  to  the 
work  abroad. 

The  society  has  published  the  New  Tes- 
tament and  some  parts  of  the  Old  in  "  raised 
characters,"  for  the  use  of  the  blind,  and 
is  now  engaged  in  printing  the  remainder 
for  that  unfortunate  class  of  the  population. 

In  the  year  1837,  a  Bible  society  was 
formed  among  the  members  of  the  Bap- 
tist churches,  entitled  the  "American  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society."  It  was  formed 
with  special  reference  to  the  circulation 
of  translations  in  the  course  of  being  made 
by  that  body  of  Christians.  Some,  at  least, 
of  these  translations  the  American  Bible 
Society  thought  it  could  not,  consistently 
with  its  constitution,  aid  in  publishing,  be- 
cause the  original  words  baptize  and  bap- 
tism have  been  translated  into  words 
equivalent  to  immerse  and  immersion.  How- 
ever much  it  may  be  regretted  that  these 
words,  about  the  meaning  of.  which  there 
has  been  so  much  philological  disputation, 
are  not  permitted  to  remain  untranslated, 
so  that  all  denominations  might  be  put 
upon  the  same  footing,  and  be  enabled  to 
continue  united  in  the  work  of  Bible  circu- 
lation, the  issue  will,  it  is  likely,  prove  that 
in  this,  as  in  many  similar  cases,  God  is 
about  to  make  an  apparent  obstacle  might- 
ily subserve  the  advancement  of  his  king- 
dom. The  new  society  has  taken  up  the 
work  of  foreign  publication  with  great 
zeal,  and  doubtless  it  will  serve  to  devel- 
op the  energies  of  the  large  and  powerful 
body  of  Christians  who  sustain  it,  to  an 
extent  to  which  they  never  would  have 
gone  but  for  its  formation.     The  receipts 


Chap.  XX.] 


RELIGIOUS   TRACTS    AND    BOOKS. 


167 


last  year,  being  the  sixth  of  its  existence, 
were  20,691  dollars ;  the  expenditure  21,068 
dollars.  Meanwhile,  the  resources  of  the 
American  Bible  Society  have  increased  in- 
stead of  having  diminished. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

ASSOCIATIONS    FOR  THE   PUBLICATION   AND   CIR- 
CULATION OF  RELIGIOUS  TRACTS  AND  BOOKS. 

No  branch  of  religious  enterprise  has 
been  more  vigorously  prosecuted  in  the 
United  States  than  that  of  preparing,  pub- 
lishing, and  circulating  moral  and  religious 
writings  in  various  forms.  The  wide  dif- 
fusion of  education,  at  least  among  the 
white  part  of  the  population,  makes  it  ob- 
vious that  powerful  advantage  may  be  ta- 
ken of  the  press  in  promoting  the  truth. 

Associations  of  various  kinds  are  enga- 
ged in  this  good  work.  We  have  seen  that 
the  Sunday-school  societies  are  doing 
much  for  supplying  the  youth  of  the  coun- 
try with  moral  and  religious  reading  ;  we 
■have  now  to  speak  of  other  societies  which 
aim  at  benefiting  adults,  not,  however,  to 
the  exclusion  of  the  young. 

First  among  these  associations  may  be 
ranked  the  American  Tract  Society,  which, 
like  most  others  of  a  general  and  national 
character,  has  its  seat  in  the  city  of  New- 
York.  It  was  instituted  in  1825,  and  hence 
has  been  eighteen  years  in  existence.  It 
is  founded  on  the  broad  principle  of  uniting 
in  its  support  Christians  of  all  evangelical 
denominations  of  Protestants,  so  far  as 
they  may  be  disposed  to  co-operate  in  its 
objects ;  its  Committee  of  Publication  is 
composed  of  ministers  of  the  Gospel  of  the 
different  orthodox  communions  ;  and  its 
publications  themselves  convey  those  great 
truths  and  doctrines  in  which  all  of  these 
communions  can  agree. 

The  operations  of  no  society  in  Ameri- 
ca seem  to  have  been  prosecuted  with 
greater  vigour  or  more  wisdom.  Its  Re- 
port for  1843  states  that,  since  its  com- 
mencement, it  has  sent  forth  1069  different 
publications,  of  which  131  form  volumes 
of  various  sizes  by  themselves,  and  the 
remainder  are,  with  few  exceptions,  what 
are  called  tracts,  each  consisting  of  four 
pages  and  upward,  but  requiring  more 
than  one  to  make  a  volume.  It  has  pub- 
lished some  broad-sheets  and  hand  bills  for 
posting  up  in  public  places  or  otherwise. 
And  besides  these  1069  publications  issued 
at  home,  it  has  aided  in  the  publication  of 
1850  in  foreign  lands.  The  copies  of  its 
publications  printed  last  year  amounted 
to  4,156,500,  of  which  174,500  were  vol- 
umes. During  the  same  period  4,155,806, 
including  157,478  volumes,  actually  issued 
from  its  depository.  Among  the  volumes 
were  several  thousand  sets  of  the  Evan- 


gelical Family  Library,  of  fifteen  volumes 
each,  and  of  the  Christian  Library,  of  for- 
ty-five volumes  each.  Many  thousands  of 
separate  volumes,  also,  of  these  sets  were 
sold,  and  77,000  copies  of  the  Christian  Al- 
manac for  the  United  States.  From  100,000 
to  150,000  of  some  of  the  smaller  tracts 
were  distributed  ;  and  the  total  sent  into 
circulation  during  eighteen  years  has  been 
1,300,896,847  pages,  or  about  80,806,460  of 
tracts  and  volumes.  The  receipts  for  the 
year  1843  amounted  to  42,433  dollars  from 
donations,  and  49,904  from  sales  ;  in  all, 
96,240  dollars.  Fifteen  thousand  dollars 
were  sent  to  foreign  countries  in  aid  of  the 
tract  cause  abroad. 

The  Society  is  assisted  by  auxiliary  as- 
sociations in  all  parts  of  the  United  States, 
both  in  the  collection  of  funds,  and  in  dis- 
seminating its  publications.  Some  of  these 
local  societies,  such  as  those  at  New-York, 
Boston,  and  Philadelphia,  are  large  and  ef- 
ficient. 

The  Society  is  zealously  prosecuting 
two  grand  measures,  into  which  I  shall 
enter  the  more  fully,  inasmuch  as  they 
are  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  reli- 
gious well-being  of  the  country,  and  also 
more  or  less  practicable  in  other  lands. 
The  first  of  these  is  the  publication  of  vol- 
umes of  approved  excellence,  such  as  Bun- 
yan's  Pilgrim's  Progress,  and  Doddridge's 
Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion  in  the  Soul, 
and  their  distribution  throughout  the  coun- 
try. It  proposes  to  place  not  only  one 
volume  at  least,  as  was  resolved  some 
years  ago,  but  even  a  whole  copy  of  its 
Evangelical  Family  Library,  of  fifteen  vol- 
umes, or  its  Christian  Library,  of  forty- 
five  volumes,  in  as  many  households  as 
are  willing  to  buy  them ;  and  in  seeking 
to  accomplish  this  end,  it  employs  able 
men,  ministers  of  the  Gospel  and  laymen, 
as  agents.  These  visit  towns  and  cities, 
preach  in  the  churches,  raise  funds  to  sup- 
ply the  poor  with  books,  organize  commit- 
tees who  are  to  visit  all  the  families  in 
their  respective  districts,  and  engage  all 
who  are  able  to  buy  one  book  or  more, 
and  to  supply  such  as  are  too  poor  to  pur- 
chase. Another  set  of  agents  consists  of 
plain,  but  sensible,  pious,  and  zealous  col- 
porteurs, or  hawkers,  generally  laymen, 
who  are  sent  into  the  "  Far  West"  to  car- 
ry books  and  tracts  to  the  frontier  people, 
engaged  in  felling  the  forests  on  their  ever- 
onward  course  towards  the  setting  sun,  as 
well  as  into  the  mountainous  districts,  and 
the  thinly-settled  belt  of  sandy  country 
which  stretches  along  the  ocean  in  the 
Middle  and  Southern  States.  The  num- 
ber of  these  colporteurs  is  at  present  sixty. 

Though  in  operation  but  a  few  years, 
this  enterprise  had  in  1842  placed  1,800,000 
volumes  in  the  hands  of  families,  compri- 
sing at  least  4,000,000  of  souls.  Who  can 
calculate  the  amount  of  good  which  such 


163 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


a  work  must,  with  God's  blessing,  accom- 
plish ! 

I  ought  to  add,  that  not  only  is  care  taken 
that  both  books  and  tracts  shall  be  printed 
with  good  type,  and  on  excellent  paper, 
but  that  the  books  are  substantially  bound, 
and  the  tracts  covered,  for  the  most  part, 
with  handsome  paper  coverings.  In  these 
respects  they  form  a  marked  contrast  with 
the  publications  of  some  societies  of  the 
same  kind  on  the  Continent  of  Europe.  It 
is  rightly  thought  to  be  a  false  economy 
which,  for  the  sake  of  saving  a  [ew  hun- 
dred dollars,  would  fail  to  render  attractive 
in  appearance,  as  well  as  readable  and  du- 
rable, publications  which  are  intended  to 
interest,  instruct,  and  save  men,  many  of 
whom  are  wholly  indifferent  to  religion, 
and  might  be  repelled  from  reading  them 
were  they  to  appear  in  a  mean  and  shabby 
dress. 

Besides  its  publications  in  English,  the 
Society  has  sent  out  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  tracts  in  French,  German,  Spanish, 
and  other  languages,  for  the  various  emi- 
grants that  arrive  in  the  United  States. 

The  other  measure  referred  to  is  the 
systematic  periodical  distribution  of  tracts 
in  cities,  towns,  villages,  and  even  rural 
districts,  though  this  cannot  be  done  di- 
rectly by  the  Society,  so  much  as  by  the 
numerous  auxiliaries  which  it  endeavours 
heartily  to  engage  in  carrying  it  through. 
The  object  is  to  place  a  tract,  at  least  once 
in  the  month,  in  every  family  willing  to 
receive  one,  and,  where  practicable,  to  ac- 
company it  with  religious  conversation, 
especially  where  ignorance  of  the  Gospel 
or  family  affliction  renders  it  peculiarly 
called  for.  In  pursuing  this  design,  the 
city,  town,  or  village  is  divided  into  small 
geographical  districts,  each  containing  a 
certain  number  of  families,  and  assigning 
to  each  a  sufficiency  of  zealous,  intelligent, 
and  prudent  Christians  to  make  monthly 
visits  to  every  family,  and  leave  the  tract 
selected  for  the  month.  Some  will  require 
more  than  one  visit,  particularly  the  sick 
and  the  destitute ;  but  houses  where  the 
inmates  persist  in  refusing  tracts,  in  spite 
of  every  effort  to  overcome  their  reluc- 
tance, are  passed  by. 

This  plan,  wherever  justice  has  been  done 
to  it  in  practice,  has  been  found  eminently 
beneficial.  Cases  of  poverty  and  disease 
are  discovered  and  made  known  to  associ- 
ations and  individuals  likely  to  attend  to 
them.  Many  persons,  living  in  the  con- 
stant neglect  of  public  worship,  are  in- 
duced to  attend  the  preaching  of  the  Gos- 
pel. The  churches  in  the  neighbourhood 
are  pointed  out  to  them,  and  they  are  ex- 
horted to  go  to  such  as  they  may  prefer. 

Such  is  the  procedure  in  many  places 
throughout  the  United  States.  In  the  city 
of  New- York  it  has  been  in  operation  for 
five  or  six  years,  and  with  abundance  of 


blessed  results.  According  to  'municipal 
regulations,  the  city,  which  now  has  above 
320,000  inhabitants,  is  divided  into  wards, 
and  to  each  of  these,  when  practicable, 
there  is  appointed  what  is  called  a  super- 
intendent, generally  a  minister  of  the  Gos- 
pel, a  young  man  who  devotes  himself 
wholly  to  the  work.  The  superintendents 
divide  their  wards  into  districts,  find  a  dis- 
tributer of  either  sex  for  each,  hold  fre- 
quent meetings  with  their  distributers,  pro- 
vide them  with  tracts  for  distribution,  re- 
ceive their  reports,  draw  up  a  general  one 
for  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  City  Tract' 
Society,  under  whose  auspices  the  work 
proceeds,  and  read  their  reports  at  those 
meetings.  Withal,  they  hold  prayer  meet- 
ings in  their  respective  wards  almost  every 
night  in  the  week,  and  engage  competent 
persons  to  hold  others  which  they  cannot 
themselves  attend.  The  distributers  la- 
bour gratuitously.  The  superintendents 
receive  usually  600  dollars  each  as  his  sal- 
ary. A  few  years  ago  these  sixteen  su- 
perintendents were  supported  by  the  same 
number  of  liberal  Christian  merchants  and 
mechanics  in  that  city,  who  rejoiced  to  be 
instrumental  in  maintaining  this  good  work. 
I  shall  conclude  by  giving  the  summary 
of  what  was  accomplished  in  New-York 
during  the  year  ending  on  the  1st  of  De- 
cember 1843,  as  presented  at  the  regular 
annual  public  meeting,  held  in  one  of  the 
churches  of  that  city. 

1,050  average  number  of  visiters  (or  distributers). 
732,155  tracts  distributed,  containing  3,425,781  pages. 
936  Bibles  and  558  Testaments  received  from  the  New- 
York  Bible  Society,  and  supplied  to  the  destitute .- 
4,496  volumes  lent  from  the  ward  libraries. 
2,200  children  gathered  into  Sabbath-schools. 
315  children  gathered  into  public  schools. 
131   persons  gathered  into  Bible-classes. 
904  persons  induced  to  attend  church. 
705  temperance  pledges  obtained. 
1,433  district  prayer-meetings  held. 
43  backsliders  reclaimed. 
396  persons  hopefully  converted. 
342  converts  united  with  evangelical  churches. 

Such  is  the  tabular  view  presented  by 
one  year's  labour  in  the  field  of  Tract  dis- 
tribution in  one  city. 

Besides  the  American  Tract  Society, 
which  may  be  regarded  as  a  vast  reservoir 
of  common  truth — of  doctrines  about  which 
all  evangelical  Protestants  are  agreed — > 
there  are  other  societies  that  publish  reli- 
gious tracts  and  books  ;  and  among  these  I 
may  mention,  as  distinguished  for  the  ener- 
gy of  its  management  and  the  extent  of  its 
operations,  the  "  Book  Concern"  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  This  institu- 
tion is  situated  in  New- York,  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  General  Conference,  which,  every 
four  years,  appoints  a  committee  to  direct 
its  operations.  Two  able  agents  are  intrust- 
ed with  the  management,  and  are  required 
to  make  full  returns  to  the  Bishops  and  to 
the  General  Conference.  It  must  not  be 
thought  that  all  its  numerous  publications 
are  stamped  with  the  peculiarities  of  the 


Chap.  XXI.] 


RELIGIOUS   LITERATURE. 


169 


Methodist  doctrines  ;  not  a  few  of  them 
are  the  same  in  character  with  those  pub- 
lished by  the  American  Tract  Society — 
such,  for  instance,  as  the  "  Saints'  Rest." 
The  sales  are  not  confined  to  the  main  de- 
pository at  New-York,  and  the  branches 
established  at  some  other  great  centres  of 
trade ;  its  publications  are  retailed  by  all 
the  travelling  ministers  of  that  extensive 
body,  and  thus  find  their  way  into  the 
most  remote  log-cabins  of  the  West.  And 
who  can  calculate  the  good  that  may  re- 
sult from  reading  the  biographical  and  di- 
dactic volumes  thus  put  into  circulation  ? 
Who  can  tell  what,  triumphs  over  sin,  what 
penitential  tears,  what  hopes  made  to  spring 
up  in  despairing  hearts,  what  holy  resolu- 
tions, owe  their  existence,  under  God,  to 
these  books  1  The  amount  of  the  sales  of 
this  institution  and  its  branches  was,  last 
year,  fully  125,000  dollars. 

The  Old  School  Presbyterians  have  also 
a  Board  of  Publication,  which  has  put  forth 
not  only  a  considerable  number  of  doctri- 
nal tracts  in  which  the  distinctive  views  of 
that  body  are  ably  maintained,  but  many 
books  also  of  solid  worth,  which  are  gain- 
ing an  extensive  circulation  among  its  own 
members,  and  the  professors  of  the  Calvin- 
istic  system  generally.  The  receipts  of 
this  Board  were,  last  year,  18.160  dollars, 
and  its  expenditures  18,409  dollars. 

The  regular  Baptists,  too,  have  their 
Tract  and  Book  Society  earnestly  engaged 
in  the  good  work  of  supplying  their  people 
with  publications  addressed  both  to  the  con- 
verted and  the  unconverted.  The  receipts  of 
that  Board  were  last  year  9906  dollars,  and 
its  expenditures  9869.  The  Episcopalians, 
Free-Will  Baptists,  the  Quakers  or  Friends, 
the  Lutherans,  and  the  Protestant  Metho- 
dists, have  all  their  own  Tract  Societies ; 
the  last  two  have  their  "  Publication  Com- 
mittees1' and  their  Book  Establishments. 
Other  denominations,  also,  may  possibly 
have  theirs.  The  amount  of  evangelical 
tracts  and  books  put  into  circulation  by  all 
these  "  societies,"  "  boards,"  and  "  com- 
mittees," put  together,  cannot  be  exactly 
ascertained.  Their  value  in  money,  I  mean 
'for  what  they  are  sold,  can  hardly  be  less 
than  300,000  dollars.  They  all  help  tg 
swell  the  great  stream  of  Truth,  as  it  rolls 
its  health-giving  waters  through  the  land. 
May  God  grant  that  these  efforts  may  go 
on  continually  increasing  from  year  to 
year,  until  every  family  shall  be  blessed 
with  a  well-stored  library  of  sound  reli- 
gious books. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE    RELIGIOUS    LITERATURE    OF   THE   UNITED 
STATES. 

While  it  would  be  very  foreign  to  the 
object  of  this  work  to  enter  upon  any  dis- 


cussion as  to  the  value  and  extent  of  the 
general  literature  of  the  United  States,  it  is 
not  out  of  place  to  say  something  respect- 
ing that  part  of  it  which  falls  under  the 
head  of  Religion. 

And  first,  let  me  advert  to  that  which, 
without  reference  to  its  origin,  includes  all 
the  literature  of  a  religious  kind  now  cir- 
culating through  the  country.  In  this  sense, 
our  religious  literature  is  by  far  the  most 
extensive  in  the  world,  with  the  single  ex- 
ception of  that  of  Great  Britain.  We  have 
a  population  of  18,500,000;  and,  even  inclu- 
ding the  African  race  among  us,  and  regard- 
ing the  country  as  a  whole,  we  have  a  lar- 
ger proportion  of  readers  than  can  be  found 
in  most  other  nations.  Indeed,  1  am  not 
aware  of  any  whole  kingdom  or  nation  that 
has  more.  Deducting  the  coloured  popu- 
lation, we  have  15,500,000  of  people  who, 
whatever  may  have  been  their  origin,  are 
Anglo-American  in  character,  and  to  a 
great  extent  speak  and  read  the  English 
language.  Not  only  so,  but  of  these  a  very 
large  proportion  are  religious  in  their  char- 
acters and  habits,  as  we  shall  show  in  an* 
other  place ;  and,  among  the  rest,  there 
is  a  widely  prevalent  respect  for  Christi- 
anity, and  a  disposition  to  make  themselves 
acquainted  with  it. 

To  meet  the  demand  created  by  so  large 
a  body  of  religious  and  serious  readers,  we 
have  a  vast  number  of  publications  in 
every  department  of  Christian  theology, 
and  these  are  derived  from  various  sources. 
Some  have  been  translated  from  German 
and  French ;  some  from  the  Latin'of  more 
or  less  ancient  times  ;  some  from  the 
Greek  ;  while  many  of  our  learned  men, 
and  particularly  of  our  divines,  read  some 
or  all  these  languages,  and  would  think 
their  libraries  very  deficient  in  the  litera- 
ture with  which  they  ought  to  be  familiar, 
did  they  not  contain  a  good  stock  of  such 
books  imported  from  distant  Europe. 

Again,  we  have  either  republished  or  im- 
ported a  great  many  of  the  best  English 
religious  works,  both  of  the  present  times 
and  of  two  or  three  centuries  back.  Such 
as  seem  adapted  for  popular  use,  and  as 
many  of  a  more  learned  cast  as  seem  likely 
to  justify  their  republication,  are  reprinted  ; 
while  not  a  few  copies  of  many  more  are 
ordered  from  Europe  through  the  book- 
sellers. 

Some  American  reprints  of  English  reli- 
gious books,  particularly  of  works  of  a 
practical  character,  have  had  an  immense 
circulation.  The  commentaries  of  Scott, 
Henry,  Doddridge,  Adam  Clarke,  and  Gill, 
have  been  extensively  sold,  and  some 
booksellers  owe  a  large  part  of  their  for- 
tunes to  the  success  of  the  American  edi- 
tions. All  the  sterling  English  writers  on 
religious  subjects,  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, as  well  as  of  later  times,  are  familiar 
to  our  Christian  readers  ;  and  the  smaller 


170 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


practical  treatises  of  Flavel,  Baxter,  Bos- 
ton, Doddridge,  and  others,  have  been  very 
widely  disseminated.  Bates,  Charnock, 
Flavel,  Howe,  the  Henrys,  &c,  are  well 
known  among  us,  as  are  also  Jeremy  Tay- 
lor, Barrow,  Bishops  Hall  and  Wilson  (of 
Sodor  and  Man),  and  many  more  whom  I 
need  not  name.  As  for  more  modern 
times,  the  names  of  Thomas  Scott  and 
Adam  Clarke  are  household  words,  and 
Chalmers  is  known  to  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands who  will  never  see  his  face  in  this 
world.  There  are  many  others  in  Eng- 
land and  Scotland  with  whose  names  we 
have  been  familiar  from  our  youth.  In 
English  systematic  theology  no  names  are 
more  known  or  esteemed  than  the  late  An- 
drew Fuller  and  Thomas  Watson.  And 
although  it  cannot  be  said  that  every  good 
"religious  work  that  appears  in  Great  Brit- 
ain is  republished  in  the  United  States,  a 
large  proportion  of  the  best  certainly  are, 
especially  such  as  are  of  a  catholic  nature, 
and  many  of  them,  I  am  assured,  have  a 
wider  circulation  in  the  United  States  than 
in  England  itself. 

The  United  States  have  sometimes  been 
reproached  by  foreigners  as  a  country 
without  any  literature  of  native  growth. 
M.  de  Tocqueville,  arguing  from  general 
principles,  and,  as  he  supposes,  philosophi- 
cally, seems  to  think  that,  from  the  nature 
of  things,  the  country,  because  a  republic, 
never  can  have  much  literature  of  its  own. 
He  forgets  that  even  the  purest  democrat- 
ical  government  that  the  world  has  ever 
seen,  that  of  Athens,  produced  in  its  day 
more  distinguished  poets,  orators,  histori- 
ans, philosophers,  as  well  as  painters  and 
sculptors,  than  any  other  city  or  country 
of  the  same  population  in  the  world.  He 
full  well  knows,  however,  that  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  is  not  an  unmixed 
democracy,  and  that  in  everything  that 
bears  upon  the  higher  branches  of  learning, 
our  institutions  are  as  much  above  the  con- 
trol of  a  democracy  as  those  of  any  other 
country.  The  grand  disadvantage,  accord- 
ing to  M.  de  Tocqueville,  under  which  our 
literature  labours  is,  that  authors  are  not 
encouraged  by  pensions  from  the  govern- 
ment. But  are  these  so  absolutely  indis- 
pensable 1  Have  such  encouragements 
accomplished  all  that  has  been  expected 
from  them]  Are  they  not  often  shame- 
fully abused,  and  merely  made  to  gratify 
the  personal  predilections  of  ministers  of 
state  1  Besides,  it  is  notorious  that  in 
England  at  least,  where  the  government 
professes,  I  understand,  to  patronise  liter- 
ature, the  most  distinguished  authors,  in  all 
its  various  departments,  owe  nothing  to 
that  source.  As  for  the  patronage  of  asso- 
ciations and  wealthy  individuals,  it  may 
exist  just  as  well  in  the  United  States  as 
anywhere  else,  and,  in  fact,  is  not  unknown 
there. 


But  our  literature,  it  is  said,  is  not  known 
beyond  the  country  itself;  and  this  is  to 
some  extent  true.  But  that  few,  compara- 
tively, even  of  the  distinguished  authors  of 
any  country,  are  known  beyond  its  limits, 
might  easily  be  shown  in  the  case  of 
France,  Germany,  Holland,  Denmark,  and 
Italy.  With  the  exception  of  the  corps  of 
literary  men,  even  the  well  informed  among 
the  English  are  little  acquainted  with  the 
literature  of  those  countries,  and  but  for 
what  they  learn  through  the  medium  of  the 
Reviews,  would  hardly  know  so  much  as 
the  names  of  some  of  their  most  distin- 
guished authors.  No  doubt  the  literature 
of  every  civilized  nation  greatly  influences 
that  of  all  others  ;  not,  however,  by  its 
having  a  general  circulation  in  those  coun- 
tries, but  because  of  the  master  minds  who 
first  familiarize  themselves  with  it,  and 
then  transfer  all  of  it  that  is  most  valuable 
into  their  own,  just  as  Milton  appropriated 
the  beauties  of  Homer,  Virgil,  and  Tasso. 

The  United  States  have  unquestionably 
produced  a  considerable  number  of  authors 
in  every  branch  of  literature,  who,  to  say 
the  least,  are  respectable  in  point  of  emi- 
nence.* Their  being  unknown- to  those 
who  make  use  of  the  fact  as  a  reproach  to 
the  country,  may  possibly  be  owing  to 
something  else  than  the  want  of  real  merit 
on  their  part ;  and  if,  upon  the  whole,  they 
present  only  what  appears  to  foreigners 
nothing  beyond  a  respectable  mediocrity, 


*  It  would  not  be  difficult  to  make  out  a  tolerably 
long  list  of  authors  who  must  be  pronounced,  by 
those  who  know  anything  of  them,  to  be  such  as 
would  be  a  disgrace  to  no  country ;  and  many  of 
them  are  not  unknown  in  Europe.  Among  living 
writers  on  law  in  its  various  branches,  we  have  Kent, 
Story,  Webster,  Wheaton ;  in  medicine,  Mott,  War- 
ren, Beck,  Ray,  Jackson,  and  many  others;  in  theol- 
ogy and  Biblical  science,  Stuart,  Miller,  Woods,  the 
Alexanders,  Hodge,  Wayland,  Robinson,  Conant, 
Barnes^Stowe,  Beecher,  Schmucker,  Hawks,  the  Ab- 
bots, &c. ;  in  belles-lettres  and  history,  Irving,  Pres- 
cott,  Anthon,  Bancroft,  Walsh,  Cooper,  Paulding ;  in. 
science,  Silliman,  Hitchcock,  Henrv,  Davies;  and  po- 
litical economy,  Carey,  Vethake,  Biddle,  Raymond. 
These  are  but  a  few,  selected  chiefly  with  reference 
to  their  being  known  to  some  extent,  at  any  rate,  in 
Europe.  Among  the  distinguished  dead,  we  have 
Marshall,  Livingston,  Madison,  Jefferson,  Jay;  Rush, 
Dorsey,  Wistar,  Dewees,  Godman;  the  Edwardses, 
Davies,  Dwight,  Smith,  Mason,  Emmons,  Channing, 
Griffin,  Rice  ;  Wirt,  Noah  Webster,  Ramsay ;  Frank- 
lin, Ewing,  and  Hamilton.  In  the  fine  arts,  we  have 
had  a  West,  an  Alston,  and  have  now  a  Greenough,  a 
Powers,  a  Crawford  ;  while  in  the  useful  arts,  as  they 
are  called,  we  have  not  been  without  men  of  some 
renown,  as  the  names  of  Fulton,  Whitney,  and  oth- 
ers attest. 

Nor  are  American  books  unknown  in  Great  Brit- 
ain, the  only  country  in  Europe  in  which  they  could 
be  extensively  read.  In  "  Bent's  London  Catalogue" 
we  find  the  names  of  68  American  works  on  theolo- 
gy, 66  in  fiction,  56  of  juvenile  literature,  52  of  trav- 
els, 41  on  education,  26  on  biography,  22  on  history, 
12  on  poetry,  11  on  metaphysics,  10  on  philosophy,  9 
on  science,  and  9  on  law — in  all,  382,  which  have 
been  republished  in  England  within  the  last  ten 
years.  Besides  these,  a  good  many  books  published 
in  America  are  imported  every  year  into  Great 
Britain. 


Chap.  XXI.] 


RELIGIOUS    LITERATURE. 


171 


this  may  readily  be  accounted  for  by  other 
causes  besides  any  hopeless  peculiarity  al- 
leged to  exist  in  the  people  or  their  govern- 
ment. 

The  country  is  still  comparatively  new. 
Much  has  yet  to  be  done  in  felling  the  for- 
est and  clearing  it  for  the  habitations  of 
civilized  man.  But  a  small  part  of  our 
territory  bears  evidence  of  having  been 
long  settled.  Our  people  have  passed 
through  exciting  scenes  that  left  but  little 
leisure  for  writing.  Few  families  possess 
much  wealth.  The  greater  number  of  our 
institutions  of  learning  are  of  recent  origin. 
None  of  them  have  such  ancient  founda- 
tions as  are  to  be  found  in  many  European 
universities ;  our  colleges  have  no  fellow- 
ships ;  our  professors  have  their  time  much 
occupied  in  giving  instruction  ;  our  pastors, 
lawyers,  and  physicians  find  but  little  lei- 
sure, amid  their  professional  labours,  for 
the  cultivation  of  literature.  We  have  no 
sinecures — no  pensions — for  learned  men. 
There  is  too  much  public  life  and  excite- 
ment to  allow  the  rich  to  find  pleasure  in 
Sybaritic  enjoyments  ;  and  they  have  other 
sources  of  happiness  than  the  extensive 
possession  of  paintings  and  statues,  though 
even  for  these  the  taste  is  gaining  ground. 

But  to  return  to  our  proper  subject,  the 
religious  literature  of  the  United  States  : 
the  number  of  our  authors  in  this  depart- 
ment is  by  no  means  small.  Many  valua- 
ble works,  the  productions  of  native  minds, 
issue  year  after  year  from  the  press,  a  very 
large  proportion  of  which  are  of  a  practical 
kind,  and  unquestionably  exert  a  most  salu- 
tary influence.  They  meet  with  an  exten- 
sive sale,  for  the  taste  for  such  reading  is 
widely  diffused,  fostered  as  it  is  by  the  es- 
tablishment of  Sunday-schools  and  the  li- 
braries attached  to  them.* 

To  the  religious  literature  of  books  must 
be  added  that  of  periodical  works — news- 
papers, magazines,  reviews — and  nowhere 
else,  perhaps,  is  this  literature  so  extensive 
or  so  efficient.  More  than  sixty  evangeli- 
cal religious  newspapers  are  published  once 
a  week.  The  Methodists  publish  eight,  in- 
cluding one  in  the  German  tongue,  and  all 
under  the  direction  of  their  Conferences. 
The  Episcopalians  have  twelve ;  the  Bap- 
tists twenty  ;  the  Presbyterians  of  all 
classes,  including  the  Congregationalists, 
Dutch  and  German  Reformed,  Lutherans, 
&c,  about  twenty  more.  This  estimate  in- 
cludes evangelical  Protestant  papers  only. 
In  all,  they  cannot  have  fewer  than  250,000 
subscribers.  The  Christian  Advocate  (Meth- 
odist), published  at  New- York,  has  about 
26,000  ;  a  few  years  ago  it  had  30,000,  but 
the  number  diminished  in  consequence  of 
the  establishment  of  other  Methodist  pa- 


*  I  need  not  repeat  here  what  has  been  said  of  the 
immense  circulation  of  books  by  the  Sunday-school 
and  the  Tract  and  Book  societies,  including  the 
"  Book  Concern"  of  the  Methodists. 


pers.  The  New-York  Observer  has  16,000 
subscribers,  and  several  of  the  rest  have  a 
circulation  of  from  5000  to  10,000  each. 
They  comprise  a  vast  amount  of  religious 
intelligence,  as  well  as  valuable  selections 
from  pamphlets  and  books ;  and  though  it 
may  be  the  case  that  religious  newspapers 
sometimes  prevent  more  substantial  read- 
ing, yet  it  must  be  confessed,  I  think,  that 
they  are  doing  great  good,  and  are  perused 
by  many  who  would  otherwise  read  little 
or  nothing  at  all  of  a  religious  character. 
Besides  these  newspapers,  there  is  a  large 
number  of  religious  monthly  and  semi- 
monthly magazines,  and  several  quarterly 
reviews,  in  which  valuable  essays  on  sub- 
jects of  importance  may  be  found  from 
time  to  time.* 

The  political  papersf  in  the  United 
States,  though  often  extremely  violent  in 
party  politics,  are  in  many  instances  aux- 
iliary to  the  cause  of  religion.  While  the 
editors  of  some,  happily  not  many,  are  op- 
posed to  everything  that  savours  of  reli- 
gion, and  even  allow  it  to  be  outraged  in 
their  columns,  an  overwhelming  majority 
often  give  excellent  articles,  and  publish  a 
large  amount  of  religious  intelligence.  In 
this  respect  there  has  evidently  been  a 
remarkable  improvement  within  the  last 
twenty  years.  Many  of  the  political  jour- 
nals have   rendered  immense   service  in 

*  Two  of  these  quarterlies  are  published  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Presbyterians  of  the  Old  and  New 
Schools ;  the  "  Biblical  Repertory  and  Princeton 
Review,"  at  Princeton,  New-Jersey,  which  is  the 
organ  of  the  former,  and  the  "American  Biblical 
Repository,"  at  New- York.  The  "  Methodist  Maga- 
zine and  Quarterly  Review,"  and  the  "  Christian  Re- 
view," conducted  by  the  Baptists,  are  both  valuable 
periodicals  ;  and  all  four  contain  able  reviews  and 
essays.  The  "  Christian  Register"  is  published 
monthly ;  it  is  the  organ  of  the  Unitarians,  and  is 
conducted  with  much  ability. 

t  In  the  year  1839,  according  to  the  statistics  fur- 
nished by  the  Postmaster-general,  the  number  of 
"  newspapers  and  other  periodical  journals  in  the 
United  States"  was  1555,  of  which  116  were  pub- 
lished daily  (the  Sabbath  excepted),  fourteen  three 
times  a  week,  thirty-nine  twice  a  week,  and  991  once 
a  week.  The  remainder,  which  were  issued  twice 
a  month,  monthly,  or  quarterly,  were  principally 
magazines  and  reviews.  Of  the  newspapers,  thirty- 
eight  were  in  the  German  language,  four  in  French, 
one  in  Spanish,  and  the  rest  in  English.  Several  of 
the  New- Orleans  papers  are  published  both  in  French 
and  English.  The  circulation  of  these  newspapers 
and  other  periodicals  is  immense.  Of  the  newspa- 
pers alone  the  subscriptions  are  at  least  1,000,000. 
And  though  the  number  is  too  great  by  one  half  or 
three  fourths,  and  though  many  are  conducted  by 
men  who  are  but  poorly  qualified  for  the  responsible 
and  difficult  task  of  an  editor,  yet  there  is  no  deny- 
ing that  even  the  poorest  of  them  carry  a  vast  amount 
of  information  to  readers  in  the  most  secluded  and 
distant  settlements,  as  well  as  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  most  populous  districts.  And  if  we  take  the 
editors  in  the  mass,  it  must  be  acknowledged  that 
they  are  very  ready  to  lend  their  columns  to  the  pub- 
lication of  religious  articles,  of  a  suitable  character 
and  length,  when  requested  by  good  men.  And 
did  Christians  feel  as  they  ought  on  this  subject, 
and  do  what  they  might,  the  "  press"  would  be  far 
more  useful  to  the  cause  of  religion  that  it  is. 


172 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


the  Temperance  cause,  as  well  as  in  every 
other  involving  the  alleviation  of  human 
suffering. 

Some  of  the  literary  and  political  Re- 
views of  native  origin  are  very  respectable 
works  of  the  kind  ;  the  North  American 
Review,  in  particular,  which  has  now  ex- 
isted more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
There  are  also  several  valuable  monthly 
Reviews.  Besides  these,  the  leading  Re- 
views published  in  Britain,  such  as  the 
Edinburgh,  the  London  Quarterly,  West- 
minster, Foreign  Quarterly,  Dublin,  &c, 
are  all  republished  among  us. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

EFFORTS     TO     PROMOTE     THE     RELIGIOUS     AND 
TEMPORAL    INTERESTS    OF    SEAMEN. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  endeavours  made 
to  send  the  Gospel  to  the  destitute  settle- 
ments of  the  United  States,  both  in  the  West 
and  in  the  East,  but  we  must  not  forget 
that  the  population  of  that  country  includes 
100,000  men  whose  home  is  on  the  deep, 
and  "  who  do  business  in  the  great  wa- 
ters," a  number  which  must  be  almost 
doubled  if  we  include  those  who  navigate 
the  rivers  and  lakes  in  steamboats,  sailing 
vessels,  and  other  craft. 

The  first  systematic  efforts  made  on  a 
large  scale,  in  the  United  States,  for  the 
salvation  of  seamen,  commenced  in  1812, 
at  Boston.  Since  then  much  interest  in 
the  subject  has  been  awakened  at  almost 
every  port  along  the  seaboard  ;  and  within 
the  last  few  years  a  great  deal  has  been 
done  for  boatmen  and  sailors  on  the  rivers 
and  lakes. 

The  American  Seaman's  Friend  Society 
was  instituted  at  New- York  in  1827,  and 
is  now  the  chief  association  engaged  in 
this  benevolent  enterprise.  It  serves,  in 
some  sense,  as  a  central  point  to  local  so- 
cieties formed  in  the  other  leading  sea- 
ports, as  well  as  those  on  the  Western  riv- 
ers, though  they  are  not,  in  general,  con- 
nected with  it  nominally.*  By  a  monthly 
publication,  called  the  Sailor's  Magazine, 
it  communicates  to  pious  seamen  much 
interesting  information  regarding  the  prog- 
ress of  truth  among  that  class  of  men,  with 
details  of  its  own  proceedings,  and  those 
of  other  associations  of  the  same  kind. 

Chapels  have  now  been  opened  for  sea- 
men, and  public  worship  maintained  on 
their  account  in  almost  all  the  principal 
seaports  from  the  northeast  to  the  south- 
west, chaplains  being  engaged  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  supported  chiefly  by  local  socie- 
ties.    Those  in  the  service  of  the  central 


*  There  are  no  fewer  than  fifty  of  these  local  as- 
sociations for  the  promotion  of  the  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral welfare  of  seamen  and  rivermen  in  the  United 
States. 


society  are,  with  few  exceptions,  stationed 
at  foreign  ports,  such  as  Havre,  in  France, 
Canton,  in  China,  Sydney,  in  New  South 
Wales,  Honolulu,  in  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
and  Cronstadt,  in  Russia.  It  had  chaplains 
at  one  time,  also,  at  Rio  Janeiro,  Marseilles, 
and  some  other  places. 

Besides  promoting  the  establishment  of 
public  worship  under  chaplains  at  sea- 
ports, the  society  has  strongly  and  suc- 
cessfully recommended  the  opening  of 
good  boarding-houses  and  reading-rooms 
for  seamen  when  on  shore,  and  the  promo- 
tion of  their  temporal  comfort  in  every 
way  possible. 

The  efforts  of  the  different  associations 
for  seamen  have  been  greatly  blessed. 
Last  year,  in  particular,  was  marked  by 
special  mercies.  In  no  fewer  than  ten  or 
twelve  ports  there  were  manifest  outpour- 
ings of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  meetings 
for  religious  instruction.  A  hundred  and 
fifty  sailors  were  reported  by  one  of  the 
chaplains  at  Philadelphia  as  having  been 
converted  under  his  ministry,  and  among 
these  was  an  old  man,  ninety-nine  years 
of  age,  who  had  been,  from  time  to  time, 
a  drunkard  for  more  than  seventy  years. 

There  are  supposed  to  be  600  pious  cap- 
tains in  the  United  States'  mercantile  navy. 
There  are  also  several  decidedly  religious 
officers  in  the  national  marine,  who  exer- 
cise a  happy  influence  on  the  service.  The 
pious  seamen  belonging  to  the  United 
States  are  now  reckoned  at  about  6000 ;  a 
most  gratifying  contrast  to  the  state  of 
things  twenty-five  years  ago,  when  a  pious 
seaman,  of  any  class,  was  rarely  to  be  met 
with. 

The  income  of  the  society  for  the  last 
year  was  $12,992,  without  including  the 
receipts  of  the  local  associations,  which' 
must  have  been  considerable.  Its  expen- 
ditures were  $13,785. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

OF  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  VOLUNTARY  PRIN- 
CIPLE IN  REFORMING  EXISTING  EVILS. TEM- 
PERANCE   SOCIETIES. 

We  have  contemplated  the  Voluntary 
Principle  as  the  main  support  of  religion 
and  its  institutions  in  the  United  States. 
We  have  now  to  consider  its  powers  of 
correcting,  or  rather  overcoming,  some  of 
the  evils  that  prevail  in  society.  And  first, 
let  us  see  how  it  has  contended  with  In- 
temperance, one  of  the  greatest  evils  that 
have  ever  afflicted  the  human  race. 

It  is  not  easy  to  depict  in  a  few  words 
the  ravages  of  drunkenness  in  the  United 
States.  The  early  wars  of  the  Colonial 
age,  the  long  war  of  the  Revolution,  and, 
finally,  that  of  1812-15  with  England,  all 
contributed   to   promote  this  tremendous 


Chap.  XXIII.] 


TEMPERANCE    SOCIETIES. 


173 


evil.  The  very  abundance  of  God's  gifts 
became,  by  their  perversion,  a  means  of 
augmenting-  it.  The  country  being  fertile, 
nearly  through  its  whole  extent,  and  pro- 
ducing immense  quantities  of  wheat,  rye, 
and  corn,*  the  last  two  of  which  were  de- 
voted lo  the"  manufacture  of  whiskey,  there 
seemed  no  feasible  check,  or  conceivable 
limit  to  the  ever-growing  evil,  especially 
as  the  government  had  no  such  pressure 
on  its  finances  as  might  justify  the  laying 
on  of  a  tax  that  would  prevent  or  diminish 
the  manufacture  of  ardent  spirits.  More- 
over, the  idea  had  become  almost  univer- 
sally prevalent  that  the  use  of  such  stimu- 
lants, at  least  in  moderate  quantities,  was 
not  only  beneficial,  but  almost  indispensa- 
ble for  health,  as  well  as  for  enabling  men 
to  bear  up  under  toil  and  fatigue. 

The  mischief  spread  from  year  to  year. 
It  pervaded  all  classes  of  society.  The 
courts  of  justice,  the  administration  of  gov- 
ernment, the  very  pulpit  itself,  felt  its  dire- 
ful influence.  The  intellect  of  the  physi- 
cian, and  the  hand  of  the  surgeon,  were 
too  often  paralyzed  by  it ;  and  it  might  be 
said,  that  what  some  thought  to  be  ordain- 
ed unto  life,  was  found  to  produce  death. 
Poverty,  disease,  crime,  punishment,  mis- 
ery, were  the  natural  fruits  which  it  brought 
forth  abundantly.  Society  was  afflicted  in 
almost  all  its  ranks  ;  nearly  every  family 
throughout  the  land  beheld  the  plague  in 
one  or  more  of  its  members.  Yet  for  a 
long  time,  while  all  saw  and  lamented  the 
evil,  none  stood  up  against  it.  But  there 
were  those  that  mourned,  and  wept,  and 
prayed  over  the  subject,  and  the  God  of 
our  fathers,  who  had  been  with  them  on 
the  ocean  and  amid  the  dreary  wilderness, 
to  watch  over  them  and  to  protect  them, 
heard  those  prayers. 

In  the  year  1812,  a  considerable  effort 
was  made  to  arouse  the  attention  of  Chris- 
tians to  the  growing  evils  of  intemperance, 
and  a  day  of  fasting  and  of  prayer  was  ob- 
served by  some  religious  bodies.  In  the 
following  year,  the  Massachusetts  Soci- 
ety for  the  Suppression  of  Intemperance 
was  formed,  and  its  labours  were  mani- 
festly useful.  Still.  "  the  plague  was  not 
stayed."  The  subject,  however,  was  not 
allowed  to  drop.  It  was  seen  that  the  So- 
ciety had  not  gone  far  enough,  and  that  it 
would  not  do  to  admit  of  ardent  spirits  be- 
ing taken,  even  in  moderation.  The  evil 
of  wile-spread  drunkenness  never  could  be 
exterminated  by  such  half-way  measures. 

It  was  proposed,  accordingly,  in  1826,  to 
proceed  upon  the  principle  of  entire  absti- 
nence from  the  use  of  ardent  or  distilled 
spirits  as  a  beverage,  and  that  same  year 
saw  the  formation  at  Boston  of  the  Ameri- 
can Temperance  Society.     The  press  was 

*  The  wonl  com  is  almost  invariably  employed  in 
America  to  designate  the  grain  commonly  called 
maize  in  England,  and  Ble  de  Turqvie  in  France. 


soon  set  in  motion  to  make  its  objects 
known,  and  able  agents  were  employed  in 
advocating  its  principles.  Great  was  the 
success  that  followed.  In  the  course  of  a 
few  years  societies  were  to  be  found  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  and  were  joined,  not 
by  thousands  only,  but  by  hundreds  of 
thousands.  People  of  all  classes  and  ages 
entered  zealously  into  so  noble  an  under- 
taking. Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  lawyers, 
and  judges,  legislators,  physicians,  took  a 
prominent  part  in  urging  it  on. 

What  need  is  there  of  words  1  The  cause 
continues  advancing  to  this  day.  To  reach 
the  poor,  as  well  as  to  remove  temptation 
from  the  rich,  the  rules  of  the  Temperance 
societies  within  the  last  six  or  seven  years 
have  included  "  all  intoxicating  drinks." 
Upon  this  principle,  wines  of  all  descrip- 
tions have  generally  been  abandoned,  both 
on  account  of  their  being  mostly  impure 
with  us — being  imported,  and  all  more  or 
less  intoxicating — and  because  they  are 
not  found  necessary  to  persons  in  health, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  injurious ;  besides 
which,  it  was  of  consequence  that  an  ex- 
ample of  self-denial  should  be  given  by 
those  who  could  afford  to  buy  wine,  for  the 
sake  of  the  poor,  who  could  not. 

But,  in  the  progress  of  the  Temperance 
reformation,  little  was  done  to  reclaim  men 
who  had  already  become  drunkards.  And 
yet,  at  the  lowest  estimate,  there  were 
300,000  such  in  the  United  States  ;  many 
even  reckoned  them  at  500,000  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Temperance  movement. 
No  hope  seemed  to  be  entertained  with  re- 
spect to  these.  To  prevent  such  as  had 
not  yet  become  confirmed  drunkards  from 
acquiring  that  fatal  habit,  was  the  utmost 
ihat  any  one  dared  to  expect.  A  few  drunk- 
ards, indeed,  were  here  and  there  re- 
claimed ;  but  the  mass  remained  unaffected 
by  all  the  cogent  arguments  and  affecting 
appeals  that  were  resounding  through  the 
country. 

At  length  God,  in  his  wonderful  provi- 
dence, revealed  the  way  by  which  these 
miserable  persons  might  be  reached.  And 
how  simple  !  A  few  hard  drinkers  in  the 
city  of  Baltimore,  who  were  in  the  habit 
of  meeting  in  a  low  tavern  for  the  purpose 
of  revelry,  and  had  been  drunkards  for 
years,  met  one  night  as  usual.  All  hap- 
pened to  be  sober.  Apparently  by  acci- 
dent, the  conversation  fell  upon  the  mis- 
eries of  their  life.  One  after  another  re- 
counted his  wretched  history.  All  were 
deeply  affected  with  the  pictures  of  their 
own  degradation  thus  held  up  to  their 
minds.  Some  one  proposed  that  they 
should  stop  in  their  career  of  folly  and 
wickedness,  and  form  themselves  into  a 
Temperance  association.  They  did  so. 
Rules  were  written  and  signed  on  the  spot. 
They  met  again  the  next  night,  related 
their  histories,  wept  together  over  their 


174 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


past  delusions,  and  strengthened  each  oth- 
er's resolutions.  They  continued  to  meet 
almost  every  night — not,  however,  at  a 
tavern.  They  invited  their  companions 
in  sin  to  join  them.  These  were  affected 
and  won.  The  fire  was  kindled,  and  soon 
it  spread.  In  a  few  weeks  four  hundred 
such  persons  joined  the  society.  In  a  few 
months  no  fewer  than  2000  drunkards  in 
the  city  of  Baltimore  were  reclaimed. 
Then  the  movement  came  to  light.  The 
newspapers  spread  the  wonderful  news. 
The  whole  country  was  astonished.  Chris- 
tians lifted  up  their  hearts  in  thankfulness 
to  God,  and  took  courage.  Benevolent 
men  rallied  around  these  reformed  persons, 
and  encouraged  them  to  perseverance. 

The  society  of  reclaimed  drunkards  in 
Baltimore  was  invited  to  send  delegates  to 
other  cities ;  and  soon  the  "apostles  of  Tem- 
perance," as  these  men  were  called,  went 
forth  to  every  city  in  the  land.-  Great  was 
their  success.  Hundreds  and  thousands 
were  reclaimed  in  New-York,  Philadelphia, 
Boston,  Albany,  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati,  and 
from  these  cities,  as  from  great  centres, 
other  delegations  of  reformed  drunkards 
went  forth  into  almost  every  village  and 
district  in  the  land. 

This  movement  commenced  on  the  6th 
of  April,  1840  ;  and  it  is  now  estimated  that 
100,000  drunkards  have  already  been  re- 
claimed. But  it  may  be  said  that  they  will 
relapse.  No  doubt  some  will.  Hitherto, 
however,  but  few  comparatively  have  done 
so.  And  the  secret  of  this  is  to  be  found 
in  the  immense  support  which  the  esprit  du 
corps  gives  them.  There  is  everywhere  a 
considerable  band  of  such.  They  meet  often 
to  encourage  each  other.  Good  men  are  ev- 
erywhere ready  to  encourage  and  befriend 
them.  Never  has  the  world  seen  anything 
like  it.  What  an  encouragement  to  every 
good  effort !  What  confidence  does  it  not 
inspire  in  the  influence  of  well-concert- 
ed action  in  behalf  of  virtue  and  religion ! 
God  has  smiled  wonderfully  on  this  move- 
ment. Already  many  who  have  been  thus 
reclaimed  from  intemperance,  and  led  to 
frequent  the  House  of  God,  have  been  con- 
verted by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  and  are 
now  "  sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  clothed, 
and  in  their  right  mind." 

To  go  farther  into  detail  would  not  con- 
sist with  the  nature  of  this  work.  A  large 
proportion  of  the  population  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  are  now  under  the  happy  influ- 
ence of  total  abstinence  from  all  intoxi- 
cating, drinks.  In  1826,  when  the  temper- 
ance reform  commenced,  it  was  estimated 
that  at  least  60,000,000  gallons  of  whiskey 
were  manufactured  and  consumed  annual- 
ly in  the  United  States,  without  including 
the  imported  brandies,  rum.  &c.  This  es- 
timate was  unquestionably  a  very  low 
one.  In  1840,  that  is,  fourteen  years  after- 
ward, the  census  stated  that  the  number 


of  gallons  distilled  during  that  year  was 
36,343,336,  showing  a  falling  off  of  more 
than  23,000,000  gallons  ;  and  yet,  within  the 
same  period,  the  population  had  augmented 
by  more  than  5,000,000  souls  !  And  all  this 
reformation  has  been  brought  about  solely 
through  the  operation  of  voluntary  associa- 
tions, without  the  slightest  direct  aid  from 
the  government,  with  the  exception  of  its 
having  abolished  the  daily  ration  of  whis- 
key formerly  given  to  the  officers  and  men 
in  the  army.  Could  anything  in  the  world 
show  more  conclusively  the  resources 
which  right  principles  possess  in  them- 
selves for  overcoming,  under  God's  bless- 
ing, the  evils  which  are  in  the  world,  and 
even  those  which  derive  most  power  from 
the  depraved  appetites  of  man  ? 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  AMERICAN  PRISON  DISCIPLINE  SOCIETY. 

The  Prison  Discipline  Society  was  insti- 
tuted in  1824.  It  had  for  its  object  an  in- 
vestigation into  the  best  methods  of  treat- 
ment for  convicts  and  other  prisoners,  with 
a  view  to  their  health,  proper  degree  of 
comfort,  and,  above  all,  their  moral  and  re- 
ligious reformation. 

Previous  to  the  establishment  of  this  So- 
ciety, the  prisons  in  the  United  States  were 
all  conducted  according  to  the  old  practice 
of  herding  the  prisoners  together  in  large 
numbers,  without  any  due  regard  to  their 
health,  and  with  the  inevitable  certainty 
of  their  corrupting  one  another.  In  most 
cases,  there  was  little  regular  religious  in- 
struction ;  in  some,  none  at  all.  The  pris- 
oners were  generally  left  idle,  so  that  their 
maintenance,  instead  of  being  so  far  de- 
frayed by  the  proceeds  of  their  work,  fell 
entirely  on  the  public,  and  involved  a  heavy 
expense. 

But  a  great  reformation  has  now  been 
effected.  The  Society's  able,  enlightened, 
and  zealous  secretary,  the  only  agent,  I 
believe,  in  its  service,  has  devoted  nearly 
his  whole  time  and  energies  to  the  subject 
for  nearly  twenty  years.  During  that  pe- 
riod he  has  examined  the  prisons  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  has  studied  whatever 
was  defective  or  wrong  in  each,  has  de- 
vised improvements  in  the  construction  of 
prison  buildings,  has  visited  the  Legisla- 
tures of  the  several  states,  and  delivered 
lectures  to  them  on  the  subject,  besides 
giving  to  the  world,  in  the  eighteen  Re- 
ports that  have  come  from  his  pen,  such 
a  mass  of  well-digested  information  as  is 
probably  nowhere  else  to  be  found  in  any 
language.  The  l-esults  have  been  wonder- 
ful. New  penitentiaries,  upon  the  most 
improved  plans,  have  been  erected  in  al- 
most all  states  by  their  respective  govern- 
ments, and  in  many  cases  at  a  great  ex- 
pense.    These  institutions  are  very  gen- 


Chap.  XXIV.] 


PRISON   DISCIPLINE    SOCIETY. 


175 


erally  under  the  direction  of  decidedly  re- 
ligious men.  Judicious  and  faithful  preach- 
ers have  been  appointed  as  chaplains  in 
many  of  them ;  and  in  the  others,  neigh- 
bouring pastors  have  been  invited  to 
preach  the  Gospel,  and  visit  the  inmates 
as  often  as  they  can.  Bible-classes  and 
Sunday-schools  have  been  established  in 
several  instances  ;  and  in  all,  pains  are  ta- 
ken to  teach  prisoners  to  read  where  they 
have  yet  to  learn,  so  that  they  may  be 
able  to  peruse  the  Word  of  God. 

A  great  blessing  has  rested  upon  these 
efforts.  In  many  prisons  very  hopeful 
reformations  have  taken  place ;  and  in 
many  cases,  it  is  believed,  after  long  and 
careful  examination  and  trial,  that  con- 
victs, who  were  hardened  in  their  sins, 
have  submitted  their  hearts  to  that  adora- 
ble Saviour  who  died  to  save  the  very 
chief  of  sinners.  Taken  as  a  whole,  in 
no  other  country  in  the  world,  probably, 
are  the  penitentiaries  and  prisons  brought 
under  a  better  moral  and  religious  disci- 
pline. This  great  result  has  been  brought 
about,  first,  by  the  erection  of  new  and  more 
convenient  buildings,  and,  secondly,  by 
committing  their  direction  so  generally  to 
decided  and  zealous  Christians.  This  has 
brought  pure  Christianity  into  contact  with 
the  minds  of  convicts  to  an  extent  un- 
known in  former  times  in  America,  and 
still  too  little  known  in  many  other  lands.* 

*  It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  two  differ- 
ent systems  of  discipline  are  to  be  found  in  the  pris- 
ons of  the  United  States,  each  having  its  ardent  ad- 
mirers. There  is,  first,  the  Philadelphia  system,  ac- 
cording to  which  the  prisoners  are  entirely  separated 
day  and  night,  so  that  they  are  unknown  to  each 
other,  and  live  in  separate  chambers  or  cells.  And 
•next  there  is  trie  Auburn  system,  so  called  because 
adopted  in  the  prison  for  the  State  of  New-York, 
at  Auburn,  a  town  in  the  central  part  of  that  state. 
According  to  it,  the  prisoners  are  separated  from 
each  other  at  night,  but  work  together  in  companies 
during  the  day,  under  the  eye  of  overseers  and  guards, 
but  are  not  allowed  to  speak  to  each  other.  They 
are  assembled,  also,  morning  and  evening,  for  prayers ; 
and  on  the  Sabbath  they  meet  in  the  chapel  for  pub-' 
lie  worship,  conducted  by  a  chaplain  or  some  other 
minister  of  the  Gospel.  Each  system  has  its  advan- 
tages and  disadvantages.  For  health,  facility  in 
communicating  religious  instruction,  and  the  saving 
of  expense  through  the  avails  of  the  labour  of  the 
prisoners,  the  latter,  in  my  opinion,  has  evidently  the 
advantage.  The  former  furnishes  greater  security, 
enables  the  prisoners  to  remain  unknown  to  their  fel- 
lows on  leaving  the  prison, and  more  effectually  breaks 
down  the  spirit  of  the  most  hardened  criminals.  But 
the  difference  in  point  of  expense  is  immense  :  nor 
are  the  moral  results  of  the  more  expensive  plan  so 
decidedly  superior  as  to  compensate  for  this  disad- 
vantage. It  is  a  singular  fact,  that  the  Auburn  sys- 
tem has  been  decidedly  preferred  by  the  Prison  Disci- 
pline Society,  and  by  our  citizens  generally,  for  it 
has  been  adopted  by.  all  but  four  of  the  penitentiaries* 
in  the  country ;  whereas  the  Philadelphia  plan  has 
been  preferred  by  the  commissioners  sent  from  France, 
England,  and  Prussia,  to  examine  our  prisons.  For 
myself,  I  apprehend  that  sufficient  time  has  not  been 
allowed  for  a  due  estimate  of  their  comparative 
merits.    After  paying  considerable  attention  to  the 

*  And  even  one  of  these  has  abandoned  it  for  the  Auburn 
system. 


Besides  effecting  this  great  reformation 
in  the  State  penitentiaries  and  prisons,  the 
Society  has  directed  much  of  its  attention 
to  the  Asylums  for  the  Insane,  and  to 
county  or  district  prisons  for  persons  com- 
mitted for  trial,  for  convicts  sentenced  to 
short  terms  of  imprisonment,  and  for  debt- 
ors, in  states  where  the  law  still  allows 
imprisonment  for  debt.  In  all  these  various 
establishments  the  American  Prison  Disci- 
pline Society  is  exerting  much  influence, 
and  gradually  effecting  the  most  important 
ameliorations.  It  has  also  discussed  in  a 
very  able  manner  many  questions  in  crim- 
inal legislation ;  such  as  those  of  impris- 
onment for  debt,  capital  punishments,  &c, 
and  its  labours  in  this  department  have 
not  been  in  vain.  Yet  the  Society  has  but 
one  agent — its  excellent  secretary,  who 
devotes,  as  I  have  said,  all  his  time  and 
energies  to  the  cause — and  its  whole  re- 
ceipts scarcely  exceed  3000  dollars.  With 
these  limited  means,  it  has  accomplished 
an  immense  amount  of  good. 

I  know  nothing  that  more  fully  demon- 
strates how  favourably  disposed  our  Gov- 
ernment is  to  Religion,  and  to  all  good  ob- 
jects, than  the  fact  that  the  Legislatures 
of  so  many  of  our  states,  as  well  as  Con- 
gress itself,  have  been  so  ready  to  second 
every  feasible  plan  for  ameliorating  the 
condition  of  mankind  by  moral  and  reli- 
gious means,  as  far  as  they  can  do  so  con- 
sistently with  their  constitutional  powers. 
Indeed,  they  are  ever  ready  to  adopt  meas- 
ures suggested  by  good  and  judicious  men, 
as'  likely  to  benefit  the  public  interests  and 
to  promote  Religion,  provided  they  fall 
within  their  sphere  of  action. 

I  may  conclude  this  chapter  by  refer- 
ring to  the  encouraging  fact,  stated  by  the 
secretary  in  his  yearly  Report,  presented 
at  the  public  meeting  in  May,  1842  :  That 
crime  has  been  for  some  years  decreasing 
in  the  country,  at  the  rate  of  from  two  to 
three  per  cent.  j»er  annum.  This  statement, 
from  one  whose  position  and  means  of  in- 
formation constitute  him  the  highest  possi- 
ble authority  on  the  subject,  is  the  more 
encouraging,  when  we  consider  how  many 
difficulties  have  to  be  encountered  in  a  new 
country,  and  what  a  mighty  stream  of  em- 
igration from  foreign  lands  is  continually 


subject,  as  far  as  1  am  able  to  judge,  I  should  say 
that,  with  the  right  sort  of  men  to  manage  a  prison — - 
religious  men  of  great  judgment  and  self-control — 
the  Auburn  plan  is  the  better.  But  if  such  men 
cannot  be  had,  the  Philadelphia  system  is  safer.  The 
former  demands  extraordinary  qualities  in  the  keep- 
ers, and  especially  in  the  superintendent,  whose 
powers,  as  they  must  be  great,  are  capable,  also,  cf 
being  sadly  abused.  Much,  indeed,  depends  on  the 
keepers  under  either  system.  1  may  add,  that  for  the 
ignorant,  the  rude,  the  sensual,  the  Auburn  system 
is  far  more  salutary  than  that  of  Philadelphia ;  for  to 
such,  entire  solitary  confinement  is  sadly  destructive 
to  health  and  happiness.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Philadelphia  system  is  more  tolerable  and  useful  to 
the  better  educated  and  the  more  intellectual  classes. 


176 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


bringing  over  new  settlers  who  have  had 
little  proper  moral  culture,  and  not  a  few 
of  whom  are  almost  desperately  depraved. 
Nor  is  it  less  gratifying  to  think  that  this 
occurs  by  a  process  in  which  brute  force 
is  superseded  to  such  an  extent  in  the  re- 
pression of  vice  and  crime  by  means  essen- 
tially moral. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

SUNDRY  OTHER   ASSOCIATIONS. 

I  shall  now  include  in  one  chapter  a 
notice  of  two  or  three  other  instances,  in 
which  the  variety  and  energy  of  action 
possessed  by  the  Voluntary  Principle  are 
remarkably  illustrated. 

Societies  for  the  Promotion  of  a  better  Ob- 
servance of  the  Sabbath.  Although  the  Sab- 
bath is  recognised,  and  its  observance  en- 
joined by  the  laws  of  every  state  in  the 
Union,  and  although  that  sacred  day  is 
observed  in  the  United  States  in  a  manner 
that  strikingly  contrasts  with  its  neglect 
in  Europe,  and  particularly  on  the  Conti- 
nent, yet  in  certain  quarters,  and  especial- 
ly in  places  that  are  in  some  sense  thor- 
oughfares, the  violation  of  it  is  distressing, 
nay,  alarming  to  a  Christian  mind.  Hence 
the  formation  of  societies  for  the  better 
observance  of  that  day. 

These  are  sometimes  of  a  local  and  lim- 
ited nature  ;  sometimes  they  embrace  a 
wider  sphere  of  operation.  By  publishing 
and  circulating  well-written  addresses  and 
tracts — still  more  by  the  powerful  appeals 
of  the  pulpit,  they  succeed  in  greatly  di- 
minishing the  evil,  if  not  in  removing  it  al- 
together. By  such  measures  they  strength- 
en the  hands  of  the  officers  of  justice,  and 
give  a  sounder  tone  and  better  direction 
to  public  opinion,  greatly  to  the  diminu- 
tion, if  not  to  the  entire  remedy,  of  the  evil 
sought  to  be  cured.  What  is  best  of  all, 
this  result  is  obtained  most  commonly  by 
the  moral  influence  of  Truth — by  kindly 
remonstrance,  and  arguments  drawn  from 
the  Word  of  God  and  right  reason.  I  may 
state  that  I  have  myself  seen  the  happiest 
influence  exerted  by  these  associations. 

Anti-slavery  Societies.  And  so  with  re- 
spect to  slavery,  an  evil  which  afflicted  all 
the  thirteen  original  colonies  at  the  epoch 
of  their  declaration  of  independence,  and 
which  still  exists  in  half  of  the  twenty-six 
states,  as  well  as  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia and  the  Territory  of  Florida,  though  no 
longer  to  be  found  in  the  six  New-Eng- 
land States,  or  in  New- York,  New-Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michi- 
gan, and  the  Territories  of  Wisconsin  and 
Iowa.  With  a  view  to  its  extirpation  in 
the  states  to  which  it  still  adheres,  many 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Northern,  or  non- 
slaveholding  states,  have  associated  them- 


selves in  what  are  called  anti-slavery  so- 
cieties, and  have  been  endeavouring,  for 
several  years  past,  to  awaken  the  public 
to  a  sense  of  the  enormity  and  danger 
of  slavery,  and  to  the  disgrnce  which  it 
entails  on  the  whole  country.  By  means 
of  the  press,  by  tracts  and  books,  and  by 
the  voice  of  living  agents,  they  aim  at  the 
destruction  of  this — the  greatest  of  all  the 
evils  that  lie  heavy  on  our  institutions.  I 
say  nothing  at  present  of  the  wisdom  of 
their  plans,  or  of  the  spirit  in  which  these 
plans  have  been  prosecuted.  I  only  men- 
tion these  societies  as  a  farther  proof  of 
the  wide  application  of  the  Voluntary  Prin- 
ciple, and  of  the  manner  in  which  it  leads 
to  associated  efforts  for  the  correction  of 
existing  evils.* 

Peace  Societies.  And  so  in  relation  to  the 
evils  of  war,  and  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
serving good  men  especially,  and  all  men, 
if  possible,  from  thinking  lightly  of  them, 
Peace  Societies  be^an  to  be  formed  as 
early  as  the  year  1816,  and  a  national  so- 
ciety was  organized  in  1827.  The  object 
must  be  admitted  to  be  humane  and  Chris- 
tian. By  the  diffusion  of  well-written 
tracts,  by  offering  handsome  premiums  for 
essays  on  the  subject,  and  their  subsequent 
publication,  and,  above  all,  by  short  and 
pointed  articles  in  the  newspapers,  a  great 
deal  has  been  done  to  cause  the  prayer  to 
ascend  with  more  fervency  from  the  heart 
of  many  a  Christian,  "  Give  peace  in  our 
time,  O  Lord,"  and  to  inspire  a  just  dread 
of  the  awful  curse  of  war.  To  many,  such 
efforts  may  appear  ridiculous,  but  not  so 
to  the  man  who  can  estimate  the  value  of 
even  one  just  principle,  when  once  estab- 
lished in  the  heart  of  any  individual,  how- 
ever humble.  Who  can  tell  how  much 
such  efforts  in  the  United  States,  and  other 
countries,  may  have  contributed,  in  God"s 
holy  providence,  which  oftei\  avails  itself 
of  the  humblest  means  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  greatest  purposes,  to  prolong 
that  happy  general  peace  which  has  held 
Europe,  and  all  the  civilized  world,  in  its 
embrace  during  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century1? 

The  American  Peace  Society  employed 
four  agents  last  year,  and  issued  5000  cop- 
ies of  its  periodical.  Its  receipts  were 
3000  dollars.! 


*  The  receipts  of  the  American  Anti-slavery  So- 
ciety for  last  year  were  about  10,000  dollars ;  those 
of  the  American  and  Foreign  Anti-slavery  Society 
were  probably  greater,  but  I  have  not  seen  the 
amount  stated.  A  few  years  ago,  before  the  division 
took  place  in  the  American  Anti-slavery  Society 
which  led  to  the  formation  of  the  American  and  For- 
eign Anti-slavery  Society,  its  income  was  40,000  dol- 
lars, and  the  number  of  its  agents  was  forty  or  filty. 

t  The  late  William  Ladd,  Esq.,  of  the  State  of 
Maine,  was  the  founder  of  the  American  Peace  So- 
ciety, and  for  many  vears  its  worthy  president.  He 
was  an  excellent  Christian.  His  heart  was  absorbed 
in  the  objects  of  the  society  over  which  he  presided. 
Through  his  exertions  a  prize  of  1000  dollars  was 


Chap.  XXVI.] 


BENEFICENT   INSTITUTIONS. 


177 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

INFLUENCE  OF  THE  VOLUNTARY  PRINCIPLE  ON 
THE  BENEFICENT  INSTITUTIONS  OF  THE 
COUNTRY. 

Nor  is  the  voluntary  principle  less  op- 
erative in  the  formation  and  support  of 
beneficent  institutions  than  of  associations 
for  attacking  and  vanquishing  existing 
evils.  But  these  present  too  wide  a  field 
to  be  fully  gone  over  in  this  work  ;  besides, 
they  do  not  come  properly  within  its  scope. 
I  shall  therefore  glance  only  at  a  few  points, 
showing  how  the  voluntary  principle  op- 
erates in  this  direction  for  the  furtherance 
of  the  Gospel. 

In  efforts  to  relieve  the  temporal  wants 
and  sufferings  of  mankind,  as  well  as  in 
all  other  good  undertakings,  Christians, 
and  those,  too,  with  few  exceptions,  evan- 
gelical in  their  faith,  almost  invariably 
take  the  lead.  Whenever  there  is  a  call 
for  the  vigorous  exercise  of  benevolence, 
proceeding  from  whatever  cause,  Chris- 
tians immediately  go  to  work,  and  endeav- 
our to  meet  the  exigency  by  their  own  ex- 
ertions, if  possible  ;  but  should  the  nature 
and  extent  of  the  relief  required  properly 
demand  co-operation  on  the  part  of  muni- 
cipal and  state  authorities,  they  bring  the 
case  before  these  authorities,  and  invoke 
their  aid.  It  naturally  follows  that,  when 
this  is  given,  it  should  be  applied  through 
the  hands  of  those  who  were  the  first  to 
stir  in  the  matter ;  and  this  wisely,  too, 
since  who  can  be  supposed  so  fit  to  ad- 
minister the  charities  of  the  civil  govern- 
ment as  those  who  have  first  had  the  heart 
to  make  sacrifices  for  the  same  object 
themselves  1  Such  alone  are  likely  to 
have  the  experience  that  in  such  affairs  is 
necessary. 

All  this  I  might  illustrate  by  adducing 
many  instances,  were  it  necessary.  In 
this  chapter,  however,  I  shall  notice  a  few, 
and  take  these  collectively. 

There  is  not  a  city  or  large  town,  I  may 
say,  hardly  a  village,  in  all  the  country, 
which  has  not  its  voluntary  associations 
of  good  men  and  women  for  the  relief  of 
poverty,  especially  where  its  sufferings 
are  aggravated  by  disease.  These  efforts, 
in  countless  instances,  may  not  be  exten- 


offered  for  the  best  essay  on  the  subject  of  A  Con- 
gress of  Nations,  for  the  termination  of  national  dis- 
putes. Four  or  five  excellent  dissertations  were 
presented,  and  the  premium  was  divided  among  the 
authors  by  the  judges  appointed  to  make  the  award  ; 
one  of  whom  was  the  Hon.  John  Quincy  Adams, 
formerly  President  of  the  United  States.  The  evils 
of  war  can  hardly  be  exaggerated.  "  In  peace,"  said 
Croesus  to  Cyrus,  "  children  bury  their  fathers  ;  but 
in  war,  fathers  bury  their  children."  "  War  makes 
thieves,"  says  Machiavelli,  "  and  peace  brings  them 
to  the  gallows."  "  May  we  never  see  another  war," 
said  Franklin,  in  a  letter  which  he  addressed  to  a 
friend,  just  after  signing  the  treaty  of  peace  at  the 
close  of  the  American  Revolution,  "  for  in  my  opin- 
ion there  never  was  a  good  ivar  or  a  bad  peace." 

M 


sive,  only  because  there  is  no  extensive 
call  for  their  being  made.  Created  by  cir- 
cumstances, when  these  disappear,  the  as- 
sociations also  cease  to  exist.  But  where 
the  sufferings  to  be  relieved  are  perpetu- 
ally recurring,  as  well  as  too  extensive  to 
be  alleviated  by  individual  effort,  these 
benevolent  associations  become  perma- 
nent. Their  objects  are  accomplished,  in 
most  instances,  by  the  unaided  exertions 
of  the  benevolent,  who  voluntarily  associ- 
ate for  the  purpose  ;  but  if  these  prove  in- 
sufficient, municipal  or  state  assistance  is 
sought,  and  never  sought  in  vain.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  stranger  who  visits  the  Uni- 
ted States  will  find  hospitals  for  the  sick, 
almshouses  for  the  poor,  and  dispensaries 
for  furnishing  the  indigent  with  medicines 
gratuitously,  in  all  the  large  cities  where 
they  are  required.*  There  is  a  legal  pro- 
vision in  all  the  states  for  the  poor,  not 
such,  however,  as  to  do  aAvay  with  the  ne- 
cessity of  individual  or  associated  effort 
to  meet  extraordinary  cases  of  want,  es- 
pecially when  it  comes  on  suddenly,  and 
in  the  train  of  disease.  The  rapid  and 
wide-spreading  attacks  of  epidemics  may 
demand,  and  will  assuredly  find  benevo- 
lent individuals  ready  to  associate  them- 
selves for  meeting  such  exigencies,  before 
the  measures  provided  by  law  can  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  tliem.f 

It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  I  have  to 
state  that  the  Gospel  finds  admittance  into 
the  establishments  for  the  relief  of  pover- 


*  The  manner  of  providing  for  the  poor  differs 
greatly  in  different  states.  In  the  West,  where  there 
is  but  little  extreme  poverty,  the  inhabitants  of  each 
township  generally  look  after  their  poor  in  such  a 
way  as  best  suits  them.  Money  is  raised,  and  by  a 
"commissioner  of  the  poor,"  appropriated  to  the 
support  of  such  as  need  it.  Those  who  have  fami- 
lies live  in  houses  hired  for  them ;  single  persons 
board  with  others  who  are  willing  to  take  them  for 
the  stipulated  sum.  In  the  Atlantic  States,  where 
there  are  more  poor  who  need  assistance,  the  same 
course  is  pursued  in  many  cases.  In  others,  "  poor- 
houses"  are  erected  in  such  counties  as  choose  to 
have  such  establishments,  and  to  these  the  townships 
send  their  quota  of  paupers,  and  pay  for  their  board, 
clothing,  &c.  In  the  cities  on  the  seaboard,  the 
municipal  authorities  make  abundant  provision  for 
the  poor  who  need  aid,  a  great  proportion  of  whom 
are  foreigners. 

t  There  were  many  illustrations  of  the  expansive 
nature  of  individual  and  associated  charity  during 
the  prevalence  of  the  cholera.  In  all  our  large  cit- 
ies, associations,  comprising  the  very  best  Christians 
in  them,  were  formed  with  the  utmost  promptitude, 
and  zealously  sustained  as  long  as  needed.  I  saw 
myself,  and  often  attended  their  meetings,  an  asso- 
ciation of  Christian  ladies  formed  in  Philadelphia, 
as  soon  as  the  pestilence  commenced  its  ravages  in 
that  city.  They  hired  a  house,  converted  it  into  a 
hospital,  gathered  into  it  all  the  children  whom  the 
plague  had  orphanized,  both  white  and  black,  whom 
they  could  find,  and  day  after  day,  and  week  after 
week,  washed,  dressed,  and  took  care  of  those  chil- 
dren with  their  own  hands,  and  defrayed  all  the  ex- 
penses of  the  establishment.  Two  of  the  children 
died  of  the  cholera  in  their  arms !  These  ladies  be 
longed,  many  of  them,  to  some  of  the  first  families  ia 
that  city  in  point  of  respectability. 


178 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


ty  and  disease,  which  have  been  created 
and  maintained  by  the  municipal  and  state 
authorities ;  and  that  I  have  never  heard 
of  any  case  in  which  the  directors  have 
opposed  the  endeavours  of  judicious  Chris- 
tians to  make  known  to  the  inmates  the 
blessings  of  religion.  Prudent  and  zeal- 
ous Christians,  both  ministers  and  laymen, 
are  allowed  to  visit,  and  ministers  to  preach 
to  the  occupants  of  such  establishments  ; 
and  in  several  of  our  cities,  one  or  more 
excellent  ministers  of  the  Gospel  are  em- 
ployed to  preach  regularly  in  them  as  well 
as  in  the  prisons.  With  rare  exceptions, 
they  are  in  the  hands  of  Protestants,  though 
Roman  Catholic  priests  are  nowhere  for- 
bidden to  enter  and  teach  all  who  desire 
their  ministrations.  • 

Of  all  the  beneficent  institutions  of  our 
large  cities,  there  are  none  more  interesting 
than  those  intended  for  the  benefit  of  chil- 
dren. Orphan  asylums,  well  established 
and  properly  conducted,  are  to  be  found 
in  every  city  of  any  consideration  through- 
out the  Union.  Nor  are  these  asylums 
for  white  children  only ;  they  are  also  for 
the  coloured.  Indeed,  it  cannot  be  said 
with  truth  that  the  poor  and  the  sick  of 
the  African  race,  in  our  cities  and  large 
towns,  are  less  cared  for  than  those  of  the 
white  race.  Nor  are  those  children  only 
who  have  lost  both  parents  thus  provided 
for.  In  some  of  our  cities,  asylums  are 
in  the  course  of  being  provided  for  what 
are  called  half-orphans — that  is,  who  have 
still  one  parent  or  both,  but  are  not  sup- 
ported by  them.  I  may  state  it,  however, 
as  a  fact  of  which  I  am  perfectly  certain, 
that  there  is  not  a  single  Foundling  Hos- 
pital in  the  United  States. 

In  some  of  our  cities  we  have  admirable 
institutions,  called  Houses  of  Refuge,  for 
neglected  children,  and  such  as  are  en- 
couraged by  their  parents  to  live  a  vaga- 
bond life,  or  are  disposed  of  themselves 
to  lead  such  a  life.  In  these  establish- 
ments they  not  only  receive  the  elements 
of  a  good  English  education,  but  are  in- 
structed also  in  the  mechanical  arts  ;  and 
with  these  religious  instruction  is  faith- 
fully and  successfully  combined.  All  of 
these  institutions  were  commenced,  and 
are  carried  on  by  the  voluntary  efforts  of 
Christians,  though  they  have  been  greatly 
assisted  by  appropriations  in  their  favour, 
in  the  shape  of  endowments  or  annuities 
from  some  of  the  state  governments.* 


*  One  of  the  best  conducted  of  these  establish- 
ments is  at  Philadelphia.  It  stands  at  the  distance 
of  one  mile  from  the  city,  occupies  a  beautiful  site, 
and  has  a  number  of  acres  of  ground  attached  to  it. 
There  are  here  usually  between  100  and  200  youth 
of  both  sexes,  who  occupy  different  apartments,  and 
are  under  the  care  of  excellent  teachers.  The  ma- 
gistrates of  the  city  have  the  power  to  send  vagrant, 
idle,  and  neglected  children  to  it.  Very  many  youths 
have  left  this  institution  greatly  benefited  by  their 
residence  in  it.    It  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  the  writer 


Nor  are  the  aged  poor  neglected.  Asy- 
lums for  widows  are  to  be  met  with  in  all 
our  large  towns,  where  they  are,  in  fact, 
most  needed  ;  and  old  and  infirm  men  are 
also  provided  for. 

At  the  same  time,  that  "  charity  which 
seeketh  not  her  own,"  but  the  good  of  all 
others,  no  matter  what  may  have  been 
their  character  or  what  their  crimes,  has 
not  forgotten  those  unfortunate  females 
who  have  been  the  victims  of  the  faith- 
lessness of  men.  Magdalen  asylums  have 
been  founded  in  all  our  chief  cities,  espe- 
cially on  the  seaboard,  where  they  are 
most  needed,  and  have  been  the  means  of 
doing  much  good.  It  is  only  to  be  regret- 
ted that  this  branch  of  Christian  kindness 
and  effort  has  not  been  far  more  extensive- 
ly prosecuted.  Nevertheless,  there  are 
many  hearts  that  are  interested  in  it,  and 
in  the  institutions  which  they  have  erected 
the  glorious  Gospel  of  him  who  said  to  the 
penitent  woman  in  Simon's  house,  "  Thy 
faith  hath  saved  thee  ;  go  in  peace,"  is  not 
only  preached,  but  also  received  into  hearts- 
which  the  Spirit  of  God  has  touched  and 
broken. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

INFLUENCE  OF  THE  VOLUNTARY  PRINCIPLE  ON 
THE  BENEFICENT  INSTITUTIONS  OF  THE 
COUNTRY. ASYLUMS    FOR   THE    INSANE. 

The  utmost  attention  is  now  paid  in 
the  United  States  to  a  class  of  the  unfor- 
tunate which,  of  all  others,  presents  the 
strongest  claims  on  our  sympathy — I  al- 
lude to  the  insane.  For  these  very  much 
has  been  done  in  the  course  of  the  last 
twenty  years,  by  the  establishment  of  suit- 
able places  for  their  reception,  instead  of 
confining  them,  as  formerly,  in  the  com- 
mon prisons  of  the  country.  In  this  the 
Prison  Discipline  Society  has  exerted  a 
most  extensive  and  happy  influence,  never 
having  ceased,  in  its  Annual  Reports,  to 
urge  upon  the  governments  of  the  states 
the  duty  of  providing  proper  receptacles, 
to  which  persons  discovered  to  be  insane 
might  be  conveyed  as  promptly  as  possi- 
ble, with  a  view  to  their  proper  treatment. 
The  Society  showed  this  to  be  an  impera- 
tive duty  on  the  part  of  the  states,  and  its 
voice  has  not.  been  heard  in  vain. 

There  are  now  twelve  asylums  support- 
ed by  the  states,  and  some  of  these  are  on 
a  large  scale.     That  near  Utica  will  con- 


to  preach  often  to  its  inmates,  and  never  has  he  seen 
a  more  affecting  sight.  If  a  man  wishes  to  leam  the 
importance  of  the  parental  relation,  and  the  bless- 
ings which  flow  from  a  faithful  fulfilment  of  its  du- 
ties, let  him  visit  such  an  institution,  and  inquire  into 
the  history  of  each  youth  whom  it  contains.  The 
"  Farm  Schools"  for  orphans  and  for  neglected  chil- 
dren, in  the  neighbourhoods  of  Boston  and  New- 
York,  are  excellent,  and  have  been  the  means  of  do- 
ing much  good. 


Chap.  XXVIII]         ASYLUMS   FOR  THE    DEAF  AND   DUMB. 


179 


sist,  when  completed,  of  four  buildings, 
each  446  feet  long  by  48  wide,  and  placed 
one  on  each  side  of  a  beautiful  quadrilat- 
eral area,  which  assumes  an  octagonal 
form  by  the  intersection  of  its  corners, 
with  verandahs  of  open  lattice-work.  It 
is  intended  for  the  insane  poor  of  the  State 
of  New-York,  which  state  is  at  the  sole 
expense  of  its  erection,  and  the  cost  upon 
the  completion  of  the  whole  will  amount, 
it  is  supposed,  to  about  $1,000,000.  It  is 
calculated  to  receive  1000  patients. 

Besides  the  twelve  State  Asylums,  there 
are  two  belonging  to  cities,  namely,  those 
at  Boston  and  New- York  ;  six  to  incorpo- 
rated bodies,  and  one  is  the  property  of  an 
individual,*  making  in  all  twenty-one.  One 
or  more  state  asylums  may  possibly  have 
been  opened  since  the  publication  of  the 
interesting  work  to  which  I  am  indebted 
for  my  information  on  the  subject. f 

Nearly  all  of  these  asylums  are  con- 
structed on  the  most  approved  plans.  Al- 
most all  are  beautifully  situated,  have  a 
light  and  cheerful  aspect,  and  are  surround- 
ed with  ample  grounds,  tastefully  laid  out 
in  fields  and  meadows,  pleasant  gardens, 
and  delightful  walks.  After  visiting  many 
such  institutions  in  Europe,  I  can  truly 
say  that  I  have  seen  none  more  pleasant- 
ly situated,  or  better  kept,  than  the  Massa- 
chusetts State  Asylum,  at  Worcester,  the 
Retreat  at  Hartford,  in  Connecticut,  and 
the  Asylum  on  Blackwell's  Island,  near 
New-York. 

I  would  particularly  call  attention  to  the 
fact  that  religious  worship  is  kept  up  in 
all  of  these  twenty-one  institutions  but 
four.  Some  have  regular  chaplains  attach- 
ed to  them ;  in  others,  Divine  worship  is 
conducted  for  the  inmates  by  clergymen 
or  laymen  in  the  neighbourhood,  who  vol- 
unteer their  services  in  performing  this  im- 
portant and  interesting  duty.  In  almost 
every  case  it  is  done  by  men  of  evangel- 
ical sentiments.  Nor  is  their  labour  in 
vain,  ample  experience  having  demonstra- 
ted that  such  services,  when  performed  by 
judicious,  calm,  and  truly  spiritual  men, 
exert  a  highly  beneficial  influence  on  the 
insane.  The  Gospel,  when  presented  in 
the  spirit  of  its  blessed  Author,  is  admira- 
bly fitted  to  soothe  the  mental  excitement 
of  the  poor  deranged  lunatic. 

"  Regular  religious  teaching,"  says  Dr. 
Woodward,  the  superintendent  of  the  asy- 
lum for  the  insane  at  Worcester,  Massa- 
chusetts, "  is  as  necessary  and  beneficial 
to  the  insane  as  to  the  rational  mind;  in 
a  large  proportion  of  the  cases  it  will  have 
equal  influence.    They  as  well  know  their 


*  Dr.  White's,  at  Hudson,  in  the  State  of  New- 
York. 

t  "  A  Visit  to  thirteen  Asylums  for  the  Insane  in 
Europe,  &c.,  to  which  is  subjoined  a  brief  Notice  of 
similar  Institutions  in  the  United  States,"  by  Pliny 
Earle,  M.D.    Published  at  Philadelphia  in  1841. 


imperfections,  if  they  will  not  admit  their 
delusions ;  and  they  feel  the  importance 
of  good  conduct  to  secure  the  confidence 
and  esteem  of  those  whose  good  opinion 
they  value." 

According  to  Dr.  Earle's  statements,  the 
deaths  in  the  European  institutions  for  the 
insane  vary  from  thirteen  to  forty  per  cent. ; 
while  in  the  American  asylums  none  ex- 
ceed ten  per  cent.* 

While  the  State  governments  have  been; 
doing  so  much  for  the  establishment  off- 
hospitals  and  asylums  for  the  insane,  much 
has  also  been  done  by  individual  munifi- 
cence. Even  some  of  the  State  institutions 
have  been  assisted  by  donations  from  pri- 
vate citizens.  Thus  two  benevolent  gen- 
tlemen in  the  State  of  Maine  have  given 
$10,000  each  towards  founding  the  asylum 
for  that  state. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

INFLUENCE    OF   THE   VOLUNTARY   PRINCIPLE    OK 
THE      BENEFICENT      INSTITUTIONS      OF      THE 

COUNTRY.  ASYLUMS    FOR    THE    DEAF    AND 

DUMB. 

Our  asylums  for  the  deaf  and  dumb  owe 
their  existence  to  a  series  of  efforts  on  the 
part-of  a  few  Christian  friends. 

The  late  Dr.  Cogswell,  a  pious  and  ex- 
cellent physician  in  the  city  of  Hartford, 
Connecticut,  had  a  beloved  daughter  who 
was  deaf  and  dumb.  For  her  sake  he  pro- 
posed to  a  devoted  young  minister  of  the 
Gospel,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gallaudet,  to  go  to 
Europe,  and  there  to  learn,  at  the  best  in- 
stitutions, the  most  approved  methods  of 
teaching  this  unfortunate  class  of  people. 
The  mission  was  cheerfully  undertaken. 
Mr.  Gallaudet  returned  in  1816,  after  hav- 
ing spent  above  a  year  in  Paris,  where  he 
studied  the  methods  of  instruction  pursued 
at  the  Royal  Institution  for  the  Education 
of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb,  under  the  Abbe 
Sicard,  the  pupil  and  friend  of  the  Abbe 
l'Epee.  Thereupon  an  effort  was  imme- 
diately made  to  found  an  institution  at 
Hartford.  An  act  of  incorporation  was 
obtained  in  1816,  a  large  sum  was  contrib- 
uted by  the  people  of  Hartford  for  the  erec- 
tion of  the  requisite  buildings,  and  Con- 
gress granted  a  township  from  the  national, 
lands,  consisting  of  23,040  acres,  towards- 
the  endowment  of  the  institution.  It  was; 
opened,  ere  long,  for  the  reception  of  pu- 
pils, and  from  that  time  to  this  has  been 
going  on  most  prosperously.  It  is  the 
oldest  establishment  for  the  purpose  in  the 


*  The  number  of  the  insane  in  the  asylums  in  the 
United  States  is  about  2500  ;  in  1840,  the  whole 
number  of  the  insane  in  the  country,  of  all  ages  andi 
conditions,  was,  according  to  the  census,  17,434,. 
being  about  one  to  every  979  inhabitants.  Of  these 
17,434  insane  persons,  5162  were  maintained  at  the. 
public  expense,  and  12,272  at  that  of  their  friends. 


180 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


United  States,  and  is  called  "  The  Ameri- 
can Asylum  for  the  Education  and  Instruc- 
tion of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb."  So  far,  in- 
deed, it  is  a  national  institution.  It  was 
endowed  to  a  considerable  amount  by  Con- 
gress ;  it  is  open  to  pupils  from  all  the 
states,  and  it  does,  in  fact,  receive  them 
from  the  South  as  well  as  from  the  North. 
It  is  peculiarly,  however,  the  deaf  and 
dumb  institution  of  New-England,  five  of 
the  states  of  which  support  within  its  walls, 
at  the  expense  of  their  treasuries,  a  cer- 
tain number  of  pupils  every  year.  The 
number  at  the  asylum  is  usually  between 
140  and  150.  The  course  of  study  lasts 
four  years.  Mechanical  arts  are  taught 
to  the  young  men  at  certain  hours  daily, 
while  the  young  women  learn  such  things 
as  become  their  sex  and  situation  in  life. 

Since  1816  five  other  institutions  for  the 
deaf  and  dumb  have  been  established  in 
the  United  States,  all  on  the  model  of  that 
at  Hartford.     They  are  as  follows  : 

1.  That  at  New- York.  It  has  about 
150  pupils,  and  is  mainly  supported  by  the 
State  Legislature. 

2.  The  Pennsylvania  Institution,  at  Phil- 
adelphia. It  has  from  100  to  120  pupils, 
most  of  whom  are  maintained  there  at 
the  expense  of  that  and  the  neighbouring 
states. 

3.  The  Ohio  Asylum  at  Columbus,  a 
prosperous  institution,  with  about  seventy 
pupils,  and  mainly  supported  by  the  Legis- 
lature of  Ohio. 

4.  The  Asylum  for  Kentucky,  at  Dan- 
ville, which  is  chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  sup- 
ported by  funds  arising  from  the  sale  of 
lands  granted  to  it  by  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States.  It  has,  perhaps,  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  pupils,  but  has  not  been  very 
prosperous. 

5.  The  Virginia  Asylum,  at  Staunton,  an 
institution  of  very  recent  date.  It  has 
about  twenty-five  pupils,  and  is  mainly  de- 
pendant upon  that  state  for  its  support. 

These  five,  as  well  as  that  at  Hartford, 
receive  paying  pupils  from  families  which 
have  the  means  of  defraying  the  expense 
of  educating  their  own  children.  But  the 
number  of  such  pupils  probably  does  not 
exceed  one  sixth  of  the  whole. 

The  number  of  pupils  in  these  six  asy- 
lums ranges  from  510  to  545,  and  as  the 
fifteen  or  sixteen  states  by  which  they  are 
supported  have  both  the  means  and  the 
disposition  to  do  so,  they  will  doubtless 
furnish  instruction  to  the  deaf  and  dumb 
of  the  other  states,  which  have  resolved 
to  send  them  thither  until  they  can  have 
asylums  of  their  own.  There  will,  indeed, 
be  but  a  partial  provision  for  some  time 
for  the  indigent  deaf  and  dumb  of  the  new 
states  ;  yet  the  known  enterprise  and  be- 
nevolence of  their  inhabitants  warrant  us 
to  believe  that  as  soon  as  their  population 
shall  have  become  sufficiently  numerous, 


and  they  shall  have  established  those  more 
general  and  important  institutions  that  lie 
at  the  basis  of  an  enlightened  society,  the 
whole  of  the  confederated  states  will  be 
found  ready  to  make  provision  for  con- 
ducting their  deaf  and  dumb,  by  means  of 
a  suitable  education,  to  usefulness  and 
happiness.  For  this  it  is  not  requisite 
that  each  state  should  have  an  asylum  for 
itself ;  it  would  be  found  enough  that  two 
or  more  should  unite,  as  at  present,  in 
having  one  in  common. 

The  number  of  deaf  and  dumb  persons 
throughout  the  United  States  in  1840  was 
7659,  or  about  one  to  every  2227  of  the 
entire  population  ;  but  the  proportion  of 
proper  age  for  being  placed  in  an  asylum, 
to  receive  the  usual  instruction  there,  is 
hardly  above  a  fourth  of  the  entire  number. 

It  is  delightful  to  contemplate  how  much 
has  been  done  for  this  interesting  part  of 
the  community  within  the  last  few  years, 
and  especially  delightful  to  the  Christian, 
to  know  that  all  the  six  asylums  above 
mentioned  are  under  the  direction  of  deci- 
dedly religious  men,  and  that  the  course 
of  instruction  pursued  in  them  is  entirely 
evangelical.  The  Bible  is  made  the  text- 
book of  their  religious  studies.  Every 
morning  and  evening  they  are  assem- 
bled for  prayers,  and  then  a  portion  of 
Scripture  is  written  on  a  large  slate,  about 
ten  feet  by  four.  Some  pertinent  remarks 
are  addressed  to  them,  followed  by  prayer, 
both  the  remarks  and  the  prayer  being 
performed,  by  the  principal  or  one  of  the 
professors  of  the  institution,  by  signs.  In 
the  same  way,  upon  the  Sabbath,  a  ser- 
mon is  preached  and  other  religious  ser- 
vices held.  God  has  greatly  blessed  these 
instructions.  Many  of  the  pupils  in  these 
several  asylums  have  become,  from  time 
to  time,  as  their  lives  attest,  truly  pious 
persons ;  and  in  some  instances  these  in- 
stitutions have  richly  shared  in  the  revi- 
vals that  have  occurred  in  the  places  where 
they  are  established. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

INFLUENCE  OF  THE  VOLUNTARY  PRINCIPLE  ON 
THE  BENEFICENT  INSTITUTIONS  OF  THE 
COUNTRV. ASYLUMS    FOR   THE    BLIND. 

In  the  year  1832  the  Perkins  Institution 
and  Massachusetts  Asylum  for  the  Blind 
was  founded,  as  follows  : 

Thomas  H.  Perkins,  Esq.,  of  the  city 
of  Boston,  gave  his  valuable  house  and 
grounds,  with  out-buildings  thereon,  esti- 
mated to  be  worth  50,000  dollars,  for  an 
asylum  for  the  blind,  provided  the  sum  re- 
quired for  founding  one  should  be  raised 
in  New-England.  Fifty  thousand  dollars 
having  been  speedily  collected,  and  the 
Legislature  of  Massachusetts  having  voted 


Chap.XXX.]      REMARKS    ON    THE    VOLUNTARY    SYSTEM. 


a  large  annual  grant  to  give  permanency 
to  the  projected  institution,  the  corpora- 
tion entered  vigorously  upon  the  work, 
and  opened  a  school  for  the  blind,  which 
has  now  been  for  ten  years  in  successful 
operation.  As  the  property,  so  munificent- 
ly given  by  Mr.  Perkins,  was  found  not  in 
all  respects  suitable,  it  was  exchanged  in 
1839  for  Mount  Washington  House  and 
grounds,  in  South  Boston,  beautifully  situ- 
ated near  the  bay  which  spreads  out  to  the 
east  of  the  city,  and  in  every  way  adapted 
for  the  purpose.  The  institution  is  under 
the  direction  of  Dr.  Samuel  G.  Howe,  a 
man  of  remarkable  qualifications  for  the 
post.  The  number  of  pupils  is  about  sev- 
enty, and  they  are  reported  to  be  making 
excellent  progress,  and  remarkably  happy. 

There  are  four  other  institutions  for  the 
blind  in  the  United  States.  New- York  has 
one,  which  had  last  year  about  sixty-five 
pupils  ;  Philadelphia  one,  which  had  sixty- 
two  pupils  ;  Columbus,  in  Ohio,  one,  which 
had  fifty-eight  pupils  ;  and  in  the  same  es- 
tablishment with  the  asylum  for  the  deaf 
and  dumb  at  Staunton,  in  Virginia,  there  is 
a  department  for  the  blind,  with  about  five- 
and-twenty  pupils.  All  these  four  have 
sprung  up  since  the  establishment  of  that 
at  Boston  in  1832,  and  they  are  all  flourish- 
ing. The  number  of  pupils  in  the  whole 
five  was,  last  year,  about  270.  The  whole 
number  of  the  blind  in  the  United  States 
in  1840  was  6916. 

A  few  years  ago,  a  Mr.  Will,  of  Philadel- 
phia, bequeathed  a  sum  to  be  laid  out  in 
establishing  a  hospital  for  the  blind,  but  the 
institution  that  has  arisen  out  of  this  be- 
quest is  not  a  school,  but  a  retreat,  where 
the  aged  and  infirm  blind  may  pass  their 
remaining  days  in  comfort. 

Although  these  institutions  are  aided  by 
the  Legislatures  of  the  states  within  which 
they  are  established,  most  of  them,  never- 
theless, may  be  traced  to  the  benevolence 
of  Christian  citizens,  acting  individually  or 
together.  Few  establishments  can  be  con- 
templated by  the  eye  of  Christian  sympa- 
thy with  greater  interest  than  these  quiet 
retreats.  There  the  blind  not  only  learn 
the  elements  of  a  common  education,*  and 
such  an  expertness  in  some  of  the  mechan- 
ical arts  as  enables  them,  even  while  un- 
der tuition,  to  contribute  towards  their  own 
support,  but  cultivate  music  also,  by  which 
many  an  hour  sweetly  passes  away,  and 


*  Joseph  B.  Smith,  a  pupil  of  the  Perkins  Insti- 
tution and  Massachusetts  Asylum  for  the  Blind,  pur- 
sued the  study  of  Latin,  Greek,  and  the  other  branch- 
es of  a  preparatory  course  with  success,  and  entered 
Harvard  University  in  the  autumn  of  1839,  where 
he  has  made  respectable  progress.  He  gets  his  les- 
sons with  the  help  of  his  companion,  who  carefully 
reads  them  over  to  him,  and  seeks  out  in  the  lexicon 
the  meaning  of  words  he  does  not  understand.  In 
geometry,  when  the  diagram  is  too  complicated  for 
him  to  retain  a  clear  conception  of  it,  he  causes  it 
to  be  "  embossed"  upon  thick  paper,  that  he  may  ex- 
amine it  with  his  fingers. 


161 

for  which  many  of  them  show  remarkable 
aptitude. 

Nor  is  our  literature  for  the  blind  incon- 
sidei'able,  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  it 
is  not  ten  years  since  printing  in  "  raised" 
characters  for  their  use  was  first  intro- 
duced among  us.  Above  thirty  volumes 
have  been  published  at  Boston,  and  about 
half  that  number  at  Philadelphia,  compri- 
sing several  of  the  most  interesting  reli- 
gious works  in  the  English  language,  and 
the  perusal  of  which  has  already  proved  a 
blessing  to  many  of  the  blind.*  It  is  grat- 
ifying to  think  that  these  institutions  have 
all  along  been,  to  a  great  extent,  in  the 
hands  of  good  men,  so  that  this  benevolent 
enterprise  has  taken  a  happy  direction 
from  the  first. 

The  Report  of  the  Boston  institution  for 
1811  gives  us  the  history  of  a  child  who 
had  been  four  years  a  pupil  there,  and 
whose  case  is  more  interesting,  probably, 
than  any  other  that  has  ever  been  known. 
Laura  Bridgman,  born  in  1829,  had  lost, 
when  twenty  months  old,  the  faculties  of 
sight,  hearing,  and  speech,  and  partially  that 
of  smell.  At  the  age  of  nine  she  was  placed 
at  the  institution.  There  she  learned  to 
read  and  write,  and  has  made  very  consid- 
erable progress  in  knowledge.  The  details 
of  the  manner  in  which  she  acquired  these 
arts  are  exceedingly  curious,  but  to  give 
them  does  not  fall  within  the  scope  of  this 
work. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

CONCLUDING    REMARKS    ON    THE    DEVELOPMENT 
OF  THE  VOLUNTARY   SYSTEM. 

We  here  close  our  notice  of  the  devel- 
opment of  the  voluntary  principle  in  the 
United  States ;  the  results  will  appear  more 
appropriately  in  another  part  of  this  work. 
If  it  is  thought  that  I  have  dealt  too  much 
in  details,  I  can  only  say  that  these  seemed 
necessary  for  obvious  reasons.  There  be- 
ing no  longer  a  union  of  Church  and  State 
in  any  part  of  the  country,  so  that  religion 


*  The  books  published  by  the  institution  at  Bos- 
ton are,  the  New  Testament;  Parts  of  the  Old 
Testament ;  Lardner's  Universal  History ;  Selec- 
tions from  Old  English  Authors ;  Selections  from 
Modern  English  Authors ;  Howe's  Geography  for 
the  Blind  ;  Howe's  General  Atlas  ;  Howe's  Atlas  of 
the  United  States;  Blind  Child's  First  Book  ;  Blind 
Child's  Second  Book;  the  Dairyman's  Daughter; 
the  Harvey  Boys  ;  Blind  Child's  Spelling  Book ; 
Blind  Child's  English  Grammar  ;  the  Pilgrim's  Prog- 
ress ;  Baxter's  Call ;  Sixpenny  Glass  of  Wine  ;  Life 
of  Melancthon  ;  Book  of  Sacred  Hymns  ;  Viri  Roma? ; 
Pierce's  Geometry,  with  Diagrams,  illustrative  of 
Natural  Philosophy ;  Political  Class  Book ;  Blind 
Child's  Manual. 

The  Pennsylvania  Institute,  besides  printing  por- 
tions of  the  Old  Testament,  has  published  a  Guide 
to  Spelling;  Select  Library;  Student's  Magazine; 
French  Verbs  ;  a  Grammar ;  and  two  or  three  books 
in  the  German  language. 


182 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  IV. 


must  depend,  under  God,  for  its  temporal 
support  wholly  upon  the  voluntary  princi- 
ple, it  seemed  of  much  consequence  to 
show  how  vigorously,  and  how  extensive- 
ly, that  principle  has  brought  the  influence 
of  the  Gospel  to  bear  in  every  direction 
upon  the  objects  within  its  legitimate 
sphere.  In  doing  this,  I  have  aimed  at 
answering  a  multitude  of  questions  pro- 
posed to  me  during  my  residence  in  Eu- 
rope. 

Thus  I  have  shown  how,  and  by  what 
means,  funds  are  raised  for  the  erection  of 
church  edifices,  for  the  support  of  pastors, 
and  for  providing  destitute  places  with  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel — this  last  involv- 
ing the  whole  subject  of  our  home  mission- 
ary efforts.  And  as  ministers  must  be  pro- 
vided for  the  settlements  forming  apace 
in  the  West,  as  well  as  for  the  constantly 
increasing  population  to  be  found  in  the 
"villages,  towns,  and  cities  of  the  East,  I 
entered  somewhat  at  length  into  the  sub- 
ject of  education,  from  the  primary  schools 
up  to  the  theological  seminaries  and  facul- 
ties. 

It  was  next  of  importance  to  show  how 
the  press  is  made  subservient  to  the  cause 
of  the  Gospel  and  the  extension  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  ;  then,  how  the  voluntary 
principle  can  grapple  with  existing  evils  in 
society,  such  as  intemperance,  Sabbath 
breaking,  slavery,  and  war,  by  means  of 
-diverse  associations  formed  for  their  re- 
pression or  removal ;  and,  finally,  I  have  re- 
viewed the  beneficent  and  humane  institu- 
tions of  the  country,  and  shown  how  much 
the  voluntary  principle  has  had  to  do  with 
their  origin  and  progress. 

The  reader  who  has  had  the  patience  to 
follow  me  thus  far,  must  have  been  struck 
with  the  vast  versatility,  if  I  may  so  speak, 
of  this  great  principle.  Not  an  exigency 
occurs  in  which  its  application  is  called 
for,  but  forthwith  those  who  have  the 
heart,  the  hand,  and  the  purse  to  meet  the 
case,  combine  their  efforts.  Thus  the  prin- 
ciple seems  to  extend  itself  in  every  direc- 
tion with  an  all-powerful  influence.  Adapt- 
ing itself  to  every  variety  of  circumstan- 
ces, it  acts  wherever  the  Gospel  is  to  be 
preached,  wherever  vice  is  to  be  attacked, 
and  wherever  suffering  humanity  is  to  be 
relieved.* 


*  There  is  one  field  on  which  the  voluntary  prin- 
ciple is  accomplishing  perhaps  as  great  triumphs, 
and  diffusing  as  happy  an  influence  as  on  any  other, 
but  which  I  have  not  yet  noticed.  I  refer  to  that 
presented  by  the  numerous  manufacturing  establish- 
ments which  have  been  springing  up  during  the  last 
five-and-tweaty  years  in  the  Middle  and  Northern 
States.  Large  factories  in  the  Old  World  are  prover- 
bial for  ignorance  and  vice.  But  if  a  man  would  like 
to  see  religion  flourishing  in  manufacturing  towns 
and  among  "  operatives,"  let  him  visit  some  of  those 
towns  in  New-England  in  which  cotton,  woollen,  or 
other  factories  have  grown  up,  and  where  hundreds, 
in  some  instances  thousands,  of  men  and  women  are 
collected  together  under  circumstances  in  which 


Nor  is  this  principle  less  beneficial  to 
those  whom  it  enlists  in  the  various  enter- 
prises of  Christian  philanthropy  than  to 
those  who  are  its  express  objects.  The 
very  activity,  energy,  and  self-reliance 
which  it  calls  forth,  are  great  blessings  to 
the  individual  who  exercises  these  quali- 
ties, as  well  as  to  those  for  whose  sake  they 
are  put  forth,  and  to  the  community  at 
large.  Men  are  so  constituted  as  to  derive 
happiness  from  the  cultivation  of  an  inde- 
pendent, energetic,  and  benevolent  spirit, 
in  being  co-workers  with  God  in  promo- 
ting his  glory,  and  the  true  welfare  of  their 
fellow-men. 


they  are  apt  to  exercise  a  most  corrupting  influence 
on  one  another.  Let  him  there  observe  the  pains  ta- 
ken by  bands  of  devoted  Christians,  pastors,  and 
members  of  their  flocks,  to  gather  these  into  Bible- 
classes  and  Sunday-schools,  to  induce  them  to  at- 
tend church,  to  provide  libraries  of  good  books  for 
them,  to  open  public  lectures  on  scientific  and  gen- 
eral as  well  as  religious  subjects ;  above  all,  let  him 
mark  the  earnestness  with  which  faithful  ministers 
preach  the  Gospel  to  them,  and  the  assiduity  with 
which  they  watch  for  their  souls ;  and  he  will  per- 
ceive how  much  may  be  done,  even  under  very  un- 
favourable circumstances,  for  saving  men's  souls 
from  ruin.  I  have  never  visited  more  virtuous  com- 
munities than  I  have  seen  in  some  of  those  villages, 
or  any  in  which  the  Gospel  has  triumphed  more  sig- 
nally over  all  obstacles. 

No  manufacturing  town  in  the  United  States  has 
grown  up  more  rapidly  than  Lowell,  near  the  Merri- 
mac  River,  about  thirty  miles  northwest  of  Boston. 
It  was  but  a  small  village  not  many  years  ago,  and 
in  1827  had  only  3500  inhabitants.  But  in  1840 
these  had  increased  to  20,000.  As  it  derives  great 
advantages  for  cotton,  woollen,  and  other  factories, 
from  the  vast  water-power  it  possesses,  several  com- 
panies have  built  large  mills,  and  employ  a  great 
number  of  people,  mostly  young  women  above  fifteen 
years  of  age,  who  have  been  led  to  leave  other  parts 
of  New-England  by  the  inducement  of  higher  wages 
than  they  could  command  at  home.  This  is  an  ob- 
ject with  some,  in  order  that  they  may  help  their 
poor  parents ;  with  others,  that  they  may  find  means 
to  prosecute  their  education ;  and  with  a  third  and 
numerous  class,  who,  being  betrothed  to  young  men 
in  their  native  districts,  come  to  earn  for  themselves 
a  little  "  outfit"  for  the  married  life.  Let  us  see 
what  opportunities  for  religious  instruction  are  pre- 
sented to  these  young  persons. 

In  1840  there  were  fifteen  or  sixteen  churches  in 
Lowell,  in  the  Sunday-schools  attached  to  ten  of 
which  there  were  493G  scholars  and  433  teachers  ;  in 
all,  5369.  About  three  fourths  of  the  scholars  are 
girls,  a  large  proportion  of  whom  are  above  fifteen 
years  of  age.  More  than  500  became  hopefully  pious 
in  1839,  yet  that  year  was  not  more  remarkable  than 
others  in  regard  to  religion.  Including  the  Sunday- 
schools  attached  to  the  other  five  or  six  churches, 
the  whole  number  of  scholars  and  teachers  for  1840 
considerably  exceeded  6000,  and  nearly  equalled  a 
third  of  the  population.  Nearly  1000  of  the  factory 
girls  had  funds  in  the  savings  banks,  amounting,  in 
all,  to  100,000  dollars.  A  decided  taste  for  reading 
prevails  among  them.  When  in  Lowell  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1841, 1  found  that  two  monthly  magazines  of 
handsome  appearance  were  publishing  there.  One 
of  these  was  the  "  Operatives'  Magazine,"  and  the 
other  the  "  Lowell  Offering."  Both  were  of  8vo 
form,  the  one  containing  sixteen  pages,  the  other 
thirty-two.  Both  displayed  very  considerable  talent, 
and  the  Offering  was  filled  with  original  articles, 
written  solely  by  the  female  operatives.  A  third  pe- 
riodical has  since  been  established,  conducted  by  the 
same  class  of  people. 


Chap.  II.] 


MAINTENANCE   OF  BISCIPLINE. 


183 


We  now  take  leave  of  this  part  of  our  [  as  preparatory — I  mean  the  direct  work  of 
work,  to  enter  on  that  for  which  all  that  bringing  men  to  the  knowledge  and  pos- 
has  hitherto  been  said  must  be  considered  [  session  of  salvation. 


BOOK    V. 

THE    CHURCH   AND    THE    PULPIT    IN    AMERICA, 


CHAPTER  I. 

IMPORTANCE   OF   THIS    PART    OF   THE    SUBJECT. 

We  now  come  to  that  part  of  our  sub- 
ject which  more  immediately  bears  upon 
the  salvation  of  men's  souls,  and  the  im- 
portance of  .which  will  be  readily  owned, 
therefore,  by  all  who  rightly  appreciate 
the  nature  and  value  of  that  salvation. 

It  is  interesting  to  mark  the  influence  of 
Christian  institutions  on  society — the  re- 
pose of  the  Sabbath — the  civilizing  effect 
of  the  people  assembling  in  their  churches 
—  and  the  great  amount  of  knowledge 
communicated  in  the  numerous  discourses 
of  a  well-instructed  ministry.  Apart  from 
higher  considerations,  the  benefits  indi- 
rectly conferred  upon  a  community  by  an 
evangelical  ministry  are  well  worth  all 
that  it  costs.  It  softens  and  refines  man- 
ners, promotes  health,  by  promoting  atten- 
tion to  cleanliness  and  the  frequent  change 
of  apparel ;  it  diffuses  information,  and 
rouses  minds  that  might  otherwise  remain 
ignorant,  inert,  and  stupid.  But  what  is 
this  compared  with  the  preparation  of  the 
immortal  spirit  for  its  everlasting  destiny  1 
This  world,  after  all,  is  but  the  place  of 
our  education  for  a  better;  of  how  much 
moment,  then,  that  the  period  of  our  pupil- 
age should  be  rightly  spent ! 

The  Church,  with  its  institutions,  is  of 
Divine  ordination.  It  was  appointed  by 
its  great  Author  to  be  the  depositary  of  the 
economy  of  salvation  as  far  as  human  co- 
operation is  concerned,  and  is  designed 
to  combine  all  the  human  agencies  which 
God,  in  infinite  wisdom,  has  resolved  to 
employ  in  the  accomplishment  of  that  sal- 
vation. How  important,  then,  that  the 
Church  should  meet  the  design  of  its  Di- 
vine Founder,  not  only  as  regards  its  prop- 
er character,  but  also  in  the  development 
and  right  employment  of  the  influences 
which  it  was  constituted  to  put  forth  for 
the  salvation  of  the  world  ! 

As  the  Church  on  earth  is  but  preparatory 
to  the  Church  in  heaven,  it  was  obviously 
intended  to  bear  some  resemblance  to  the 
celestial  state.  As  the  depositary  to  which 
God  has  committed  the  custody  of  his  re- 
vealed truth,  and  as  his  chosen  instrument 
for  its  diffusion  among  mankind,  it  ought 
obviously  to  be  kept  as  pure  as  is  possible 
for  an  institution  placed  in  the  hands  of 
imperfect  creatures  at  the  best,  from  every- 


thing which  would  impede  the  discharge  of 
its  high  functions. 

But  we  must  not  misapprehend  the 
Church's  office.  She  has  received  no  power 
of  original  legislation.  She  is  nothing  but 
an  agent.  Christ  is  the  Lawgiver  and  the 
Head  of  the  Church.  He  has  given  her  the 
revelation  of  his  will,  and  clearly  defined 
her  sphere  of  action.  Nor  can  she  justly 
expect  his  blessing  if  she  goes  beyond  the 
boundaries  of  her  duty. 

By  a  holy  life  on  the  part  of  her  mem- 
bers ;  by  a  conversation  such  as  becometh 
saints  ;  by  well-directed  efforts  to  make 
known  the  Gospel  to  dying  men  every- 
where, whether  by  the  faithful  proclama- 
tion of  it  on  the  part  of  the  ministry  whom 
God  hath  appointed,  or  by  more  familiar 
instruction  in  the  Sunday-school  and  the 
Bible-class,  or  around  the  family  altar,  or 
by  the  distribution  of  the  Scriptures  and 
other  religious  books,  united  with  constant, 
fervent,  and  believing  prayer,  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  may  render  all  these  means  success- 
ful, the  Church  is  required  to  exert  her  in- 
fluence in  saving  the  world.  It  is  thus  that 
she  becomes  "  the  light  of  the  world  ;"  it  is 
thus  that  she  proves  herself  to  be  "  the  salt 
of  the  earth."  But,  in  order  to  fulfil  this 
high  mission,  she  ought  to  be  as  nearly  as 
possible  what  the  Saviour  of  men  intended 
her  to  be — a  company  of  saints  redeemed 
by  his  blood,  renewed  by  his  Spirit,  and 
devoted  to  his  service — ever  bearing  the 
cross,  that  she  may  wear  the  crown,  and 
preparing  for  that  day  when  she  shall  be 
presented  to  her  Lord,  "  not  having  spot  or 
wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing,"  but  "holy  and 
without  blemish,"  for  she  is  "  his  body." 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    EVANGELICAL    CHURCHES    IN    THE    UNITEl* 
STATES    MAINTAIN    DISCIPLINE. 

This  is  a  point  of  inexpressible  impor- 
tance to  the  prosperity  of  a  church  ;  and  I 
rejoice  to  say  that  such  is  the  light  in  which 
it  is  viewed  by  Christians  of  all  the  evan- 
gelical denominations  in  the  United  States, 
almost  without  exception. 

I  do  not  suppose  that  there  is  a  single 
evangelical  church  in  the  country  that  does 
not  keep  a  record  of  its  members  ;  I  mean 
of  those  whom  it  has  received  according  to 


184 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


some  regular  form  or  other  as  members, 
and  who,  as  such,  are  entitled  to  come  to 
the  Lord's  Supper.  As  this  whole  subject 
is  not  only  important,  but  by  some  readers 
may  not  be  easily  comprehended,  I  may 
venture  upon  some  detail. 

1.  There  is  no  evangelical  church  in  the 
United  States,  that  is,  no  organized  body 
of  believers  worshipping  in  one  place,  that 
does  not  hold  a  creed  comprehending  the 
following  points,  at  least  :  the  existence 
of  one  God,  in  three  persons,  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost,  of  the  same  substance, 
and  equal  in  all  the  attributes  of  their  na- 
ture ;  the  depravity,  guilt,  condemnation, 
and  misery  of  all  mankind  ;  an  all-sufficient 
and  only  atonement  by  the  Son  of  God, 
who  assumed  human  nature,  and  thus  be- 
came both  God  and  man  in  one  person,  and 
by  his  obedience,  suffering,  death,  and  in- 
tercession, has  procured  salvation  for  men ; 
regeneration  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  which 
repentance  and  faith  are  made  to  spring  up 
in  the  soul ;  the  final  judgment,  of  all  men  ; 
and  a  state  of  everlasting  misery  for  the 
"wicked,  and  of  blessedness  for  the  righte- 
ous. On  these  doctrines,  in  their  substan- 
tial and  real  meaning,  there  is  no  difference 
among  the  evangelical  churches  in  the 
United  States. 

2.  Neither  is  there  any  evangelical 
church  in  America  that  does  not  hold  the 
necessity  of  a  moral  life — of  a  life  against 
which  no  charge  inconsistent  with  a  Chris- 
tian profession  can  be  brought — in  order 
to  a  man's  being  a  proper  member  of  a 
church  of  Jesus  Christ  ;  or  which  would 
not  promptly  exclude  an  immoral  person, 
on  being  sufficiently  proved  to  be  such,  from 
its  membership.  No  doubt  there  are  im- 
moral persons  among  the  members  of  the 
churches.  They  are  persons  whose  guilt 
cannot  always  be  established  by  such 
proof  as  the  laws  of  Christ's  house  require, 
but  their  number,  it  is  believed,  is  com- 
paratively small. 

3.  There  are  few,  if  any,  evangelical 
churches  in  which  the  profession  of  a  mere 
general  or  "  historical  belief,"  as  it  is  called, 
in  the  great  doctrines  above  stated,  accom- 
panied even  by  an  outwardly  moral  life, 
would  be  considered  sufficient  to  render  a 
man  fit  to  be  admitted  to  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per. Nineteen  twentieths  of  all  the  evan- 
gelical churches  in  this  country  believe 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  being  "  born 
again,"  "  born  of  the  Spirit."  And  very 
few,  indeed,  admit  the  doctrine  that  a  man 
who  is  not  "  converted,"  that  is,  "  renewed 
by  the  Spirit,"  may  come  without  sin  to 
that  holy  ordinance. 

There  may  be  difference  of  opinion 
among  truly  evangelical  Christians  re- 
specting the  amount  of  evidence  of  conver- 
sion necessary  in  the  case.  But  I  may 
unhesitatingly  affirm  that,  with  few  excep- 
tions, all  expect  some  evidence  in  every 


candidate  for  admission  to  the  Church  and 
participation  in  its  most  precious  privileges ; 
and  such  evidence,  too,  as  induces  the  be- 
lief that,  as  the  Scriptures  express  it,  he 
has  "  passed  from  death  unto  life."  The 
belief  is  almost  universal  that  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  appointed 
for  the  converted  or  regenerated,  and 
should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  administered 
only  to  such.  The  number  of  those  who 
hold  a  different  opinion  is  small.  Accord- 
ingly, it  would  be  found,  upon  inquiry,  that 
all  the  pastors  of  our  evangelical  churches 
are  very  careful  to  explain  with  what  dis- 
positions of  the  heart  and  will,  as  well  as 
with  what  views  of  the  understanding,  one 
should  come  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  that 
these  are  truly  such  as  no  unregenerate 
person  can  possess.  This  holy  sacrament 
is  rarely  dispensed  in  our  churches  without 
being  preceded  by  a  discourse  on  the  na- 
ture of  the  preparation  required  in  order  to 
a  right  "  communicating,"  or  receiving  of 
this  ordinance  ;  and  all  irreligious  persons 
— in  fact,  all  persons,  be  their  lives  out- 
wardly what  they  may — who  have  not  the 
testimony  of  their  consciences  that  they 
possess,  so  far  as  they  honestly  perceive 
the  state  of  their  hearts,  the  qualifications 
described,  are  solemnly  warned  of  the  sin, 
and  consequent  danger  to  their  souls,  in- 
curred by  unworthily  partaking  of  that  holy 
supper. 

It  is,  indeed,  too  true  that,  with  all  this 
care,  unworthy  persons  do  come  to  the 
Lord's  table.  Many,  no  doubt,  gain  admis- 
sion to  the  churches  who  are,  after  all,  not 
converted.  To  say  that  many  do  so  from 
base,  hypocritical  motives,  would  imply  a 
very  mistaken  view  of  the  case,  for  with 
us  there  is  no  visible  inducement  to  such  a 
course.  No  civil  privilege  hangs  on  a 
man's  being  a  member  of  the  Church  and 
receiving  the  sacrament,  as  is  the  case  in 
some  countries  in  Europe,*  nor  is  it  reck- 
oned dishonourable  for  a  man  not  to  belong 
to  some  church.  None  among  us  presumes 
for  a  moment  that  a  man  must  have  com- 
mitted a  crime,  and  on  that  account  been 
excluded,  if  he  be  not  seen  going  twice  or 
thrice  a  year,  at  least — on  the  great  festi- 
vals, for  instance — to  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper.  No  such  idea  is  known 
in  the  United  States.  Our  pastors  and 
other  church  officers,  whose  duty  it  is  to 
govern  the  churches,  do  not  profess  to  be 
infallible.  They  cannot  know  the  heart. 
They  can  only  judge  according  to  the  evi- 
dence presented  to  them.  They  very  nat- 
urally lean  to  the  side  of  charity  ;  and  with 
every  desire  on  their  part  to  do  their  duty, 
there  are  many,  doubtless,  admitted  in 
every  church  without  being  truly  convert- 


*  In  Sweden,  for  instance,  a  man  cannot  give  his 
testimony  in  a  court  of  justice  who  has  not  taken  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  within  the  year  im- 
mediately preceding ! 


Chap.  III.] 


MEMBERSHIP   IN   CHURCHES. 


195 


ed,  and  when  once  admitted  remain  mem- 
bers, unless  they  withdraw  of  their  own 
choice,  or  go  to  some  other  part  of  the 
country,  or  are  excluded  on  account  of 
some  open  immorality. 

But  while  we  cannot  hope  that  even  in 
the  evangelical  churches  which  are  most 
rigorously  strict  in  their  admission  to  mem- 
bership, and  to  the  communion  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  all  the  members  are  con- 
verted persons,  yet  the  number  of  such  as 
are  of  scandalous  lives  is  small.  Nor  are 
such  persons  suffered  long  to  continue 
when  their  characters  become  known.  On 
this  subject  our  churches  form  a  very 
striking  contrast  with  some  which  I  have 
seen  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  Nor  have 
we  many  persons  who  come  in  crowds  to 
the  Lord's  Supper  on  some  great  festival, 
such  as  Easter  or  Christmas,  and  stay 
away  from  it  during  the  rest  of  the  year. 
Still  less  will  there  be  seen,  what  I  have 
been  told  sometimes  occurs  in  Protestant 
churches  which  I  have  visited  in  other 
lands,  not  a  few  persons  waiting  outside 
the  church,  on  such  occasions,  until  the 
communion  service  commences,  who  then 
make  their  way  in,  approach  the  commu- 
nion-table or  altar,  receive  the  emblems  of 
the  Saviour's  body  and  blood,  and  as  soon 
as  possible  hasten  out  and  depart !  As  if 
there  were  any  virtue  in  such  horrible 
mockery  and  profaneness  !  I  bless  God 
that  we  have  nothing  that  even  approaches 
to  this  in  point  of  impiety ;  and  yet  we 
have  to  mourn  over  the  fact  that  many  of 
the  members  of  our  churches  do  not  mani- 
fest that  spirituality,  devotion,  and  zeal 
which  they  ought  to  possess.  But  were 
there  no  discipline  in  our  churches,  and 
were  all  the  world,  whatever  might  be 
their  character,  permitted  to  come  to  the 
Lord's  Supper,  the  state  of  things  would 
be  in  every  respect  infinitely  worse.  We 
do  make  an  effort  to  separate  the  Church 
from  the  world,  and  to  make  it  manifest 
that  there  is  a  difference,  and  that  not  a 
small  one,  between  those  who  belong  to 
the  former,  and  those  who  seek  their  hap- 
piness in  the  latter,  and  have  their  desires 
bounded  by  it. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE      WAY     IN     WHICH     MEMBERSHIP     IN     OUR 
CHURCHES  IS  OBTAINED. 

Often  has  the  question  been  addressed 
to  me,  "  How  do  people  become  members 
of  your  churches  in  America  ?"  This  has 
been  said  to  me  particularly  on  the  Conti- 
nent, where,  in  too  many  countries,  disci- 
pline seems  to  be  almost  unknown,  and 
where,  I  have  been  assured,  there  are  many 
churches  in  which  all  who  choose  may 
come  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  that  this 


alone  is  requisite  in  order  to  a  man's  mem- 
bership in  a  church.  This,  too,  it  is  said, 
often  takes  place  without  saying  a  word 
to  the  pastor,  or  any  other  officer  of  the 
church.  Widely  different  is  the  practice 
which  obtains  in  the  evangelical  churches 
of  the  United  States.  I  will  describe  it  in 
few  words. 

Every  faithful  pastor,  who  preaches  reg- 
ularly in  any  particular  place  for  a  year  or 
two,  is  supposed  to  become  pretty  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  people  of  his  charge.  In 
most  cases,  he  not  only  comes  to  know  the 
families  that  compose  his  flock,  but  also, 
more  or  less,  nearly  every  individual,  es- 
pecially of  the  adult  population.  This  is 
almost  certain  to  be  the  case  where  the 
flock  is  not  very  numerous.  This  general 
acquaintance  gives  him  some  knowledge 
of  the  character  of  almost  every  individual. 
With  most,  if  not  all,  he  endeavours  to  have 
some  conversation,  more  or  less  directly, 
on  the  subject  of  salvation,  and  the  hopes 
of  eternal  life  which  they  may  be  enter- 
taining. 

In  addition  to  this,  his  Bible-classes  and 
Sunday-schools  bring  him  into  frequent 
contact  with  the  more  juvenile  part  of  the 
people  over  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  has 
made  him  overseer.  He  finds  frequent 
opportunities  of  speaking  with  them  about 
their  souls.  Besides,  he  is  not  alone.  The 
elders,  deacons,  or  other  officers  of  his 
church,  assist  him  much  with  their  co-op- 
eration. Through  these,  as  well  as  through 
zealous,  judicious,  and  faithful  private  mem- 
bers of  his  church,  he  learns  continually 
the  state  of  mind  of  most,  if  not  of  all  the 
people  in  his  congregation.  This  knowl- 
edge is  of  the  greatest  consequence  when 
persons  come  to  converse  with  him  re- 
specting their  salvation.  In  our  revivals, 
as  will  appear  presently,  it  is  common  for 
the  pastor  to  appoint  a  time  for  meeting  at 
his  house,  or  at  some  other  convenient 
place,  those  who  are  awakened  to  a  sense 
of  the  importance  of  religion.  On  these 
occasions  he  converses  with  each  individ- 
ual if  it  be  possible,  gives  such  directions 
as  they  may  need,  and  prays  with  the 
whole.  When  they  are  too  many  for  him, 
to  speak  to  all  of  them,  he  makes  use  of 
the  assistance  of  some  of  the  most  experi- 
enced of  the  officers  of  his  church.  Some- 
times a  neighbouring  minister  will  come 
and  help  him.  I  have  seen  twenty,  fifty, 
a  hundred,  and  even  as  many  as  three 
hundred  persons,  all,  with  few  exceptions, 
adults,  come  together  in  deep  distress  of 
soul,  on  such  occasions. 

In  such  little  meetings  the  pastor  learns  iv 
the  progress  of  religion  in  the  souls  of  his 
people.  But  when  there  is  no  special  "  se- 
riousness," as  we  say,  or  uncommon  atten- 
tion to  religion  among  his  people,  then  it 
may  be  that  the  number  of  those  who  come 
from  time  to  time  to  speak  to  him  respect- 


186 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


ing  their  salvation  will  he  small.  And  if 
he  ceases  to  be  faithful  in  preaching  the 
Gospel,  and  his  church  becomes  cold  in  its 
zeal,  in  its  faith,  and  in  its  prayers,  then 
it  may  happen  that  for  a  while  he  may  not 
have  any. 

In  many  of  our  churches  the  sacrament 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  administered  once 
in  three  months,  in  many  once  in  two,  and 
in  others  once  a  month.  Some  time  be- 
fore, the  pastor  gives  notice  that  he  will 
meet  at  a  certain  time  and  place  all  such 
as  wish  to  join  the  church  on  that  occasion, 
and  receive  the  communion  for  the  first 
time.  He  meets  with  them,  converses  with 
them,  and  learns  the  state  of  their  minds, 
as  far  as  it  is  possible  for  man  to  judge. 
In  many  cases  the  persons  come  to  him  re- 
peatedly to  lay  open  their  hearts,  and  re- 
ceive his  counsels.  If  he  believes  that 
they  have  met  with  the  change  of  heart  of 
which  the  Saviour  speaks  in  his  interview 
with  Nicodemus,  he  encourages  them  in 
the  resolution  to  join  the  church.  If  he 
thinks  that  they  are  not  prepared  for  this 
important  step,  he  advises  them  to  defer  it 
for  a  season,  that  they  may  become  so.  In 
some  cases,  as  in  that  of  the  Presbyterians 
universally,  the  pastor  reports  the  matter 
to  the  session  of  the  church,  and  the  can- 
didates have  generally  to  appear  before 
that  body,  which  consists  of  the  pastor  and 
the  elders,  who  may  be  from  two  to  twelve 
in  number.  In  the  Congregational  and  Bap- 
tist churches,  it  is  the  "  church,"  that  is, 
the  body  of  the  members  of  the  church, 
who  hear  the  candidates  relate  the  history 
of  the  work  of  grace  in  their  hearts,  and 
give  their  reasons  for  believing  that  they 
have  become  "  new  creatures  in  Christ 
Jesus."  If  the  person  who  applies  to  be 
received  as  a  member  of  the  church  is  a 
stranger,  or  one  of  whose  deep  serious- 
ness the  pastor  and  the  brethren  of  the 
church  had  been  ignorant,  then  he  is  ex- 
amined more  fully  upon  his  "  experience," 
or  the  work  of  God  in  his  soul.  He  is 
asked  to  tell  when  and  how  he  became 
concerned  for  his  salvation,  the  nature  and 
depth  of  his  repentance,  his  views  of  sin, 
his  faith  in  Christ,  his  hopes  of  eternal  life, 
<&c,  &c.  These  examinations  are  some- 
times long,  and  in  the  highest  degree  in- 
teresting. Solemn,  and  yet,  to  the  faithful 
pastor,  joyful  work,  to  deal  with  souls  in 
these  important  seasons  !  But  the  faithful 
pastor  is  always  engaged  in  guiding  the 
souls  of  his  people  in  the  way  that  leads 
to  life. 

The  day  arrives  for  administering  the 
Lord's  Supper ;  the  preparatory  services, 
including  a  sermon,  are  gone  through ; 
the  moment  comes  for  commencing  those 
which  relate  to  this  sacred  ordinance.  Be- 
fore he  commences  them,  the  pastor,  in 
many  churches,  calls  upon  all  those  who 
are  now  about  to  join  the  church  to  come 


[Book  V. 

forward  and  take  their  places  before  the 
pulpit.  He  reads  their  names  aloud,  and 
baptizes  those  of  them  who  have  not  been 
baptized  before.  He  then  puts  certain 
questions  to  the  adults,  imbodying  the 
chief  articles  of  the  church's  creed,  and  to 
these  they  answer  in  the  affirmative.  This 
is  sometimes  followed  by  his  reading  out 
the  form  of  a  covenant,  which  they  must 
give  their  assent  to  and  engage  to  keep.* 


*  As  the  reader  may  be  desirous  of  seeing  one  of 
these  summaries  of  faith  and  covenant,  I  here  give  the 
following  one,  selected  from  among  the  many  which  I 
have  seen.  The  pastor  addresses  the  candidates 
standing  in  the  midst  of  the  church  in  the  following 
language  : 

FAITH. 

"  In  the  presence  of  God  and  this  assembly  you  do 
now  appear,  desiring  publicly  and  solemnly  to  enter 
into  covenant  with  Him  and  his  Church  according  to 
the  Gospel,  professing  your  full  assent  to  the  follow- 
ing summary  of  faith. 

•'  Art.  1.  You  solemnly  and  publicly  profess  your 
belief  in  one  God,  the  Almighty  Maker  of  heaven  and. 
earth,  who  upholds  all  things,  and  orders  all  events 
according  to  his  own  pleasure,  and  for  his  own  glory. 

"  Art.  2.  You  believe  that  this  glorious  Being  ex- 
ists in  three  persons,  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son, 
and  God  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  that  these  three  are 
one,  being  the  same  in  substance,  equal  in  power  and 
glory. 

"  Art.  3.  You  believe  that  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments  were  given  by  inspiration  of 
God,  and  are  our  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice. 

"  Art.  4.  You  believe  that  God  at  first  created  man 
upright,  and  in  his  own  image ;  that  our  first  pa- 
rents fell  from  their  original  uprightness,  and  involved 
themselves  and  their  posterity  in  a  state  of  sin  and 
misery. 

"  Art.  5.  You  believe  that  all  men  since  the  fall 
are  by  nature  depraved,  having  no  conformity  of 
heart  to  God,  and  being  destitute  of  all  moral  excel- 
lence. 

"  Art.  6.  You  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Sav- 
iour of  sinners,  and  the  only  Mediator  between  God 
and  man. 

"  Art.  7.  You  believe  in  the  necessity  of  the  renew- 
ing and  sanctifying  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  that  to  be  happy  you  must  be  holy. 

"  Art.  8.  You  believe  that  sinners  are  justified  by 
faith  alone,  through  the  atoning  sacrifice  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

"  Art.  9.  You  believe  that  the  saints  will  be  kept 
by  the  almighty  power  of  God  from  the  dominion  of 
sin,  and  from  final  condemnation,  and  that  at  the  last 
day  they  will  be  raised  incorruptible,  and  be  forever 
happy. 

"  Art.  10.  You  believe  that  the  finally  impenitent 
will  be  punished  '  with  everlasting  destruction  from 
the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  his 
power.' 

"Thus  you  believe  in  your  hearts,  and  thus  you 
confess  before  men." 

COVENANT. 

"  You  do  now,  under  this  belief  of  the  Christian 
religion  as  held  in  this  church,  publicly  and  solemn- 
ly avouch  the  eternal  Jehovah,  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost,  to  be  your  God  and  the  God  of  yours, 
engaging  to  devote  yourselves  to  his  fear  and  service, 
to  walk  in  his  ways,  and  to  keep  his  commandments. 
With  an  humble  reliance  on  his  Spirit,  you  engage 
to  live  answerably  to  the  profession  you  now  make, 
submitting  yourselves  to  the  laws  of  Christ's  king- 
dom, and  to  that  discipline  which  he  has  appointed 
to  be  administered  in  his  Church.  That  you  may  ob- 
tain the  assistance  you  need,  you  engage  diligently 
to  attend,  and  carefully  to  improve  all  the  ordinances 
he  has  instituted. 


Chap.  IV.] 


UNCONVERTED    MEN. 


187 


The  forms  in  which  all  this  is  done  vary 
in  different  churches  and  denominations, 
but  the  substance  is  the  same.  It  also 
takes  place  sometimes  at  the  public  servi- 
ces on  Saturday,  preparatory  to  the  cele- 
bration of  the  communion  on  the  Sabbath 
following. 

I  may  add  that  many,  particularly  of  the 
Presbyterian  churches  in  the  interior,  still 
retain  the  old  practice  of  the  communi- 
cants taking  their  seats  at  a  long  table  in 
the  principal  aisle  of  the  church,  the  bread 
and  wine  being  handed  round,  accompa- 
nied with  prayer  and  a  brief  exhortation. 
In  the  cities  and  large  towns  the  commu- 
nicants occupy  certain  pews  assigned  to 
them,  either  in  the  middle  of  the  church, 
or  in  the  end  next  to  the  pulpit.  In  the 
Episcopal  Church,  the  communicants  re- 
ceive the  sacrament  kneeling  round  the 
altar.  Though  the  administration  of  this 
sacrament  most  commonly  takes  place  im- 
mediately after  the  forenoon  sermon,  it  is 
now  celebrated  in  many  churches  in  the 
afternoon,  preceded  by  a  short  sermon  or 
address.  In  a  Presbyterian  church  in 
Washington  City,  it  used,  a  few  years  ago, 
to  be  celebrated  at  night,  and  may  be  so 
still.  The  effect  was  solemn,  and  not  un- 
pleasant, and  it  had  the  advantage,  in  the 
eyes  of  those  who  attach  importance  to 
such  matters,  of  coinciding  with  the  hour 
of  its  first  institution.  But  a  more  impor- 
tant advantage,  in  my  opinion,  lay  in  its  ad- 
mitting of  the  communicants  being  joined 
by  many  from  other  churches,  on  an  oc- 
casion so  well  calculated  to  unite  the  hearts 
of  all  in  Christian  sympathy  and  love. 

Let  me  farther  add,  that  in  almost  all 
our  churches  those  who  are  not  members 
usually  remain  and  witness  the  solemn 
ceremony :  a  most  proper  and  profitable 
custom,  for  the  very  occasion  speaks  in 
most  affecting  language  to  the  unconverted 
heart,  and  affords  an  admirable  opportunity 
for  the  faithful  and  skilful  messenger  of 


"  Thus  you  covenant,  promise,  and  engage,  in  the 
fear  of  God,  and  by  the  help  of  his  Spirit. 

"  In  consequence  of  these  professions  and  promises, 
•we  affectionately  recognise  you  as  members  of  this 
church,  and  in  the  name  of  Christ  declare  you  enti- 
tled to  all  its  visible  privileges.  We  welcome  you  to 
this  fellowship  with  us  in  the  blessings  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  on  our  part  engage  to  watch  over  you,  and 
to  seek  your  edification  as  long  as  you  shall  continue 
among  us. 

"  May  the  Lord  support  and  guide  you  through  a 
transitory  life,  and  after  this  warfare  is  accomplished, 
receive  you  to  His  blessed  Church  above,  where  our 
love  shall  be  forever  perfect,  and  our  joy  forever  full. 
Amen." 

In  some  churches  the  summary  of  faith  used  on 
these  occasions,  and  the  covenant,  accompanied  by  a 
short  and  pertinent  address  to  the  members  of  the 
church,  is  printed  in  a  little  book,  which  also  con- 
tains a  list  of  all  their  names,  and  their  residences  if 
in  a  city,  a  copy  of  which  is  possessed  by  each  mem- 
ber. It  is  a  convenient  manual,  as  well  as  a  solemn 
remembrancer,  which  it  is  profitable  to  consult  fre- 
■qiently. 


God  to  appeal  to  such  on  behalf  of  Him 
whose  sorrows  are  so  touchingly  set  forth 
in  an  ordinance  which  may  truly  be  called 
an  epitome  of  the  Gospel. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  RELATIONS  WHICH  UNCONVERTED  MEN  HOLD 
TO  THE    CHURCH. 

I  have  known  many  persons  in  different 
parts  of  Europe  who,  after  listening  to 
statements  such  as  the  above,  seemed  at 
a  loss  to  comprehend  the  position  held, 
with  respect  to  the  Church,  by  those  who 
are  not  its  members,  and  they  have  asked 
again  and  again  for  explanations  on  the 
subject.  I  have  told  them,  in  reply,  that 
such  of  those  persons  as  are  the  children 
of  pious  parents,  hold  towards  the  Church 
a  very  interesting  relation,  which,  though 
invisible,  if  I  may  so  speak,  is  real ;  and 
that  such  of  them  as  have  been  baptized 
in  infancy,  in  my  opinion,  maintain  an  im- 
portant relation  to  it,  which  ought  to  be 
made  much  more  of  than  is  usual  among 
the  Psedobaptist  branches  of  the  Protestant 
Church,  We  are  very  faulty  on  this  point 
in  the  United  States,  but  not  more  so,  I 
apprehend,  than  are  our  Protestant  breth- 
ren in  other  lands.  Very  affecting  appeals, 
nevertheless,  are  often  made  by  our  faith- 
ful ministers  to  such  of  their  hearers  as 
are  not  converted,  yet  who  have  knelt  by 
the  side  of  a  devout  mother,  have  felt  her 
hand  resting  on  their  youthful  heads,  and 
who,  when  in  the  arms  of  a  pious  parent, 
received  the  symbol  of  that  "  washing  of 
regeneration,"  without  which  none  can 
serve  God  acceptably,  either  on  earth  or 
in  heaven.     Nor  are  such  appeals  in  vain.* 

But  the  question  has  often  been  propo- 
sed to  me,  "  Are  men  who  are  not  allow- 
ed to  come  to  the  Lord's  Supper  willing 
to  attend  your  churches  V  Most  certainly 
they  are.  They  are  too  well  instructed  in 
religion  not  to  be  aware  that  admission  to 
that  ordinance  would  do  them  anything 
but  good  as  long  as  they  remain  unrecon- 
ciled to  God  through  Jesus  Christ. f   Many 


*  Some  very  interesting  investigations  have  been 
made  in  the  churches  in  New-England,  the  portion 
of  the  United  States  where  the  Gospel  has  been 
longest,  most  extensively,  and  most  faithfully  preach- 
ed, taken  as  a  whole,  which  have  shown  in  the  most 
decisive  manner  that  the  "children  of  the  Church," 
that  is,  the  children  of  believers,  who  have  been  ded- 
icated to  God,  many  of  them  in  baptism,  have  shared 
most  largely  in  the  blessing  of  God's  grace  ;  and  that 
nothing  can  be  more  completely  unfounded  than  the 
reproach  that  "the  children  of  Christians,  and  es- 
pecially those  of  ministers  and  deacons,  do  worse 
than  those  of  other  people."  The  very  reverse  has 
been  demonstrated  by  a  widely-extended  and  care- 
fully-prosecuted inquiry.  Indeed,  what  other  result 
could  a  man  who  believes  God  have  expected  ? 

f  Foreigners  sometimes  commit  great  mistakes 
from  not  being  aware  of  our  customs  in  this  respect. 
A  Spanish  gentleman  once  called  on  the  late  Rev. 


189 


RELIGION  IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


of  them,  indeed,  would  recoil  with  horror 
were  a  minister  to  propose  such  a  thing. 
Yet  they  value  the  privilege  of  going  to 
the  sanctuary.  They  have  been  taught 
from  their  childhood  that  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel  is  the  great  instrumentality  ap- 
pointed by  God  for  the  salvation  of  men. 
They  go  in  the  hope  of  one  day  finding 
that  which  they  know  to  be  essential  to 
their  happiness  even  in  this  life.  Others 
may  be  influenced  by  the  force  of  educa- 
tion, or  by  that  of  habit,  by  fashion,  by  the 
desire  of  seeing  others  and  being  seen,  by 
the  charms  of  the  preacher's  eloquence, 
and  so  forth.  In  no  other  part  of  the 
world,  perhaps,  do  the  inhabitants  attend 
church  in  a  larger  proportion  than  in  the 
United  States ;  certainly  no  part  of  the 
Continent  of  Europe  can  compare  with 
them  in  that  respect.  The  contrast  be- 
tween the  two  must  strike  any  one  who, 
after  having  travelled  much  in  the  one, 
comes  to  see  any  of  the  cities  of  the  other, 
with  the  single  exception  of  New-Orleans, 
which  is  hardly,  as  yet,  an  American  city, 
and  even  it,  in  point  of  church  attendance, 
is  far  better  than  Paris,  Rome,  Vienna, 
Hamburg,  or  Copenhagen. 

Not  only  do  persons  who  have  not  yet 
become  members,  by  formal  admission  as 
such,  attend  our  churches ;  they  form  a 
very  large  part  of  our  congregations.  In 
many  cases  they  constitute  two  thirds, 
three  fourths,  or  even  more ;  this  depend- 
ing much  on  the  length  of  the  period  du- 
ring which  the  congregation  has  been  or- 
ganized, and  hardly  ever  less  than  a  half, 
even  in  the  most  highly-favoured  church- 
es. Nor  do  they  attend  only ;  they  are 
cheerful  supporters  of  the  public  worship, 
and  are  often  found  as  liberal  in  contribu- 
ting of  their  substance  for  the  promotion 
of  good  objects,  as  the  members  of  the 
church  themselves,  with  whom  they  are 
intimately  connected  by  the  ordinary  busi- 
ness af  life,  and  by  family  ties.  Multitudes 
of  them  are  like  the  young  man  whom 
Jesus  loved,  but  who  still  "lacked  one 
thing."  They  attend  from  year  to  year, 
as  did  the  impotent  man  at  the  Pool  of 
Bethesda,  nor  do  they  attend  in  vain.*     It 

Sylvester  Lamed,  of  New-Orleans,  one  of  the  most 
eloquent  pulpit  orators  of  his  day,  to  say  that  he 
wished  to  join  his  church,  and  to  receive  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  Supper,  "  for,"  said  he,  with  an  oath, 
"  you  are  the  most  eloquent  man  I  have  ever  heard !" 
Mr.  Larned  spent  an  hour  with  him  in  explaining 
what  was  required  in  order  to  his  becoming  a  mem- 
ber of  his  church  ;  in  other  words,  what  it  is  to  be  a 
true  Christian,  and  the  Spaniard  went  away  with  a 
heavy  heart,  to  reflect  on  a  subject  which  had  never 
been  presented  to  his  mind  in  the  same  light  before. 
*  In  the  State  of  Connecticut  a  series  of  most  in- 
teresting inquiries  have  been  prosecuted,  during  the 
last  few  years,  under  the  auspices,  I  believe,  of  the 
General  Association  of  the  Congregational  Church- 
es ;  one  of  which  relates  to  the  influence  which  the 
faithful  preaching  of  the  Gospel  in  a  community — a 
parish,  for  instance — exerts  upon  the  mass  who  hear 


pleases  God  to  make  the  faithful  preaching 
of  his  Word  instrumental  to  the  salvation 
now  of  one,  now  of  another  ;  and  some- 
times, by  a  special  outpouring  of  his  Spirit, 
He  brings  many  at  the  same  time  into  his 
kingdom. 

The  non-professing  hearers  of  the  Word, 
then,  are  to  be  considered  as  simply  what 
we  call  them,  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion, not  of  the  church.  We  can  look,  as 
I  have  said,  for  their  assistance  in  many, 
if  not  all  good  undertakings,  as  well  as  in 
the  ordinary  support  of  the  Gospel.  Many, 
in  the  character  of  trustees,  are  faithful 
guardians  of  the  property  of  the  church  and 
congregation.  Many  teach  in  our  Sunday- 
schools,  and  find  instruction  themselves  in 
their  endeavours  to  instruct  others. 

One  great  advantage  in  this  is,  that  un- 
converted men,  who  know  themselves  to 
be  such,  occupy  their  proper  place.  No 
law,  no  false  custom,  compels  them  to  be 
members  of  the  church.  Hence  their  po- 
sition is  less  dangerou-;  in  several  respects. 
They  are  less  tempted  to  indulge  self-de- 
lusion, and  are  more  open  to  the  direct, 
unimpeded  shafts  of  the  truth.  Their  po- 
sition, too,  tends  to  give  them  a  remark- 
able simplicity  and  frankness  of  character. 
The  term  "  Christian"  generally  signify- 
ing with  us,  not  a  mere  believer  in  Chris- 
tianity, but  one  who  professes  to  be  a  dis- 
ciple of  Christ,  and  is  known  as  such,  nine 
persons  out  of  ten  of  those  who  make  no 
profession  of  religion  would,  on  being  ask- 
ed, "Are  you  a  Christian  1"  promptly  re- 
ply, "  No,  I  am  sorry  to  say  I  am  not  ;'* 
meaning  thereby  that  he  was  sorry  to  say 
that  he  is  not  a  truly  religious  man,  or 
what  the  word  Christian  ought  to  signify,, 
and  is  with  us  so  often  employed  to  ex- 
press. This  is  obviously  better  for  uncon- 
verted persons — better  for  their  own  con- 
sciences— than  to  be  involved  in  a  church 
relation,  and  yet  be  without  religion.  It  is 
every  way  better,  also,  for  the  pastor  and 
the  church  ;  and  the  prospect  of  the  Word 
of  God  gaining  an  entrance  into  the  heart 
of  the  unrenewed  is  many  times  more  en- 
couraging than  if  they  were  members  of 
the  church,  and  had  "  a  name  to  live"  while 
in  reality  "  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins." 


it  for  a  long  period  of  time.  The  results  are  most 
striking,  and  clearly  demonstrate  the  blessing  of 
having  the  stated  and  regular  use  of  the  means  of 
grace.  It  has  been  found  that,  of  those  who  habitu- 
ally attend  churches  where  the  Gospel  is  faithfully 
preached,  the  number  who,  sooner  or  later,  are  made 
to  experience  its  saving  power  is  surprisingly  great  \. 
and,  on  the  contrary,  the  number  of  those  who  die 
without  giving  any  evidence  of  possessing  true  piety 
is  small.  The  investigation  has  been  made  in  all 
parts  of  the  State,  and  has  everywhere  conducted  to- 
the  same  important  and  delightful  conclusion.  I 
know  not  whether  this  inquiry  has  ever  been  pros- 
ecuted so  thoroughly  and  extensively  in  any  other 
part  of  the  world. 


Chap.  VI.] 


CHARACTER   OF   AMERICAN   PREACHING. 


189 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE    ADMINISTRATION    OF    DISCIPLINE. 

I  have  been  often  asked  in  Europe,  What 
measures  are  adopted  by  our  churches  in 
enforcing  discipline — how  unworthy  per- 
sons, for  instance,  are  prevented  from  com- 
ing to  the  Lord's  Table  1  The  very  ques- 
tion indicates  familiarity  with  a  state  of 
things  very  different  from  what  prevails  in 
the  United  States — with  a  state  of  things 
in  which  the  decisions  of  the  ecclesiastical 
authority  are  enforced  by  the  civil. 

Church  discipline  with  us,  though  whol- 
ly moral,  is  thought  quite  sufficient.  The 
case  must  be  rare,  indeed,  of  any  one,  not 
a  member  of  some  recognised  church,  com- 
ing forward  to  receive  the  sacrament  in 
an  evangelical  church.  He  hears  the  qual- 
ifications necessary  to  a  worthy  participa- 
tion in  the  ordinance  ;  he  knows  that  none 
but  Christians  of  good  repute  in  other  evan- 
gelical churches  are  invited  to  join  the 
members  of  that  particular  church  on  the 
solemn  occasion  ;  and  if  he  belongs  to  nei- 
ther of  these  categories,  he  is  not  likely  to 
nnite  himself  to  the  Lord's  people.  But  if 
he  should,  he  does  so  on  his  own  respon- 
sibility before  God ;  the  Church  is  not  to  be 
blamed  for  his  conduct.  Even  were  a  per- 
son who  had  been  excommunicated  for 
open  immorality,  and  universally  known 
to  be  so,  to  take  his  seat  among  the  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  its  office-bearers,  in 
carrying  round  the  symbols  of  the  Sav- 
iour's body  and  blood,  would  probably  pass 
him  by  ;  or,  if  that  could  not  he  done,  they 
would  rather  allow  the  matter  to  take  its 
course  than  risk  confusion  at  so  solemn  a 
moment,  in  the  conviction  that  the  Church, 
having  done  her  previous  duty  to  the  un- 
happy man,  she  is  not  to  blame  for  his  un- 
authorized intrusion.  I  know  of  one  soli- 
tary occasion  in  which  one  of  the  office- 
bearers whispered  in  the  ear  of  a  person 
who  ought  not  to  have  been  among  the 
communicants,  that  it  would  be  better  for 
his  own  soul,  as  well  as  due  to  the  church, 
that  he  should  retire,  and  he  did  so.  But 
this  was  unobserved  by  most  of  those  im- 
mediately around,  or,  if  observed,  they  did 
not  know  the  cause  of  his  retiring.  I  nev- 
er knew  or  heard  of  another  case  in  which 
such  a  step  was  necessary. 

No  difficulty  whatever,  I  repeat,  can 
arise  on  this  subject.  Our  discipline  is 
moral,  and  the  people  are  too  well  in- 
structed on  the  subject  of  their  duties  not 
to  know  what  they  should  do,  and  what  to 
abstain  from  doing.  We  have  no  gens 
d'armes,  or  other  police  agents,  to  enforce 
our  discipline,  and  if  such  functionaries  are 
ever  seen  about  our  churches  in  any  char- 
acter but  that  of  worshippers,  it  is  on  ex- 
traordinary occasions,  to  keep  order  at  the 
door  ;  and  their  services  are  not  often 
needed  even  for  that  purpose. 


In  regard  to  church  members  who  sub- 
ject themselves  to  censure  for  open  sin,  or 
gross  neglect  of  duty,  they  are  dealt  with 
according  to  the  established  discipline  of 
the  body  to  which  they  belong ;  and  that, 
in  all  our  evangelical  churches,  is  founded 
upon  the  simple  and  clear  directions  given 
by  our  Lord  and  his  Apostles.  Unworthy 
members,  after  having  been  dealt  with  ac- 
cording to  Scriptural  rule,  are  excluded 
until  they  give  evidence  of  sincere  contri- 
tion for  their  sin.  Where  the  case  is  fla- 
grant, and  the  sin  persisted  in,  after  all  at- 
tempts to  reclaim  the  offender  have  failed, 
he  is  openly  excommunicated  before  the 
church  and  congregation.  A  less  open 
declaration  of  the  offence  and  punishment 
takes  place  in  other  cases.  But  whatever 
be  the  course  pursued,  unworthy  men  are 
excluded  in  all  our  evangelical  churches  as 
soon  as  their  offence  can  be  properly  taken 
up  by  the  church.  I  state  this  as  a  general 
fact.  Once  excluded,  the  world  does  not 
long  remain  ignorant  of  what  has  taken 
place,  and  the  church  thus  avoids  the 
charge  of  retaining  persons  of  scandalous 
lives  in  her  communion.*  Any  defect  in 
our  administration  of  church  discipline  does 
not  lie,  I  conceive,  generally  speaking,  in 
its  being  harsh  and  impatient ;  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  there  is  nothing  in  the  institu- 
tions of  the  country,  or  in  the  opinions  and 
habits  of  the  people,  to  prevent  its  being  as 
rigid  as  the  legislation  of  the  great  Head 
of  the  Church  demands.  If  there  be  failure 
anywhere,  it  is  chargeable  to  want  of  fidel- 
ity on  the  part  of  those  who  are  intrusted 
with  the  exercise  of  it. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CHARACTER   OF    AMERICAN    PREACHING. 

In  order  adequately  to  describe  American 
preaching,  one  should  be  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  the  churches  of  the  country 
throughout  its  vast  extent ;  but  this  knowl- 
edge it  falls  to  the  lot  of  few  to  possess. 
Foreign  writers  on  the  subject  have  been 
either  travellers,  whose  books  betray  a 
very  limited  acquaintance  with  the  church- 
es and  their  ministers,  or  untravelled  au- 
thors, whose  judgment  has  been  formed 
upon  such  specimens  as  they  could  find  in 
printed  discourses,  or  hear  from  the  lips  of 
preachers  from  the  United  States  during 
visits  to  Europe.  In  either  case,  whatever 
may  have  been  the  impartiality  of  the 
judges,  the  data  for  forming  a  sound  opin- 


*  The  deposition  of  a  minisler  of  the  Gospel,  when 
it  occurs,  which,  when  we  consider  how  numerous 
the  ministry  is,  cannot  be  thought  frequent,  is  com- 
monly announced  in  the  religious  and  other  journals, 
in  order  that  the  churches  may  be  duly  guarded 
against  the  admission  of  the  deposed  person  into 
their  pulpits,  through  ignorance  of  his  character  and 
present  position. 


190 


RELIGION  IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


ion  upon  the  subject  have  been  manifestly 
insufficient.  Few  persons  in  Europe  have 
read  enough  of  American  sermons  to  form 
an  accurate  judgment  respecting  the  vari- 
ous qualities  of  American  preaching,  for 
few  preachers,  comparatively,  in  America 
have  published  volumes  of  sermons,  or 
even  isolated  and  occasional  discourses. 
Some  of  the  most  effective  preachers  have 
published  very  little,  and  many  nothing  at 
all.  And  as  for  those  preachers  from  the 
United  States  who  have  visited  Europe, 
not  a  dozen  have  been  able  to  preach  in 
any  language  but  the  English  ;  and  any 
other  language,  with  all  but  one  or  two  of 
these,  has  been  German.  Except  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  then,  and  to  a  very 
limited  extent  in  Germany,  American 
preaching  is  unknown,  except  from  books 
and  the  reports  of  persons  who  have  visited 
the  country.  As  for  the  American  preach- 
ers who  have  visited  Europe,  they  have 
been  few  in  comparison  with  the  whole 
body,  and  have  been  confined  for  the  most 
part  to  those  of  three  or  four  denomina- 
tions. Many  of  them  have  crossed  the 
Atlantic  as  invalids  for  the  recovery  of 
their  health  ;  others  have  come  with  some 
object  to  accomplish,  Avhich  left  little  time 
for  preaching.  Under  such  circumstances 
they  could  hardly  be  expected  to  preach  as 
well  as  at  home  ;  and  yet  there  have  been 
some  who,  while  in  Europe,  reflected  no 
discredit  on  themselves  or  their  country  as 
pulpit  orators.* 

Preaching  in  the  United  States  varies 
exceedingly  both  in  manner  and  in  substance, 
but  most  in  manner.  The  clergy  in  the 
Presbyterian,  Congregational,  Episcopal, 
Reformed  Dutch,  Lutheran,  German  Re- 
formed, Moravian,  Reformed  Presbyteri- 
an, Associate,  and  Associate  Reformed 
churches,  have,  with  few  exceptions,  pass- 
ed through  a  regular  course  of  education 

*  Among  the  American  preachers  whose  visits  are 
still  remembered  with  interest  in  Great  Britain  (and 
some  of  them  on  the  Continent  also),  but  who  are  no 
longer  with  us,  may  be  mentioned  the  Rev.  Drs. 
Mason,  Romeyn,  Bruen,  Henry,  Hobart,  Emory, 
Fisk,  and  Clark,  who  were  certainly  no  mean  men. 
Of  those  who  have  visited  Europe  within  the  last  few 
years,  and  who  are  still  permitted  to  prosecute  their 
work  among  us,  the  Rev.  Drs.  Spring,  Humphrey, 
Cox,  M'Auley,  Codman,  Sprague,  Breckinridge.  Pat- 
ton,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Kirk,  of  the  Presbyterian  and  Con- 
gregational Churches  ;  the  Rev.  Drs.  Bethune  and 
Ferris,  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  ;  the  Rev.  Drs.  Mil- 
nor,  M'llvaine  (bishop  of  Ohio),  Meade  (bishop  of 
Virginia),  Hawks,  and  Tyng,  of  the  Episcopal ;  the 
Rev.  Drs.  Olin,  Capers,  President  Durbin,  and  Bishop 
Soule,  of  the  Methodist ;  the  Rev.  Drs.  Wayland, 
Stowe,  Sears,  and  M'Murray,  of  the  Baptist ;  and  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Kurtz  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Riley  of  the  Lu- 
theran and  German  Reformed  Churches,  are  widely 
known  in  Great  Britain,  and  some  of  them  on  the 
Continent.  The  last-named  two  were  kindly  re- 
ceived in  Germany,  and  heard  with  attention,  both 
when  they  spoke  of  the  infant  seminaries  for  which 
they  pleaded,  as  well  as  when  they  proclaimed  "that 
Name  which  is  above  every  name,"  and  which  is 
"  like  ointment  poured  forth." 


in  Latin,  Greek,  the  Natural  and  Moral 
Sciences,  and  Theology,  such  as  is  now 
pursued  at  our  colleges  and  theological 
seminaries,  or  what  is  tantamount  to  it. 
Many,  especially  the  younger  men,  have 
some  knowledge  of  Hebrew.  As  for  the 
Baptist  ministers,  it  is  not  easy  to  say  how 
many  have  gone  through  a  similar  course — 
certainly  not  half,  perhaps  not  a  fourth  of 
them.  A  still  smaller  proportion  of  the 
Methodist  preachers  have  had  that  advan- 
tage, though,  upon  the  whole,  they  are 
probably  as  well  informed  as  the  Baptist 
ministers  are.  Ministerial  education  among 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  is  much  in 
the  same  state  as  among  the  Methodists. 

The  clergy  of  certain  denominations, 
who  have  not  passed  through  a  collegiate 
course,  are  often  spoken  of,  but  very  un- 
justly, as  "uneducated,''  "  unlearned,"  "il- 
literate," and  so  forth.  Very  many  such 
have,  by  great  application,  made  most  re- 
spectable attainments.  Some  have  ac- 
quired a  considerable  knowledge  of  the 
Latin  and  Greek  classics,  and  a  far  greater 
number  have,  by  the  diligent  perusal  of 
valuable  works  in  English,  stored  their 
minds  with  a  large  amount  of  sound  learn- 
ing, which  they  use  with  much  effect  in 
preaching.  Nor  is  this  surprising.  A  man 
may  acquire  an  immense  fund  of  knowledge 
through  the  sole  medium  of  the  English 
tongue.  Benjamin  Franklin  knew  nothing 
of  the  ancient  languages,  and  not  much  of 
any  of  the  modern,  beyond  his  mother 
tongue  and  French ;  yet  few  men  of  his 
day  were  better  informed,  or  wrote  their 
mother  tongue  with  equal  purity.  So,  also, 
witli  Washington.  And  who  ever  used  the 
English  language  with  greater  propriety 
and  effect  than  Bunyan ;  or  where  in  that 
language  shall  we  find  a  sounder  or  abler 
theological  writer  than  Andrew  Fuller  1 
Yet  neither  Bunyan  nor  Fuller  was  ever  at 
a  college. 

It  is  a  great,  though  a  common  mistake, 
to  suppose  that  Methodist  ministers,  when 
"  on  the  circuit,"  read  nothing.  There  being 
generally  two  on  each  circuit,  each  has  a 
good  deal  of  time,  especially  in  the  older 
portions  of  the  country,  for  making  up  his 
reports,  carrying  on  his  correspondence, 
and  prosecuting  his  studies  ;  and  that  this 
last  is  done  to  some  good  purpose  is 
clearly  shown  by  the  preaching  of  the  great 
majority.  Those  who  are  labouring  on  the 
"  circuits"  in  the  frontier  and  thinly-set- 
tled districts,  have  much  less  time  for  read- 
ing and  study.  Those  who  are  stationed  in 
the  cities  and  large  towns  have  as  much 
time  for  study  as  other  ministers  similarly 
situated.  Many  Baptist  ministers,  also, 
who  have  never  attended  college,  are  close 
students,  and  carefully  prepare  for  the  pul- 
pit ;  while  others,  of  whom  so  much  can- 
not be  said,  give  themselves  much  to  the 
reading  of  certain  favourite  authors. 


Chap.  VI.] 


CHARACTER  OF   AMERICAN   PREACHING. 


191 


Nearly  all  the  Episcopal  and  Congrega- 
tional clergy  write  their  sermons,  and  read 
more  or  less  closely  when  delivering  them. 
So  do  many  of  the  Presbyterian  and  Re- 
formed Dutch,  and  some,  also,  of  the  Bap- 
tist ministers.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
Presbyterian  clergy,  the  great  majority  of 
the  Baptist,  and  nearly  all  the  ministers  of 
the  Methodist,  Cumberland  Presbyterian, 
and  some  other  evangelical  denominations, 
neither  write  their  sermons  in  full,  nor  read 
any  considerable  part  of  them.  Few,  how- 
ever, of  any  church  commit  their  sermons 
to  memory ;  the  great  majority  of  such  as 
do  not  write  out  their  discourses,  carefully 
study  the  subjects  of  them,  and  generally 
note  down  the  principal  heads  to  be  used 
in  the  pulpit,  as  taste  or  habit  may  incline. 

The  delivery  of  the  ministers  among  us 
who  read  is  not,  in  general,  very  animated ; 
still,  it  is  sufficiently  attractive  in  most 
instances  to  interest  hearers  endued  with 
any  capacity  for  distinguishing  between 
sound  and  sense,  and  who  prefer  a  well- 
reasoned,  well-expressed,  and  instructive 
discourse  to  mere  animated  declamation, 
accompanied  with  much  less,  commonly, 
of  these  qualities.  Good  reading,  though 
in  all  countries  much  more  rare  than  at- 
tractive and  effective  speaking,  will  gen- 
erally be  preferred,  nevertheless,  by  hear- 
ers of  high  intellectual  acquirements. 

Ministers  of  all  denominations  who  do 
not  read  their  discourses,  possess  a  much 
more  animated  delivery,  and  generally  dis- 
play more  of  what  may  be  called  "  orato- 
ry" in  their  manner,  than  their  brethren 
who  read.  But  their  sermons  can  hardly 
have  the  same  order,  clearness,  and  free- 
dom from  repetition.  Still,  they  need  not 
be  defective  in  instructiveness,  and  they 
have  greatly  the  advantage  in  point  of 
fervour,  and  in  those  direct  and  powerful 
appeals  which  owe  their  effect  almost 
as  much  to  look,  tone,  and  manner,  as  to 
the  truths  which  the  speaker  expresses. 
Not  that  such  appeals  can  be  of  much 
avail  if  no  truth  be  conveyed  by  them,  but 
truth  may  become  much  more  effective 
when  pressed  upon  the  attention  in  an  at- 
tractive and  impressive  manner. 

Those  of  the  clergy  of  the  evangelical 
churches  in  the  United  States  who  have 
passed  through  a  regular  classical  and  the- 
ological course  of  education,  and  who  in 
point  of  numbers  may  be  estimated  at 
about  7000,  taken  as  a  whole,  would  be 
pronounced  less  animated  than  the  most 
celebrated  preachers  in  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  France  and  Germany,  and,  I  may 
add,  Denmark  and  Sweden.  Not  a  few  of 
them,  however,  are  not  wanting  in  fervour, 
and  even  fire  in  their  delivery.  But  this  is 
not  the  case  with  those  of  our  ministers 
who  have  had  a  less  complete  education, 
and  have  been  very  differently  trained. 
Our  Methodist  ministers  have  a  certain 


course  of  reading  prescribed  to  them  for 
the  four  probationary  years  preceding  their 
being  ordained  elders  or  presbyters.  Du- 
ring that  time  they  have  their  circuit  la- 
bours to  perform  ;  what  they  learn  is  put 
to  instant  use,  and  incorporated,  as  it 
were,  with  their  very  being.  Now,  this 
preparatory  course  has  no  tendency  to 
keep  down  the  eagerness  for  energetic 
preaching,  so  much  felt  by  men  who  re- 
gard themselves  as  called  by  God  to  preach 
his  Gospel,  but  which  is  so  much  restrain- 
ed by  the  precise  knowledge  and  artificial 
rules  of  eloquence  taught  in  colleges.  Be- 
sides, as  they  generally  preach  to  moder- 
ate assemblages,  and  these,  in  many  cases, 
mainly  composed  of  the  plainer  classes, 
they  are  far  less  apt  to  feel  embarrassed 
than  youths  who,  having  first  spent  sever- 
al years  at  a  college,  and  then  several 
more  at  a  theological  seminary,  have  ac- 
quired so  fastidious  a  taste,  and  have  be- 
come so  nervously  sensible  to  the  slightest 
deviations  from  the  strictest  rules  of  gram- 
mar and  rhetoric,  that  they  almost  dread 
to  speak  at  all,  lest  they  should  offend 
against  both.  But  the  grand  advantage  pos- 
sessed by  the  Methodist  itinerant  preach- 
er, and  one  which,  if  he  has  any  talent  at 
all,  he  cannot  fail  to  profit  by,  is,  that  he 
may  preach  sooner  or  later  in  many  or  all 
of  the  eight,  ten,  or  more  places  in  his  cir- 
cuit, the  discourse  with  which  he  sets  out, 
and  which  he  has  been  preparing  during 
the  intervals  of  repose  which  he  enjoys. 
This  frequent  repetition  of  the  same  ser- 
mon is  an  inestimable  means  of  improve- 
ment. Each  repetition  admits  of  some 
modification,  as  the  discourse  is  not  writ- 
ten out,  and  enables  the  preacher  to  im- 
prove what  seemed  faulty,  and  to  supply 
what  seemed  deficient  in  the  preceding 
effort.  No  men,  accordingly,  with  us  be- 
come readier  or  more  effective  speakers. 
Their  diction,  indeed,  may  not  always  be 
as  pure  as  that  of  men  who  have  spent 
several  years  in  the  schools  ;  yet  it  is  sur- 
prising with  what  propriety  vast  numbers 
of  them  express  themselves,  while  in  point 
of  forcible  and  effective  delivery  they  far 
surpass,  upon  the  whole,  preachers  who 
have  passed  through  the  colleges. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  Methodists 
applies  to  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians, 
a  body  of  Christians  which  we  shall  give 
some  account  of  hereafter,  and  which  is 
to  be  found  exclusively  in  the  West  and  in 
Texas.  Like  the  Methodists,  they  have 
circuit  or  itinerant  preachers,  and  about  an 
equal  proportion  of  their  ministers  have 
never  pursued  a  course  of  study  at  col- 
lege. It  may  be  applied,  also,  but  not  to 
the  same  extent,  to  what  is  called,  neither 
with  strict  propriety,  nor  always  in  kind- 
liness of  feeling,  the  "  uneducated"  por- 
tion of  Baptist  preachers.  They  have  not 
the  advantages  of  the  itineracy,  and  many 


192 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


of  them  are  too  much  occupied  with  their 
secular  pursuits  to  have  much  time  to 
spare  for  study.  Still,  among  them,  also, 
there  will  be  found  a  great  deal  of  ener- 
getic eloquence — rather  homely  at  times, 
yet  often  highly  effective  —  and  flowing 
from  a  mind  more  intent  upon  its  concep- 
tions than  upon  the  language  in  which 
they  are  to  be  clothed,  and  more  desirous 
of  producing  a  lasting  effect  on  the  under- 
standing and  hearts  of  the  hearers  than  of 
exciting  admiration  for  the  graces  of  a  fine 
style  and  elegant  delivery. 

Some  of  the  tourists  from  abroad  who 
have  visited  the  United  States  have  affect- 
ed to  despise  our  "  uneducated"  and  "  ig- 
norant" ministers,  and  have  thought  what 
they  call  the  "  ranting"  of  such  men  a  fit 
subject  of  diversion  for  themselves  and 
their  readers.  Such  authors  know  little 
of  the  real  worth  and  valuable  labours  of 
these  humble,  and,  in  comparison  with  such 
as  have  studied  at  colleges  and  universi- 
ties, unlettered  men.  Their  plain  preach- 
ing, in  fact,  is  often  far  more  likely  to  ben- 
efit their  usual  hearers*  than  would  that  of 
a  learned  doctor  of  divinity  issuing  from 
some  great  university.  Their  language, 
though  not  always  refined,  is  intelligible  to 
those  to  whom  it  is  addressed.  Their  il- 
lustrations may  not  be  classical,  but  they 
will  probably  be  drawn  either  from  the 
Bible  or  from  the  scenes  amid  which  their 
hearers  move,  and  the  events  with  which 
they  are  familiar ;  nor  would  the  critical 
knowledge  of  a  Porson,  or  the  vast  learn- 
ing of  a  Parr,  be  likely  to  make  them 
more  successful  in  their  work.  I  have 
often  heard  most  solemn  and  edifying  dis- 
courses from  such  men.  I  have  met  with 
them  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States ; 
and  though  some,  doubtless,  bring  discredit 
upon  the  ministry  by  their  ignorance,  their 
eccentricities,  or  their  incapacity,  and  do 
more  harm  than  good  to  the  cause  of  reli- 
gion, yet,  taken  as  a  whole,  they  are  a 
great  blessing  to  the  country.  A  Euro- 
pean who  should  denounce  the  United 
States  as  uncivilized,  and  the  inhabitants 
as  wretched,  because  he  does  not  every- 
where find  the  luxuries  and  refinements  of 
London  and  Paris,  would  display  no  more 
ignorance  of  the  world,  nor  a  greater  want 
of  common  sense,  than  were  he  to  despise 
the  plain  preaching  of  a  man  who  enters 
the  pulpit  with  a  mind  replete  with  Scrip- 
tural knowledge,  obtained  by  frequent  pe- 


*  Let  me  not  be  misunderstood.  I  would  not  for 
a  moment  convey  the  idea  that  the  people  who  at- 
tend the  preaching  of  the  non-classically  educated 
Methodist  and  Baptist  ministers  consist  only  of  the 
poor  and  uneducated.  On  the  contrary,  in  many 
places,  both  in  the  North  and  in  the  South,  they 
have  a  fair  share  of  the  most  intelligent  and  respect- 
able part  of  the  population  among  their  hearers.  At 
the  same  time,  it  has  ever  been  the  peculiar  glory  of 
the  former,  indeed,  of  both,  that  through  their  labours 
"  the  poor  have  the  Gospel  preached  to  them." 


rusal  of  the  Bible,  and  the  assistance  of 
valuable  commentaries,  besides  being  gen- 
erally well  informed,  and  with  a  heart  full 
of  love  to  God  and  concern  for  men's  souls, 
even  although  he  may  never  have  fre- 
quented the  groves  of  an  academy,  or 
studied  the  nicer  graces  of  oratory.  To 
the  labours  of  such  men  more  than  20,000 
neighbourhoods  in  the  United  States  are 
indebted  for  their  general  good  order,  tran- 
quillity, and  happiness,  as  well  as  for  the 
humble  but  sincere  piety  that  reigns  in 
many  a  heart,  and  around  many  a  fireside. 
To  them  the  country  owes  much  of  its 
conservative  character,  for  no  men  have 
inculcated  more  effectively  those  doctrines 
which  promote  obedience  to  law,  respect 
for  magistracy,  and  the  maintenance  of 
civil  government ;  and  never  more  than 
within  the  last  year  or  two,  during  which 
they  have  had  to  resist  the  anarchical 
principles  of  self-styled  reformers,  both 
religious  and  political.  No  men  are  more 
hated  and  reviled  by  these  demagogues, 
whose  projects,  I  rejoice  to  say,  find  com- 
paratively but  a  smail  and  decreasing  num- 
ber of  friends  and  advocates.  To  the  in- 
fluence of  the  pulpit,  and  that  of  the  reli- 
gious and  sound  part  of  the  political  press, 
we  owe  a  return  of  better  sentiments  in 
several  states,  in  relation  to  capital  punish- 
ments in  the  case  of  murder  in  its  highest 
degree,  and  the  more  frequent  condemna- 
tion and  execution  of  those  who  commit 
it.  And  in  a  late  insurrectionary  move- 
ment in  Rhode  Island,  the  leading  journals 
of  that  state  attest  that  the  clergy  of  all 
denominations  exerted  a  highly  salutary 
influence.* 

But  the  subject  of  preaching  ought  to  be 
viewed  in  its  highest  and  most  important 
aspect — that  of  the  salvation  of  souls. 

The  first  characteristic  of  American 
preaching,  I  should  say,  is  simplicity.  It 
is  simple  in  the  form  of  discourse  or  ser- 
mon, usually  adopted  by  the  better-educa- 
ted part  of  the  ministry.  The  most  natu- 
ral and  obvious  view  of  a  subject  is  pre- 
ferred to  the  far-fetched,  the  philosophical, 
it  may  be,  and  the  striking.  The  grand 
aim  of  our  preachers,  taken  as  a  body,  is 
to  present  the  true  meaning  of  a  text  rath- 
er than  to  produce  what  is  called  effect. 
Again,  preaching  in  the  United  States  is 
simple  in  point  of  language,  the  plain  and 
familiar  being  preferred  to  the  ornate  and 
rhetorical.  Such  of  our  preachers  as  wish 
to  be  perfectly  intelligible,  prefer  words  of 
Saxon  to  those  of  Latin  origin,  as  being 
better  understood  by  the  people.  Vigour, 
too,  is  preferred  to  beauty,  and  perspicuity 
to  embellishment.  Not  that  we  have  no 
preachers  whose  composition   is   ornate, 

*  "Nothing,"  says  the  Providence  Journal  of  July, 
1812,  "has  filled  the  enemies  of  law  and  order  wilh 
greater  rage  than  the  high  and  noble  stand  taken  by 
the  clergy  against  their  insurrectionary  doctrines." 


•Chap.  VI.] 


CHARACTER  OF  AMERICAN   PREACHING. 


193 


and  even  elegant,  but  I  speak  of  the  mass. 
Lastly,  our  preaching  is  simple  in  point  of 
delivery.  The  manner  of  our  preachers, 
their  gestures,  and  their  intonation,  must 
be  allowed  to  be  extremely  simple.  There 
is  little  of  the  rhetorician's  art  in  it,  little 
that  is  studied  and  theatrical.  There  may 
be  animation,  and  in  some  cases  even  vehe- 
mence, accompanied  with  a  loud  and  pow- 
erful utterance,  but  the  manner  remains 
simple — the  hearer's  attention  is  not  di- 
verted from  what  is  said  to  him  that  says 
it.  Truth,  accordingly,  has  a  better  chance, 
so  to  speak,  of  making  its  way  to  the  hearts 
of  the  audience,  than  when  announced  with 
all  the  fascinations  of  a  splendid  address 
and  captivating  manner.  Not  that  elo- 
quence is  unknown  or  undervalued,  but 
that  simplicity  of  delivery  predominates 
over  show,  and  the  preacher  would  rather 
carry  truth  home  to  his  hearers'  hearts 
than  extort  their  applause.  Nor  do  our 
ministers  affect  a  peculiar  manner  or  into- 
nation of  voice,*  as  is  the  case  in  some 
countries,  but  every  good  preacher  endeav- 
ours to  take  with  him  into  the  pulpit  what 
is  natural  and  habitual  to  him  in  that  re- 
spect. 

The  second  grand  characteristic  of 
American  preaching  lies  in  its  being  seri- 
ous and  earnest.  Thanks  be  to  God,  the 
preachers  of  our  evangelical  churches 
seem,  in  general,  to  be  truly  converted 
men,  and  preach  as  if  they  felt  the  infinite 
importance  of  what  they  say.  "  We  be- 
lieve, and  therefore  speak,"  seems  to  be 
the  mainspring  of  all  their^  endeavours, 
and  to  give  the  tone  to  all  their  preaching. 
They  feel  it  to  be  a  serious  office  to  speak 
to  dying  men  of  the  interests  of  their  im- 
mortal souls,  and  help  them  to  prepare 
for  death,  judgment,  and  eternity.  They 
would  recoil  from  the  task  under  an  over- 
whelming sense  of  its  awfulness,  were  it 
not  that  they  believe  themselves  called  to 
it  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  "  Wo  unto  me  if  I 
preach  not  the  Gospel,"  are  words  that  oft- 
en address  themselves  to  their  hearts,  and 
urge  them  to  the  faithful  discharge  of  their 
vows.  Can  we  wonder  that  the  preaching 
of  such  men  is  serious  and  earnest  1 

A  third  characteristic  of  American  preach- 
ing is  its  dwelling  much  upon  immediate  rec- 
onciliation with  God,  by  sincere  repentance 
towards  Him,  and  faith  towards  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Reconciliation  with  God ! 
that  is  the  great  duty  urged  by  the  Gospel, 
and  the  doing  of  that  duty  "  now,"  "  to-day," 
while  it  is  "  the  accepted  time,"  and  "  the 

*  Many  of  the  Methodist  and  Baptist  preachers  have 
more  of  what  may  be  called  English  intonation  than 
those  of  other  denominations.  This  may  doubtless 
be  ascribed  to  the  influence  of  some  leading  English 
preachers,  such  as  Bishops  Coke  and  Asbury  among 
the  former,  and  the  late  Dr.  Staughton  and  others 
among  the  latter.  This  I  mention  not  by  way  of 
disparagement,  but  solely  because  1  wish  to  state 
what  appears  to  me  to  be  a  real  peculiarity. 
N 


day  of  salvation,"  not  its  postponement  un- 
til to-morrow,  or  a  "  more  convenient  sea- 
son," is  what  is  mainly  urged  by  our  evan- 
gelical ministers  generally,  so  as  to  form 
a  prominent  characteristic  of  their  preach- 
ing.    This   it  is  which  communicates  to 
their  preaching  so  much  of  Richard  Bax- 
ter's style,  as  exhibited  in  his  writings. 
No  excuse,  no  delay  on  the  part  of  the 
unconverted  sinner  can  be  accepted  ;  the 
solemn  call  to  repent  and  seek  now  the 
salvation  of  his  never-dying  soul  is  made 
to  sound  in  his  ear,  and  no  peace  is  given 
until  he  has  not  only  heard,  but  obeyed  it. 
A    fourth    characteristic    of  American 
preaching  is  found  in  its  being  highly  doc- 
trinal.    This  is  particularly  the  case  with 
such    of  our    ministers    as    have    passed 
through  a  regular  course  of  classical  and 
theological  studies ;   and  of  these,  those 
who  write  and  read  their  discourses  in- 
dulge rather  more,  perhaps,  than  those  who 
speak  from  premeditation  merely,  in  what 
may  be  called  a  dogmatic  style,  using  the 
word  in  its  original  signification.     And  al- 
though with  those  who  have  not  pursued 
such  a  regular  course  of  study,  the  practi- 
cal and  hortatory  style  may  prevail  over 
the  doctrinal  and  exegetical,  yet  the  latter 
has   unquestionably  a  very  considerable 
place  in  their  sermons,  as  all  will  admit 
who  have  regularly  attended  such  preach- 
ing for  a  sufficient  time  to  enable  them  to 
judge  satisfactorily  on  the  subject.     Many 
of  our  pastors  expound  certain  portions  of 
the  Bible  in  order,  but  this  the  most  difficult, 
and  yet,  when  happily  done,  most  profita- 
ble of  all  methods  of  presenting  truth,  is  not, 
I  am  sorry  to  say,  so  common  as  it  ought 
to  be.     The  Bible-classes  may,  perhaps,  be 
considered  so  far  as  a  substitute  for  it,  and 
if  a  substitute  can  be  admitted  at  all,  they 
are  certainly  the  best  that  can  be  named. 

A  fifth  characteristic  of  our  preaching 
lies  in  its  being  systematic  or  consecutive ; 
words  which  make  farther  explanation  ne- 
cessary, as  neither  of  them  expresses  the 
idea  which  I  wish  to  convey.    What  I  mean 
is,  that  the  best  preaching  in  our  evangeli- 
cal churches  maintains  a  proper  connexion 
among  the  discourses  successively  deliv- 
ered from  the  same  pulpit,  instead  of  each 
presenting  a  separate  or  isolated  state- 
ment of  truth,  a  sermon  one  Sabbath  be- 
ing given  on  one  particular  subject,  on 
the  Sabbath  following  another  sermon  on  a 
totally  distinct  subject,  and  so  on  through- 
out the  year.     A  preacher  ought,  indeed, 
to  change  his  topics  according  to  the  cir- 
cumstances and  characters  of  his  hearers. 
But  there  is  such  a  thing  as  dwelling  on 
one  subject  in  all  its  bearings,  in  succes- 
sive discourses,  so  as  to  make   it  more 
thoroughly  understood,  and  convey  a  deep- 
er impression  than   could  otherwise   be 
done.     And  there  is  such  a  thing,  also,  as 
presenting  all  the  subjects  which  should 


194 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


constitute  the  themes  of  a  preacher's  dis- 
courses in  their  proper  connexion  with, 
and  relation  to,  one  another.  Preaching 
on  isolated  subjects,  without  any  connect- 
ing link,  and  of  which  no  better  account 
can  be  given  than  that  the  preacher  finds 
certain  topics  and  texts  easy  to  preach 
upon,  is  not  likely  to  do  much  good.  This 
is  not  what  men  do  when  they  would 
produce  a  deep  and  effectual  impression 
on  any  other  subject.  They  strive,  by  all 
possible  means,  to  present  it  in  all  its  as- 
pects and  bearings,  and  do  not  quit  one 
point  until  they  have  well  established  it. 
They  make  every  succeeding  statement 
and  argument  bear  upon  and  strengthen 
that  which  preceded,  and  in  this  way  they 
make  it  manifest  that  they  are  steadily 
tending  to  a  great  final  result,  from  which 
nothing,  not  even  want  of  systematic  pro- 
cess in  argumentation,  must  be  allowed 
for  a  moment  to  divert  them.  "  It  is  line 
upon  line,  line  upon  line ;  precept  upon 
precept,  precept  upon  precept,"  with  them  ; 
and  as  the  blacksmith  can  expect  to  make 
an  impression  upon  the  heated  iron  only 
by  directing  his  hammer  to  the  same  point 
and  its  immediate  vicinity  in  many  suc- 
cessive blows,  so  the  minister  does  not 
hope  for  success  in  opening  the  eyes  of. 
blind  sinners,  or  rightly  guiding  those  who 
are  scarcely  more  than  half  awake,  but  by 
oft-repeated  and  faithful  presentation  of 
the  same  truths  in  all  their  bearings.  This 
characteristic  can  hardly  be  called  a  pre- 
vailing one,  for,  alas  !  with  a  good  deal  of 
systematic  preaching,  we  have  still  too 
much,  even  among  our  settled  clergy,  of 
that  sort  which,  with  more  propriety  of 
idea  than  accuracy  of  expression,  has  been 
called  scattering. 

A  sixth  characteristic  of  American 
preaching  is  the  extent  to  which  it  may 
be  called  philosophical.  By  philosophical 
I  mean,  founded  on  a  knowledge  of  the 
faculties  and  powers  of  the  human  mind, 
and  of  the  principles  which  govern  its  oper- 
ations. Though  not  universal,  this  charac- 
teristic distinguishes  the  evangelical  cler- 
gy of  New-England  in  particular,  and  oth- 
ers who  have  devoted  much  of  their  time 
to  theology  as  a  study.  Much  that,  is  true, 
and  much,  also,  that  is  absurd,  has  been 
said  against  introducing  philosophy  into 
religion.  True  philosophy,  in  its  proper 
place,  is  a  valuable  auxiliary  or  handmaid, 
rather  than  an  enemy  to  theology ;  but 
when  she  ceases  to  be  a  servant  and  as- 
sumes the  mastery,  undertaking  that  for 
which  she  is  incompetent,  she  fails  in  do- 
ing the  good  she  might  otherwise  have 
done,  and  becomes  purely  mischievous.* 


A  seventh  characteristic  of  American 
preaching  is  its  directness.  This  distin- 
guishes our  preaching  so  generally,  that  it 
were  hard  to  say  which  of  the  evangelical 
denominations  has  most  of  it.  You  every- 
where find  it  the  preacher's  object,  first  of 
all,  to  be  perfectly  understood,  and  then  to 
preach  to  the  heart  and  conscience,  as 
well  as  to  the  understanding.  In  doing 
this  great  plainness  of  speech  is  used, 
and  care  taken  to  avoid  everything  by 
which  the  barbed  dart  may  be  arrested  be- 
fore it  reaches  the  heart  at  which  it  is 
aimed. 

An  eighth  characteristic  of  American 
preaching  is  its  faithfulness.  I  know  not 
how  often  I  have  been  asked  in  Europe 
whether  our  ministers  are  not  intimidated 
by  the  rich  and  influential  in  their  congre- 
gations who  may  dislike  the  truth.  The 
question  has  not  a  little  surprised  me,  for 
1  never  dreamed  that  the  courage  of  evan- 


*  "I  think,"  says  M.  de  Tocqueville,  "that  in 
no  country  in  the  civilized  world  is  less  attention 
paid  to  philosophy  than  in  the  United  States.  The 
Americans  have  no  philosophical  school  of  their  own ; 
and  they  care  but  little  for  all  the  schools  into  which 


Europe  is  divided,  the  very  names  of  which  are 
scarcely  known  to  them.    Nevertheless,  it  is  easy 
to  perceive  that  almost  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
United  States  conduct  their  understanding  in  the 
same  manner,  and  govern  it  by  the  same  rules ;  that 
is  to  say,  that  without  ever  having  taken  the  trouble 
to  define  the  rules  of  a  philosophical  method,  they 
are  in  possession  of  one,  common  to  the  whole  peo- 
ple."   I  do  not  know  when  I  ever  read  anything 
with  more  unmingled  astonishment  than  I  did  these 
opinions,  which  are  faithfully  transferred  from  the 
author's  original.     Certainly,  one  rarely  finds  such, 
an  acknowledgment  of  a  widely-existing  effect,  for 
which  the  proper  and  only  possible  cause  is  denied. 
The  fact  is,  that  in  few  countries  in  the  civilized, 
world  is  philosophy,  in  the  sense  in  which  this  word 
is  used  on  the  Continent,  viz.,  metaphysical  or  psy- 
chological science,  more  pursued,  at  least  to  all  prac- 
tical and  valuable  ends,  than  in  the  United  States- 
There  is  scarcely  a  college — at  least  a  Protestant 
one,  and  there  are  upward  of  eighty  such — in  which 
it  is  not  studied  with  no  little  care  by  the  students 
in  the  last  year  of  the  course.    In  addition  to  read- 
ing such  authors  as  Locke,  Reid,  Dugald  Stewart, 
Brown,  &c,  the  professor  of  that  department  gives 
lectures  or  explanations  of  the  text-book  employed. 
Thus  do  the  thousands  of  young  collegians  make 
considerable  proficiency  in  this  science,  especially 
in  its  more  popular  and  practical  aspects.    And  thus 
do  our  public  men,  our  professional  men,  all,  in  a 
word,  who  have  passed  through  college  (and  they 
are  the  men,  with  few  exceptions,  that  most  influ- 
ence the  public  mind),  become  acquainted  with  the 
principles  that  guide  the  operations  of  the  human 
mind.     There  is  not  a  country  in  the  world,  not  even 
excepting  Scotland  itself,  where  metaphysics  have 
so  much  influence  upon  preaching  as  in  New-Eng- 
land, where,  indeed,  they  have  sometimes  had  too 
much  influence.    We  have  not  in  the  United  States 
great  professors  who  occupy  themselves  with  no- 
thing but  philosophy,  and  who  have  rivalled  Kant, 
and  Hegel,  and  Schelling,  in  the  nature  of  their 
speculations ;  nor  is  it  likely  that  we  ever  shall  have 
such.     The  nature  of  our  Anglo-Saxon  mind  hardly 
admits  of  the  thing.     Besides,  we  have  too  much 
public  life,  and  too  much  to  engross  our  attention, 
to  allow  us  to  prosecute  extensively  impractical  spec- 
ulations, if  I  may  use  the  expression.     Nevertheless, 
we  have  a  few  men,  such  as  Mr.  Ralph  W.  Emer- 
son, of  Boston,  who  equal  Mr.  Carlyle  himself  in  ad- 
miration of  the  German  transcendentalists,  and  have, 
probably,  come  quite  as  near  to  understanding  them. 
— Democracy  in  America,  part  ii.,  chap.  i.  (Reeves's, 
translation),  p.  1. 


Chap.  VI] 


CHARACTER    OF  AMERICAN  PREACHING. 


195 


gelical  ministers  in  preaching  the  Gospel 
could  be  doubted.  Certainly  no  man  could 
have  such  a  doubt  after  witnessing  what  it 
has  been  my  lot  to  witness  in  all  parts  of 
the  United  States.  The  dependence  of  our 
ministers  upon  their  flocks  for  their  sala- 
ries seems  not  to  affect  in  the  least  their 
faithfulness  in  preaching  "  repentance  to- 
wards God,"  and  "  faith  towards  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  The  relation  that  subsists 
between  pastor  and  people  is  certainly  more 
intimate  and  kindly,  and  calls  for  more 
mutual  forbearance,  than  where  the  law 
makes  the  former  wholly  independent  of 
the  latter.  But  the  very  kindness,  tender- 
ness of  feeling,  and  respect  which  it  cre- 
ates, are  only  additional  motives  to  ren- 
der a  good  minister  faithful  to  the  souls  of 
those  with  whom  he  maintains  such  an  in- 
teresting relation,  and  who  show  him  so 
many  proofs  of  affection  as  a  faithful  pas- 
tor is  very  sure  to  receive  among  us.  Most 
certainly  facts  do  not  establish  the  supe- 
rior faithfulness  of  ministers  who  are  in- 
dependent of  their  flocks,  taken  as  a  body. 
On  the  contrary,  this  very  independence 
often  leads  to  indolence,  neglect,  and, 
sometimes,  even  to  insolence,  qualities 
which  it  ill  becomes  a  minister  of  Christ 
to  display,  and  which  are  utterly  incon- 
sistent with  the  Gospel.  And  it  may  safe- 
ly be  affirmed  that,  with  us,  the  great  ma- 
jority of  men  who  have  been  brought  up 
under  evangelical  preaching,  but  who  have 
not  yet  been  converted,  would  rather  have 
a  faithful  than  an  unfaithful  pastor.  They 
know  that  religion,  though  they  profess  it 
not,  is  of  vast  importance,  and  they  know 
well  the  difference  between  him  that 
preaches  "  smooth  things,"  and  him  that 
faithfully  declares  the  "  counsel  of  the 
Lord."  Not  only  does  their  conscience  ap- 
prove of  the  former,  and  not  the  latter,  but 
they  feel  that  there  is  far  more  prospect 
of  their  salvation  under  the  ministry  of 
the  one  than  of  the  other.  Besides,  other 
things  being  equal,  a  man  who  preaches 
faithfully  "  Christ  crucified"  is  sure  to 
prove,  in  the  end,  a  more  attractive  preach- 
er than  he  who  does  not.  For  what  theme 
can  ever  be  compared  with  that  of  the  love 
of  God  towards  sinners  of  mankind,  and 
the  gift  of  his  Son  to  redeem  them  from 
destruction  ?  Therefore,  if  a  man  wishes 
to  be  esteemed  and  supported  by  his  peo- 
ple, let  him  be  faithful  ;  that  is,  in  the 
sense  in  which  Paul  was  faithful,  who  was, 
also,  neither  rash  nor  unfeeling,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  prudent  and  mild,  and  strove 
to  commend  himself,  "  in  love,"  to  all  to 
whom  he  preached  the  "  unsearchable  rich- 
es of  the  Gospel." 

The  ninth  characteristic  of  American 
preaching  is,  that  it  is  eminently  practical. 
Not  only  are  the  unconverted  urged  to 
"  acquaint  themselves  with  God,  and  be  at 
peace,  that  thereby  good   may  come  to 


them,"  and  believers  exhorted  to  "  grow 
in  grace,  and  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,"  but  the  latter  are  also  urged, 
from  the  moment  of  their  conversion,  to 
commence  living  for  God,  and  for  the  sal- 
vation of  men.  The  doctrine  has  of  late 
years  been  more  and  more  preached,  that 
every  Christian,  be  his  sphere  in  life  what 
it  may,  is  under  obligation  to  live  for  the 
salvation  of  others ;  and  that  by  his  con- 
versation, by  his  holy  example,  as  well  as 
by  personal  sacrifices,  he  should  do  all  that 
he  can  to  promote  this  salvation  far  and 
near.  Blessed  be  God,  this  style  of  preach- 
ing is  not  without  effect.  It  is  the  cause, 
under  God's  blessing,  of  the  annually  in- 
creasing efforts  made  by  Christians  of  that 
land,  for  the  building  up  of  Christ's  king- 
dom, both  at  home  and  abroad. 

The  tenth  and  last  characteristic  of 
American  preaching  is,  that  it  speaks  much 
of  the  ivork  of  the  Spirit.  I  know  of  no  one 
idea  that  has  been  so  much  a  dominant  one 
in  the  American  churches  for  the  last  fifty 
years,  or,  rather,  for  the  last  100  years,  as 
that  of  the  importance  of  the  office  and 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  need  in 
which  the  world  lies  of  the  operations  of 
this  holy  Agent,  the  indispensableness  of 
his  co-operation  with  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel,  and  the  use  of  all  other  means  to> 
effect  the  salvation  of  men,  together  with 
the  gracious  promise  of  this  great  ascension 
gift  of  the  crucified  and  exalted  Saviour, 
are  themes  on  which  the  ministry  of  the 
evangelical  churches  in  America  often 
dwells,  and  not  in  vain. 

I  have  now  said  what  I  have  deemed  ne- 
cessary respecting  the  character  of  Amer- 
ican preaching.  The  limits  of  this  work 
have  not  permitted  me  to  dwell  on  these 
topics,  nor  is  it  necessary.  All  that  I  have 
aimed  at  has  been  to  give  the  reader  what 
I  deem  some  just  conceptions  on  a  subject 
in  which  I  supposed  he  might  be  interested. 

We  come  now  to  the  consideration  of  the 
question  of  revivals  of  religion  in  America, 
a  subject  of  the  greatest  importance,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  attended  with  no  ordinaiy 
difficulties  in  the  minds,  perhaps,  of  some 
into  whose  hands  this  book  may  fall.  I 
would,  however,  most  respectfully  call  the 
attention  of  such,  and,  indeed,  of  all  who 
may  read  this  volume,  to  the  chapter  which 
follows.  Though  long,  it  will  well  reward 
them  for  any  attention  they  may  bestow 
upon  it.  I  know  not  where  the  whole  sub- 
ject has  been  so  well  presented  in  any 
language,  and  cannot  but  hope  that,  with 
God's  blessing,  it  will  prove  eminently  use- 
ful. It  confirms  the  opinions  respecting; 
American  preaching  which  I  have  given  in 
the  preceding  pages.  The  distinguished 
friend  and  professor  to  whom  I  am  indebt- 
ed for  it,  and  of  whom  I  have  spoken  in  the 
introduction,  is  better  qualified  by  his  po- 
sition, and  by  his  experience,  to  write  such 


196 

an  article  than  any  other  man  I  know  of  in 
the  United  States.  God  grant  that  the  day 
may  speedily  arrive  when  the  dispensation 
of  the  Spirit  will  be  better  understood  and 
appreciated  in  all  parts  of  Christendom 
than  it  is  at  present ;  and  when  the  abun- 
dant gift  of  this  blessed  Agent  will  fill  the 
churches  with  light,  and  life,  and  holiness. 
Nowhere,  as  it  seems  to  me,  is  the  Holy 
Spirit  honoured  as  he  ought  to  be,  and  must 
be,  before  the  world  will  be  converted.  This 
is  true  of  even  the  best  portions  of  the  Prot- 
estant churches  ;  while  as  to  some  of  the 
rest,  as  well  as  the  Roman  Catholics  in 
mass,  it  would  seem  as  if  they  had  not  yet 
"heard  whether  there  be  any  Holy  Spirit." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

REVIVALS    OF    RELIGION. 

Extraordinary  seasons  of  religious  inter- 
est, denominated  Revivals  of  Religion,  have 
existed  in  the  American  churches  from  a 
very  early  period  of  their  history.  The 
cause  of  this  peculiarity  in  the  dispensation 
of  divine  grace  may  be  traced,  in  part,  to 
the  peculiar  character  and  circumstances 
of  the  first  settlers  of  the  country.  They 
were  English  Puritans,  who  had  suffered 
the  severest  persecution  for  their  princi- 
ples in  their  native  land,  and  who  fled  into 
the  wilderness  to  enjoy  those  principles 
unmolested,  and  to  carry  them  out  in  their 
full  extent. 

The  leading  point  in  controversy  between 
our  fathers  and  the  English  government 
was  freedom  of  worship ;  the  right  to  have 
the  Gospel  preached  among  them,  in  its 
most  searching  application  to  the  con- 
science and  the  heart,  "  without  human 
mixtures  or  impositions."  To  secure  this 
privilege,  they  willingly  "  endured  the  loss 
of  all  things,"  and  it  was  therefore  natural 
that  they  should  prize  it  highly.  Accord- 
ingly, the  attachment  of  the  first  settlers  of 
New-England  to  the  ordinances  of  public 
worship,  and  especially  the  reliance  they 
placed  on  "  the  preaching  of  the  word"  as 
the  chief  instrument,  under  God,  for  the 
conversion  of  their  children  and  depend- 
ants, were  among  the  most  striking  traits 
in  their  character.  Strict  as  they  were, 
even  to  sternness,  in  family  discipline ;  lit- 
erally as  they  obeyed  the  injunction, "  Thou 
shalt  teach  these  things  diligently  unto  thy 
children,  and  shalt  talk  of  them  when  thou 
sittest  in  thy  house,  and  when  thou  walk- 
est  in  the  way,  and  when  thou  liest  down, 
and  when  thou  risest  up,"  they  still  felt 
that  it  is  the  truth  pre-eminently,  as  dis- 
pensed in  "  the  great  congregation,"  under 
the  combined  influence  of  awakened  sym- 
pathy and  awe  of  the  divine  presence, 
which  is  made  by  the  Holy  Spirit  "  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation."     This  feel- 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


ing  modified  all  their  habits  and  institu- 
tions as  a  people.  It  made  them  settle  in 
villages  around  their  places  of  worship,  and 
not,  like  their  Southern  neighbours,  upon 
scattered  plantations  ;  it  led  them  to  sup- 
port two  religious  teachers  for  each  of  their 
infant  churches  ;  it  founded  colleges  for  the 
preparation  of  a  ministry  adequate  to  these 
high  duties  ;  it  established  week-day  lec- 
tures, on  which  those  who  lived  in  the  out- 
er settlements,  at  the  distance  of  six  or 
eight  miles,  felt  it  a  privilege  and  a  duty 
regularly  to  attend ;  it  pervaded,  in  short, 
all  the  arrangements  of  society,  and  gave  a 
prominence  to  preaching,  a  disposition  to 
multiply  religious  meetings,  and  a  reliance 
upon  this  mode  of  urging  truth  upon  the 
conscience,  greater,  perhaps,  than  has  ever 
existed  among  any  other  people. 

Another  trait  in  the  character  of  the  first 
settlers  of  New-England,  in  common  with 
their  brethren  at  home,  was  a  strong  faith 
and  expectation  of  special  answers  to  pray- 
er. The  English  Puritans  never  regarded 
prayer  as  a  mere  means  of  grace,  but  (what 
it  truly  is)  as  a  means  of  moving  God,  of 
inducing  him  to  grant  what  he  could  not 
otherwise  be  expected  to  bestow.  Nor  did 
they  stop  here.  They  did  not  expect  mere- 
ly the  blessing  of  God  in  general  on  the  re- 
quests they  made,  but  direct  and  specific 
answers,  according  to  their  need,  in  every 
pressing  emergency.  This  strong  faith  in 
the  efficacy  of  prayer  the  first  settlers  of 
New-England  carried  with  them  when  they 
fled  into  the  wilderness.  It  was  their  sup- 
port and  consolation  under  all  the  trials  of 
famine,  pestilence,  and  savage  warfare. 
They  felt  that  special  and  extraordinary 
answers  were  often  vouchsafed  them  when 
they  cried  to  God  ;  that  there  were  periods 
in  their  history  when  his  arm  was  made 
bare  for  their  deliverance,  in  a  manner 
scarcely  less  remarkable  than  if  He  had  in- 
terposed by  direct  miracle  ;  and  the  result 
was,  that  the  spirit  of  the  early  New-Eng- 
land Christians  was  emphatically  a  spirit 
of  prayer ;  which  led  them  to  the  throne  of 
grace,  with  the  highest  confidence  of  being 
heard,  on  every  occasion  of  especial  inter- 
est to  themselves,  their  families,  and  the 
Church. 

To  see  the  connexion  of  these  two  traits 
of  character  with  the  spirit  of  revivals,  we 
have  only  to  consider  the  influence  they 
would  naturally  exert  at  one  of  the  most 
interesting  crises  which  can  ever  happen  to 
a  minister  and  his  church — I  mean  the  com- 
mencement of  increased  thoughtfulness 
among  the  unconverted  part  of  the  con- 
gregation. Such  seasons  exist,  at  times, 
in  every  place  where  the  Gospel  is  faithful- 
ly preached.  Some  alarming  providence, 
some  general  calamity  which  weakens  for 
a  time  the  fascination  of  worldly  things, 
some  impressive  sermon,  some  instances 
of  sudden  conversion,  may  strike  upon  the 


Chap.  VII.] 


REVIVALS   OF  RELIGION. 


197 


consciences  of  considerable  numbers  at 
once,  and  awaken  up  tbat  latent  sense  of 
guilt  and  danger,  which  it  is  impossible  for 
the  most  thoughtless  wholly  to  suppress. 
At  such  a  period,  how  has  many  a  pastor 
felt,  both  in  Europe  and  America,  that  if  he 
could  then  enjoy  the  hearty  co-operation 
and  fervent  prayers  of  the  whole  body  of  his 
church ;  if  he  could  draw  the  impenitent 
around  him  in  more  frequent  meetings,  and 
hold  their  minds  fixed  in  the  steady  and 
prolonged  contemplation  of  divine  truth, 
while  the  world  was  shut  out  from  view, 
and  the  seriousness  of  one  might  spread  by 
contact  till  it  reached  the  hearts  of  many  ; 
how  has  he  felt,  that,  by  the  blessing  of 
God,  this  interest  in  religion  might  extend 
throughout  the  whole  congregation  ;  might 
rise  to  deep  anxiety  and  pungent  convic- 
tion ;  that  the  Holy  Spirit  might  be  present 
to  renew  the  hearts  of  many ;  and  that 
more  might  be  done  for  the  salvation  of  his 
people  in  a  few  weeks  or  months,  than,  un- 
der ordinary  circumstances,  in  as  many 
years  !  And  what  would  this  be,  if  his  de- 
sires were  realized,  but  a  revival  of  religion, 
an  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  a  re- 
sult of  the  prayers  and  efforts  of  the 
people  of  God?  Now  I  need  not  say  how 
entirely  the  early  settlers  of  New-England 
were  prepared,  by  the  traits  of  character 
described  above,  to  enter  at  once  on  this 
very  course  of  action.  Prayer  and  preach- 
ing were  the  living  principle  of  their  insti- 
tutions ;  special  prayer  upon  special  emer- 
gencies, with  the  confident  expectation  of 
direct  and  specific  answers  ;  preaching,  the 
most  plain  and  pungent,  enforcing  those 
peculiar  doctrines  of  grace  which  humble 
man  and  exalt  God,  and  which  have  in 
every  age  been  made  powerful  to  the  "pul- 
ling down  of  strongholds."  There  was 
much,  also,  in  the  state  of  their  infant  settle- 
ments to  favour  the  desired  result.  They 
were  a  world  within  themselves,  cut  off  by 
their  distance  and  poverty  from  most  of  the 
alluring  objects  which  seize  on  the  hearts 
of  the  unconverted  in  a  more  advanced 
state  of  society.  They  were  all  of  one 
faith;  there  was  none  among  them  to  ques- 
tion or  deny  the  necessity  of  a  work  of  the 
Spirit ;  and  the  minds  of  their  children 
were  prepared,  by  their  early  religious 
training,  to  bow  submissive  under  the  sa- 
cred influence.  In  these  circumstances, 
how  natural  was  it  to  multiply  the  means 
of  grace  upon  any  appearance  of  increased 
seriousness ;  to  press  with  redoubled  zeal 
and  frequency  to  the  throne  of  God  in  pray- 
er ;  to  urge  their  children  and  dependants, 
with  all  the  fervour  of  Christian  affection, 
to  seize  the  golden  opportunity,  and  make 
their  "  calling  and  election  sure  ;"  to  re- 
move, as  far  as  possible,  every  obstacle  of 
business  or  amusement  out  of  the  way; 
and  to  concentrate  the  entire  interest  of 
their  little  communities  on  the  one  object 


of  the  soul's  salvation !  How  natural  that 
these  labours  and  prayers  should  be  bless- 
ed of  God ;  that  the  truth  preached  under 
these  circumstances  should  be  made,  like 
"  the  fire  and  the  hammer,  to  break  in  pie- 
ces the  flinty  rock  ;"  that  extraordinary  ef- 
fusions of  the  Holy  Spirit  should  be  grant- 
ed ;  that  there  should  be  an  "  awakening," 
as  it  was  then  called,  or,  in  modern  lan- 
guage, a  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION  ! 

That  such  was  actually  the  result  in  nu- 
merous instances  we  have  the  fullest  evi- 
dence. The  celebrated  Jonathan  Edwards, 
author  of  the  "  Treatise  on  the  Will,"  states 
that  his  grandfather,  who  preceded  him  as 
pastor  of  the  church  in  Northampton,  Mas- 
sachusetts, was  favoured  during  his  minis- 
try with  five  seasons  of  this  kind,  which  he 
called  his  "harvests,"  occurring  at  various 
intervals  during  the  space  of  forty  years. 
His  father,  he  also  says,  had  four  or  five 
similar  periods  of  "  refreshing  from  on 
high"  among  the  people  of  his  charge  ; 
and  he  adds,  that  such  had  been  the  case 
with  many  other  of  the  early  ministers ; 
that  no  one  could  tell  when  awakenings 
commenced  in  New-England ;  that  they 
must  have  been  very  nearly  coeval  with  its 
first  settlement. 

Some  of  the  States  farther  South  were 
settled,  to  a  limited  extent,  by  Presbyteri- 
ans from  the  west  of  Scotland  and  the  north 
of  Ireland,  who  had  also  suffered  persecu- 
tion. Many  of  these  had  the  same  general 
traits  of  character,  and  especially  the  same 
absorbing  interest  in  religion,  with  their 
New-England  brethren.  In  addition  to  this, 
they  had  brought  with  them  the  cherished 
tradition  of  several  remarkable  outpourings 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  their  native  land,  at 
Kilsyth,  at  Stewarton,  at  Irvine,  at  the  Kirk 
of  Shotts,  and  in  the  county  of  Antrim, 
which  led  them  to  pray  for  and  expect  sim- 
ilar dispensations  of  the  Spirit  to  their  in- 
fant churches.  These,  at  a  later  period, 
shared  largely  in  the  influences  of  divine 
grace,  and  handed  down  the  spirit  of  revi- 
vals to  their  descendants. 

The  early  awakenings,  mentioned  above, 
seem  to  have  been  generally  of  a  calm 
and  silent  character ;  and  it  rarely  happen- 
ed that  two  congregations  in  the  same 
neighbourhood  were  visited  at  the  same 
time.  In  the  year  1735,  a  remarkable 
change  took  place  in  this  respect.  An  in- 
creased power,  and  wider  extent,  were 
given  to  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit :  a 
large  tract  of  country  became  in  this  and 
the  following  year  the  seat  of  numerous 
awakenings,  which  about  this  time  took 
the  name  of  revivals.  As  this  forms  an 
important  epoch  in  the  history  of  our  revi- 
vals, I  shall  dwell  upon  it  somewhat  at 
large,  and  then  trace  more  briefly  the  prog- 
ress of  these  works  of  grace  down  to  the 
present  time. 

The  revival  of  1735  commenced  at  North- 


198 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


ampton,  Massachusetts,  under  the  preach- 
ing of  Jonathan  Edwards,  mentioned  above. 
The  town,  at  an  earlier  period,  had  enjoy- 
ed five  awakenings ;  but  at  this  time  reli- 
gion had  suffered  a  very  great  decline,  not 
only  in  Northampton,  but  in  New-England 
at  large.  A  pernicious  practice  had  been 
gradually  introduced  of  admitting  persons 
to  full  communion  in  the  Church  on  the 
ground  of  a  blameless  external  deportment, 
•without  strict  inquiry  into  their  religious 
experience,  or  decisive  evidence  of  renew- 
ing grace.  The  disastrous  consequences 
•were  soon  felt.  The  tone  of  spiritual  feel- 
ing was  lowered  in  the  churches  by  the 
admission  of  many  who  had  a  "  name  to 
live,  but  were  dead."  Prayer  and  effort  for 
the  salvation  of  the  impenitent  had  greatly 
decreased  ;  and,  as  a  natural  consequence, 
there  had  been  for  more  than  thirty  years 
a  very  marked  suspension  of  divine  influ- 
ence throughout  New-England. 

The  preaching  of  Mr.  Edwards  which 
gave  rise  to  this  revival,  like  all  preaching 
■which  prepares  the  way  for  extensive  ref- 
ormations, was  doctrinal  in  its  chai'acter. 
He  dwelt  with  great  force  of  argument  and 
closeness  of  application  on  the  leading 
doctrines  of  grace — which  had  begun  to 
lose  their  power  in  the  prevailing  declen- 
sion— justification  by  faith  alone,  the  neces- 
sity of  the  Spirit's  influences,  and  kindred 
topics. 

Under  such  preaching,  in  connexion  with 
a  sudden  and  alarming  providence,  in  the 
beginning  of  1735,  a  solemn,  and  very  soon 
an  overwhelming  interest  in  religious  truth, 
pervaded  the  whole  town.     For  the  space 
of  six  months,  the  revival  went  on  with  a 
power  and   extent   never  before   known. 
Hardly  a  family  could  be  found  in  the  place 
in  which  there  were  not  one  or  more  under 
conviction  of  sin,  or  rejoicing  in  hope.    So 
entire  was  the  absorption  in  the  interests 
of  the  soul,  that  a  report  went  abroad  that 
the  people  of  Northampton  had  abandoned 
all  worldly  employments,  and  given  them- 
selves wholly  up  to  the  pursuit  of  eternal 
'  life  ;  and  though  this  was  an  exaggeration, 
it  is  true  that  Mr.  Edwards  found  it  neces- 
sary to  remind  some  of  his  flock  that  their 
secular  duties  were  not  to  be  neglected. 
The  enlightened  character  of  the  popula- 
tion, all  of  whom  were  well  educated  (all, 
even  the  poorest,  being  taught  in  the  same 
schools   at   the   public  expense),  guarded 
them  effectually  against  fanaticism  ;  while, 
at  the  same  time,  the  strength  of  emotion 
which  prevailed,  the  distress  under  a  sense 
of  sin,  and  the  joy  in  giving  the  heart  to 
God,  were,  in  most  cases,  far  greater  than 
in  the  early  awakenings.     The  work  was 
confined  to  no  class  or  age.     Ten  persons 
above  ninety,  and  more  than  fifty  above 
forty  years  of  age  ;  nearly  thirty  between 
ten  and  fourteen,  and  one  of  only  four,  be- 
came, in  the  view  of  Mr.  Edwards,  subjects 


of  renewing  grace.  More  than  300  were 
added  to  the  Church  as  the  fruits  of  this 
revival,  making  the  whole  number  of  com- 
municants about  620,  being  nearly  the  en- 
tire adult  population  of  the  town,  which 
consisted  of  200  families.  I  will  only  add, 
that  Mr.  Edwards's  well-known  principles 
on  the  subject  led  him  to  guard  his  peo- 
ple, throughout  the  revival,  with  the  most 
watchful  care,  against  hasty  and  delusive 
hopes  of  having  experienced  renewing 
grace.  He  conversed  with  each  individual 
separately,  not  only  while  under  conviction 
of  sin,  but  in  repeated  instances  after  the 
supposed  change  of  heart  took  place ; 
pointing  out  the  evidences  and  nature  of 
true  piety  ;  warning  them  against  self-de- 
ception, and  leading  them  to  the  strictest 
examination  into  their  spiritual  state.  Such 
has  been  the  course  pursued  in  the  New- 
England  churches  generally,  down  to  the 
present  day  ;  and  the  consequence  has 
been,  that  neither  in  that  revival,  nor  in 
most  of  our  well-conducted  revivals,  has 
there  been  reason  to  suppose  that  more 
persons  were  self-deceived  than  in  the 
ordinary  accessions  to  the  Church  at  times 
of  no  prevailing  religious  concern. 

The  scenes  presented  in  this  work  of 
grace  were  so  striking  and  wonderful  as  to 
awaken  the  liveliest  interest  in  the  whole 
country  round.  Many  flocked  to  North- 
ampton from  the  impulse  of  curiosity,  or 
even  worse  motives  ;  not  a  few  of  whom, 
struck  with  the  order,  solemnity,  and 
strength  of  feeling  which  they  everywhere 
witnessed,  and  cut  to  the  heart  by  the 
powerful  appeals  of  Mr.  Edwards  in  the 
meetings  they  attended,  were  themselves 
brought  under  conviction  of  sin.  Many  of 
these  gave  evidence  of  genuine  repentance 
after  they  returned  home,  and  did  much  to 
extend  the  work  into  the  places  where 
they  belonged.  Members  of  the  neighbour- 
ing churches,  also,  and  ministers  of  the 
Gospel  from  parts  more  remote,  resorted 
thither  to  witness  the  triumphs  of  redeem- 
ing grace  ;  to  catch  the  spirit  of  the  revival, 
and  bear  it — a  spirit  of  hope,  and  prayer, 
and  fervent  effort — to  the  towns  where 
they  resided.  The  blessing  of  God,  in  many 
instances,  went  with  them  ;  the  work 
spread  from  place  to  place,  until,  in  less 
than  a  year,  ten  of  the  adjacent  towns  in 
Massachusetts,  and  seventeen  in  Connec- 
ticut, lying  directly  south  of  them,  were 
favoured  with  an  outpouring  of  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  and  some  remote  places  were  vis- 
ited in  other  states,  where  settlements  had 
been  made  by  emigrants  from  New-Eng- 
land, or  by  the  Scottish  Presbyterians  spo- 
ken of  above.  Many  thousands  gave  evi- 
dence in  their  subsequent  lives  of  having 
experienced  a  genuine  conversion  in  this 
work  of  grace. 

In  1740,  revivals  commenced  anew  at 
Northampton,  Boston,  and  many  other  pla- 


Chap.  VII.] 


REVIVALS    OF    RELIGION. 


199 


ces,  very  nearly  at  the  same  time,  and 
spread  within  eighteen  months  throughout 
all  the  English  colonies.  For  some  time, 
this  appears  to  have  been,  to  an  unusual 
degree,  a  silent,  powerful,  and  glorious 
work  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  An  eyewitness 
states,  under  date  of  May,  1741,  that  from 
Philadelphia  to  the  remotest  settlements 
beyond  Boston,  a  distance  of  nearly  500 
miles,  there  was  in  most  places  more  or 
less  concern  for  the  soul.  "  Whole  col- 
leges are  under  conviction,  and  many  sa- 
vingly converted.  Our  minister  (Mr.  Pem- 
berton,  of  New-York),  being  sent  for  to 
Yale  College  on  account  of  the  many  dis- 
tressed persons  there,  in  his  going  and 
coming  preached  twice  a  day  on  the  road, 
and  even  children  followed  him  to  his 
lodgings,  weeping  and  anxiously  concerned 
about  the  salvation  of  their  souls."  At  a 
later  period,  however,  some  were  unhap- 
pily betrayed  into  intemperate  zeal,  which 
called  forth  opposition,  and  produced  great 
excitement,  and  contention.  Mr.  Edwards 
came  forward  with  his  usual  ability  to  de- 
fend the  work,  and,  at  the  same  time,  re- 
press undue  excesses.  One  hundred  and 
sixty  of  the  most  respectable  ministers  of 
New-England,  New- York,  and  New-Jer- 
sey, joined  in  a  public  attestation  to  its 
genuineness  and  purity  in  most  places, 
while  they  united  with  Mr.  Edwards  in 
condemning  the  improprieties  which  had 
occurred  in  too  many  instances.  But  a 
spirit  of  jealousy  and  strife  was  engen- 
dered, which  is  always  fatal  to  the  progress 
of  a  revival.  It  therefore  terminated  in 
the  year  1743.  Notwithstanding  these  un- 
fortunate admixtures  of  human  imperfec- 
tion, the  work,  as  a  whole,  was  most  evi- 
dently shown  by  its  results  to  have  been 
of  God.  Those  who  had  the  best  means 
of  judging,  estimated  the  number  of  true 
converts,  as  proved  by  their  subsequent 
lives,  at  30,000  in  New-England  alone,  at  a 
time  when  the  whole  population  was  but 
300,000  ;  besides  many  thousands  more 
among  the  Presbyterians  of  New- York, 
New-Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  more 
southern  settlements. 

It  will  interest  the  reader  to  know,  that 
about  this  time  there  was  an  outpouring  of 
the  Spirit  upon  one  of  our  Indian  tribes, 
corresponding  exactly  in  its  character  and 
effects  to  the  widely-extended  work  of 
grace  among  the  whites. 

In  June,  1745,  David  Brainard,  who  has 
been  so  extensively  known  for  his  piety 
and  missionary  zeal,  began  to  labour  among 
a  small  collection  of  Indians  in  New-Jer- 
sey. For  the  first  six  weeks,  they  mani- 
fested such  entire  indifference  and  stupid 
unconcern,  that  he  was  about  to  leave 
them,  in  despair,  when  he  was  somewhat 
encouraged  by  the  conversion  of  his  inter- 
preter. The  interest  with  which  this  man 
now   entered    into   the   subject,  and   the 


warmth  and  unction  with  which  he  trans- 
lated Mr.  Brainard's  discourses,  struck  the 
Indians  with  surprise,  and  arrested  their 
attention.  "  On  the  eighth  of  August," 
says  Mr.  Brainard  in  his  journal  (which  I 
slightly  abridge),  "  I  preached  to  the  Indi- 
ans, now  about  sixty-five  in  number.  There 
was  much  visible  concern  among  them 
when  I  discoursed  publicly  ;  but  afterward, 
when  I  spoke  to  one  and  another  particu- 
larly, the  power  of  God  seemed  to  descend 
upon  them  like  '  a  mighty  rushing  wind.' 
Almost  all  persons,  of  all  ages,  were  bowed 
down  with  concern  together,  and  were 
scarcely  able  to  withstand  the  shock.  Old 
men  and  women,  who  had  been  drunken 
wretches  for  many  years,  and  some  chil- 
dren, appeared  in  distress  for  their  souls. 
One  who  had  been  a  murderer,  a  poivow  or 
conjurer,  and  a  notorious  drunkard,  was 
brought  to  cry  for  mercy  writh  many  tears. 
A  young  Indian  woman,  who,  I  believe, 
never  before  knew  that  she  had  a  soul, 
had  come  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  She 
called  on  me  on  her  way,  and  when  I  told 
her  that  I  meant  presently  to  preach  to  the 
Indians,  she  laughed,  and  seemed  to  mock. 
I  had  not  proceeded  far  in  my  public  dis- 
course when  she  felt  effectually  that  she 
had  a  soul ;  and  before  the  discourse  closed, 
was  so  distressed  with  concern  for  her 
soul's  salvation,  that  she  seemed  like  one 
pierced  through  with  a  dart."  Such  scenes 
were  repeated  in  a  number  of  instances 
during  the  following  eight  weeks.  Some 
months  after,  in  reviewing  the  events  of 
this  revival,  he  says,  "  This  surprising 
concern  was  never  excited  by  any  ha- 
rangues of  terror,  but  always  appeared  most 
remarkable  when  I  insisted  on  the  com- 
passion of  a  dying  Saviour,  the  plentiful 
provisions  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  free  offer 
of  divine  grace  to  needy  sinners.  The  ef- 
fects have  been  very  remarkable.  I  doubt 
not  that  many  of  these  people  have  gained 
more  doctrinal  knowledge  of  divine  truth 
since  I  visited  them  in  June  last,  than 
could  have  been  instilled  into  their  minds 
by  the  most  diligent  use  of  proper  and  in- 
structive means  for  whole  years  together 
without  such  a  divine  influence.  They 
seem  generally  divorced  from  their  drunk- 
enness, which  is  '  the  sin  that  easily  besets 
them.'  A  principle  of  honesty  and  justice 
appears  among  them,  and  they  seem  con- 
cerned to  discharge  their  old  debts,  which 
they  have  neglected,  and,  perhaps,  scarcely 
thought  of  for  years.  Love  seems  to  reign 
among  them,  especially  those  who  have 
given  evidence  of  having  passed  through  a 
saving  change.  Their  consolations  do  not 
incline  them  to  lightness,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, are  attended  with  solemnity,  and 
often  with  tears  and  apparent  brokenness 
of  heart."  After  some  months  of  proba- 
tion, he  baptized  forty-seven  out  of  less 
than  100,  who  composed  the   settlement. 


200 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


Surely  we  may  unite  with  him  in  saying, 
"  I  think  there  are  here  all  the  evidences 
of  a  remarkable  work  of  grace  among  the 
Indians  which  can  reasonably  be  expect- 
ed." 

The  fifty  years  that  followed  were  years 
of  war  and  civil  commotion  ;  first  in  a  con- 
flict of  nearly  twenty  years  between  the 
English  and  French  for  ascendency  in 
North  America,  and  afterward  in  a  strug- 
gle of  the  colonies  for  independence,  and 
the  formation  of  a  Federal  Government. 
During  this  long  period  the  country  was 
kept  in  a  state  of  perpetual  agitation,  under 
the  influence  of  passions  hostile  to  the  prog- 
ress of  spiritual  religion  in  any  form,  and 
peculiarly  hostile  to  the  prevalence  of  any 
extended  work  of  grace.  Revivals,  how- 
ever, did  not  wholly  cease,  as  might  rea- 
sonably have  been  expected.  On  the  con- 
trary, I  have  been  struck  with  surprise,  in 
looking  over  the  accounts  of  that  wide- 
spread work  of  grace  which  soon  after 
commenced,  to  see  in  how  many  instances 
they  point  back  to  some  preceding  season 
of  spiritual  refreshing  during  those  fifty 
years  of  war  and  civil  strife. 

The  period  just  referred  to,  of  increased 
influence  from  on  high,  commenced  at  the 
close  of  the  last  century,  and  has  often 
been  styled  the  era  of  modern  revivals.  Ow- 
ing to  its  importance  in  this  character,  I 
shall  dwell  upon  it  somewhat  more  fully, 
and  shall  then  turn  to  other  topics  which 
demand  our  attention.  It  was  preceded 
by  a  spirit  of  fervent  prayer  and  deep  so- 
licitude among  Christians,  on  account  of 
the  growing  tendency  in  our  country  to  in- 
fidel principles.  For  this  a  preparation 
had  been  made  by  the  crimes  and  vices  of 
a  long-protracted  war ;  and  the  breaking 
out  of  the  French  Revolution  had  given  to 
the  enemies  of  religion  the  most  confident 
expectations  of  a  speedy  triumph.  The 
minds  of  multitudes  had  become  unsettled. 
Wild  and  vague  expectations  were  every- 
where entertained,  especially  among  the 
young,  of  a  new  order  of  things  about  to 
commence,  in  which  Christianity  would  be 
laid  aside  as  an  obsolete  system.  The 
people  of  God,  under  these  circumstances, 
were  driven  to  the  throne  of  grace  with 
redoubled  fervour  of  supplication,  that 
while  the  enemy  came  in  like  a  flood,  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  would  lift  up  a  standard 
against  him.  Another  subject  of  solici- 
tude was  the  religious  wants  of  our  new 
settlements,  which  began  at  this  time  to 
spread  abroad  in  the  wilderness,  to  an  un- 
paralleled extent.  There  was  every  reason 
to  fear  that,  if  left  to  themselves,  in  the 
rapidity  of  their  progress,  they  would  leave 
behind  them  the  institutions  of  the  Gospel. 
This  gave  rise  to  a  missionary  spirit  in  the 
older  states,  which  has  been  the  salvation 
of  that  growing  part  of  our  country.  Mas- 
sachusetts   and    Connecticut,   especially, 


from  which  emigrants  by  tens  of  thousands 
were  going  forth  every  year,  entered  into 
this  cause  with  the  liveliest  interest.  Large 
contributions  were  made  from  time  to  time 
by  the  churches  ;  and  as  regular  mission- 
aries could  not  be  procured  in  sufficient 
numbers,  many  of  the  settled  clergy  were 
induced,  by  the  exigency  of  the  case,  to 
leave  their  flocks  under  the  care  of  the 
neighbouring  pastors,  and  perform  long 
tours  of  missionary  labour  in  the  new 
states. 

The  spirit  thus  awakened  of  more  fer- 
vent prayer  to  God,  and  more  active  zeal 
in  his  service,  was  followed  by  the  divine 
blessing.  A  number  of  churches  in  the  in- 
terior of  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts 
were  favoured,  in  1797,  with  an  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  gradually  spread 
into  many  of  the  neighbouring  towns.  The 
utmost  care  was  taken  to  guard,  from  the 
first,  against  any  recurrence  of  that  spirit 
of  intemperate  zeal  which  had  brought  re- 
proach, to  some  extent,  on  the  revival  of 
1740.  These  efforts,  most  happily,  were 
attended  with  complete  success.  Rarely, 
if  ever,  has  there  been  a  series  of  revivals 
in  our  country  more  calm,  more  pure, 
more  lasting  and  salutary  in  their  effects. 
As  one  means  of  extending  the  work, 
ministers  who  had  enjoyed  the  presence 
of  God  among  their  own  people,  were  se- 
lected by  some  ecclesiastical  body,  and 
sent  forth,  generally  two  together,  on 
preaching  tours  among  the  neighbouring 
churches.  The  expectation  of  their  com- 
ing drew  large  audiences  wherever  they 
preached.  They  came  with  that  fervour 
of  spirit,  and  that  close  and  direct  dealing 
with  the  consciences  of  men,  which  a 
preacher  gains  during  the  progress  of  a  re- 
vival, and  which  he  rarely  gains  to  an  equal 
degree  under  any  other  circumstances. 
The  churches  which  they  visited  being,  in 
most  cases,  prepared  to  receive  them  by  a 
previous  season  of  fasting  and  prayer,  and 
animated  by  their  presence  and  labours  to 
redoubled  fervour  of  supplication,  were,  in 
many  cases,  favoured  with  an  immediate 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Under 
these  and  similar  influences,  the  work  of 
God  spread  into  more  than  one  hundred 
towns  in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut, 
and  into  a  still  greater  number  of  places 
in  the  new  settlements  of  Vermont,  New- 
Hampshire,  Maine,  and  New- York,  which 
had  but  recently  formed  a  wide-spread  field 
of  missionary  labour. 

In  the  mean  time ,  our  Presbyterian  breth- 
ren, already  mentioned,  entered  into  the 
work  with  equal  zeal  and  effect,  and  carried 
the  spirit  of  revivals  west  of  the  Alleghany 
Mountains.  In  Kentucky,  lying  in  the 
centre  of  these  new  states  of  the  West,  a 
revival  commenced  in  the  year  1801,  which 
spread  over  the  whole  state,  and  within 
the  two  following  years  extended  to  the 


Chap.  VII.] 


REVIVALS   OF  RELIGION. 


201 


North  and  South,  throughout  a  tract  of 
country  600  miles  in  length.  Owing  to  the 
rude  state  of  society  in  those  new  settle- 
ments, there  occurred  in  these  revivals 
some  irregularities,  which  threw  a  sus- 
picion upon  them  for  a  time  in  the  views  of 
Christians  in  the  Eastern  States.  Some, 
undoubtedly,  of  the  vast  multitudes  who 
were  then  awakened  were  wrought  upon 
merely  by  the  excitement  of  the  occasion. 

But  as  to  the  character  of  the  work  in 
general,  we  have  the  following  testimony 
from  one  of  the  most  enlightened  Presby- 
terian clergymen  of  Virginia,  who  visited 
the  scene  of  those  revivals,  for  the  sake 
of  forming  for  himself  a  deliberate  judg- 
ment on  the  subject.  "  Upon  the  whole, 
I  think  the  revival  in  Kentucky  among  the 
most  extraordinary  that  have  ever  visited 
the  Church  of  Christ ;  and,  all  things  con- 
sidered, it  was  peculiarly  adapted  to  the 
circumstances  of  the  country  into  which 
it  came.  Infidelity  was  triumphant,  and 
religion  on  the  point  of  expiring.  Some- 
thing extraordinary  seemed  necessary  to 
arrest  the  attention  of  a  giddy  people,  who 
were  ready  to  conclude  that  Christianity 
was  a  fable,  and  futurity  a  delusion.  This 
revival  has  done  it.  It  has  confounded  in- 
fidelity, and  brought  numbers  beyond  cal- 
culation under  serious  impressions." 

In  the  year  1802,  in  answer  to  long- 
continued  and  fervent  prayer,  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  poured  out  in  a  remarkable 
manner  on  Yale  College,  then  under  the 
presidency  of  the  Rev.  Timothy  Dwight, 
D.D.  As  a  work  of  this  kind,  in  a  seat  of 
learning,  will  naturally  be  regarded  with 
peculiar  interest,  I  shall  here  transcribe 
(with  some  slight  abridgment)  an  account 
of  this  revival,  drawn  up  at  the  request  of 
the  writer  by  the  Rev.  Noah  Porter,  D.D., 
who  was  then  a  member  of  the  institution. 
"  The  grace  which  some  of  the  students 
had  witnessed,  and  of  which  they  were  all 
informed,  in  churches  abroad,  they  longed 
to  see  in  the  college.  That  God  would 
pour  out  his  Spirit  upon  it  was  an  object 
of  distinct  and  earnest  desire,  and  of  their 
fervent  and  united  prayers.  For  many 
months  they  were  accustomed  to  meet 
weekly  '  in  an  upper  room,'  and  '  with 
one  accord,'  for  prayer  and  supplication. 
Those  meetings  are  still  remembered  by 
survivers  who  attended  them,  as  seasons 
of  unwonted  tenderness  of  heart,  freedom 
of  communication,  and  wrestling  with  God. 
Early  in  the  spring  of  1802,  indications  of 
a  gracious  answer  to  their  prayers  began 
to  appear.  It  soon  became  obvious  that 
quite  a  number  were  especially  impressed 
with  divine  truth ;  that  a  new  state  of 
things  had  commenced  in  the  seminary ; 
that  God  had  indeed  come  to  it  in  the  plen- 
itude and  power  of  his  grace.  Some  who, 
not  knowing  that  there  were  any  to  sym- 
pathize with  them,  had  concealed  their  con- 


victions, were  now  encouraged  to  speak 
out,  and  others,  anxious  to  share  in  the 
blessing,  joined  them ;  so  that  in  the  last 
ten  days  of  the  college  term,  not  less  than 
fifty  were  numbered  as  serious  inquirers, 
and  several,  daily,  and  almost  hourly,  were 
found  apparently  submitting  themselves  to 
God.  These  were  truly  memorable  days. 
Such  triumphs  of  grace  none,  whose  priv- 
ilege it  was  to  witness  them,  had  ever  be- 
fore seen.  So  sudden  and  so  great  was 
the  change  in  individuals,  and  in  the  gen- 
eral aspect  of  the  college,  that  those  who 
had  been  waiting  for  it  were  filled  with 
wonder  as  well  as  joy,  and  those  who  knew 
not  '  what  it  meant'  were  awe-struck  and 
amazed.  Wherever  students  were  found. 
— in  their  rooms,  in  the  chapel,  in  the  hall, 
in  the  college  yard,  in  their  walks  about 
the  city — the  reigning  impression  was, 
'  surely  God  is  in  this  place.'  The  sal- 
vation of  the  soul  was  the  great  subject  of 
thought,  of  conversation,  of  absorbing  in- 
terest. The  convictions  of  many  were 
pungent  and  overwhelming,  and  the  peace 
in  believing  which  succeeded  was  not  less 
strongly  marked.  Yet,  amid  these  over- 
powering impressions,  there  was  no  one, 
except  a  single  individual  (who,  having  re- 
sisted former  convictions,  yielded  for  a 
time  to  dangerous  temptations),  in  whose 
conduct  anything  of  a  wild  or  irrational 
character  appeared.  But  the  vacation 
came,  and  they  were  to  be  separated.  This 
was  anticipated  with  dread.  It  was  to  be 
feared  that  their  dispersion,  and  the  new 
scenes  and  intercourse  attendant  on  their 
going  home,  would  efface  the  incipient  im- 
pressions of  the  serious,  and  break  up  the 
hopeful  purposes  of  the  inquiring  and  anx- 
ious. Such,  however,  was  not  the  result. 
It  may  even  be  doubted  whether  the  num- 
ber of  sound  conversions  was  not  greater, 
as  well  as  more  good  done  to  the  cause  of 
the  Redeemer  generally,  than  would  other- 
wise have  been  the  case.  Wherever  they 
went,  they  carried  the  tidings  of  what  God 
was  doing  for  this  venerated  seat  of  learn- 
ing; they  engaged  simultaneously  the 
prayers  and  thanksgiving  of  the  Church 
in  its  behalf ;  and  many  of  them  came  di- 
rectly under  the  guidance  and  counsel  of 
deeply-affected  parents,  ministers,  or  other 
Christian  acquaintances.  By  epistolary 
communications  and  personal  visits  to  each 
other,  also,  as  had  been  agreed  on  at  their 
separation,  special  means  were  employed 
to  sustain  the  feelings  which  had  been  ex- 
cited, and  to  conduct  them  to  a  happy  re- 
sult ;  and  it  was  so  ordered  by  God  that, 
when  they  again  assembled,  the  revival' 
immediately  resumed  its  former  interest, 
and  proceeded  with  uninterrupted  success. 
It  was  generally  understood  at  the  time, 
that  out  of  230  students  then  in  college, 
about  one  third,  in  the  course  of  this  re- 
vival, were  hopefully  converted  to  God.'r 


302 


RELIGION  IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


During  the  forty  years  which  have  since 
elapsed,  there  have  been  fifteen  similar 
works  of  grace  in  the  institution,  one  of 
them  more  extensive,  and  the  others  less 
so,  than  the  one  here  described.  At  a  later 
period,  Princeton  College,  which  belongs 
to  the  Presbyterians,  was  favoured  with 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary  effusions  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  ever  experienced  by  any 
of  our  seats  of  learning.  The  younger  col- 
leges have  also  shared  richly  in  these  vis- 
itations of  divine  grace.  The  consequence 
has  been,  that  the  number  of  pious  students 
has  been  very  greatly  increased.  In  Yale 
College,  not  long  before  the  revival  of  1802, 
there  were  only  four  members  of  the  church 
among  the  under-graduates ;  for  some  years 
past  they  have  exceeded  200,  being  more 
than  half  the  entire  number.  In  other  col- 
leges there  has  been  a  correspondent  in- 
crease ;  though  in  all  these  cases  it  is  to 
be  ascribed,  in  no  small  degree,  to  the  gen- 
eral advance  of  spiritual  religion  in  our 
churches. 

From  the  period  we  have  now  reached 
it  is  unnecessary,  and,  indeed,  impossible, 
to  trace  distinctly  the  progress  of  our  re- 
vivals. They  have  become,  if  I  may  so 
speak,  a  constituent  part  of  the  religious 
system  of  our  country.  Not  a  year  has 
passed  without  numerous  instances  of  their 
occurrence,  though  at  some  periods  they 
have  been  more  powerful  and  prevalent 
than  at  others.  They  have  the  entire  con- 
fidence of  the  great  body  of  evangelical 
Christians  throughout  our  country.  There 
exists,  indeed,  a  diversity  of  opinion  as 
to  the  proper  means  of  promoting  them, 
some  regarding  one  set  of  measures,  and 
some  another,  as  best  adapted  to  this  end. 
But,  while  these  differences  exist  as  to 
what  constitutes  a  well-conducted  revival, 
all,  or  nearly  all,  agree  that  such  a  revival 
•is  an  inestimable  blessing  :  so  that  he  who 
should  oppose  himself  to  revivals,  as  such, 
would  be  regarded  by  most  of  our  evangel- 
ical Christians  as,  ipso  facto,  an  enemy  to 
spiritual  religion  itself. 

In  the  foregoing  sketch  of  the  rise  and 
progress  of  our  revivals,  I  have  confined 
myself  chiefly  to  the  Congregational  and 
Presbyterian  churches  (which  are  substan- 
tially one),  and  have  described  these  works 
of  grace,  particularly  as  they  exist  in  New 


had  a  longer  experience  on  this  subject 
than  any  other ;  they  have  enjoyed  more 
revivals  in  proportion  to  their  numbers ; 
and,  what  I  deem  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance is,  that  they  have  uniformly  kept  them 
under  the  guidance  and  control  of  a  learn- 
ed ministry,  whose  habits  and  principles 
led  them  to  repress  all  undue  excitement, 
to  check  everything  extravagant,  coarse,  or 
disorderly,  and  to  guard  the  supposed  sub- 
jects of  the  work,  by  the  severest  tests, 
against  self-deception.  Nearly  all  the  ob- 
jections against  revivals,  which  have  any 
show  of  reason,  have  been  occasioned  by 
a  want  of  caution  in  these  respects.  The 
things  to  which  they  apply  are  mere  ad- 
juncts and  excrescences,  forming  no  part 
of  a  genuine  revival.  They  are  passing 
away  just  in  proportion  as  the  ministry 
where  they  exist  become  more  thoroughly 
educated,  which,  I  rejoice  to  say,  is  con- 
tinually more  and  more  the  case. 

The  view  of  revivals  which  we  have  now 
taken,  limited  and  imperfect  as  it  is,  sug- 
gests many  interesting  topics  of  inquiry 
and  remark.  I  have  time,  however,  to 
touch  on  only  two.  First,  What  mode  of 
presenting  truth,  in  these  seasons  of  reli- 
gious interest,  has  been  found  most  effect- 
ual to  the  conviction  and  conversion  of 
sinners  1  Secondly,  What  is  the  advantage 
of  such  seasons  ?  What  is  there  in  the  fact 
that  many  are  awakened  at  once,  and  are 
pressing  together  into  the  kingdom  of  God, 
which  is  peculiarly  adapted  (under  the  di- 
vine blessing)  to  secure  the  desired  result"! 

In  entering  upon  the  first  of  these  sub- 
jects, I  would  remark,  that  the  ordinary 
strain  of  preaching  in  the  Congregational 
churches  of  New-England,  where  revivals 
have  prevailed  with  great  frequency,  is, 
to  an  uncommon  degree,  doctrinal  in  its 
character.  A  preparation  is  thus  made  to 
give  the  Gospel  its  full  effect  whenever  a 
season  of  religious  interest  arrives.  The 
mind  is  preoccupied  with  clear  and  discrim- 
inating views  of  divine  truth.  The  argu- 
ment, upon  every  point,  has  been  gone  over 
again  and  again  in  its  full  extent.  Those 
humbling  doctrines,  especially,  which  men 
so  love  to  misrepresent  and  abuse,  are 
dwelt  upon  much,  explained  fully,  and 
argued  out  at  large ;  and  great  pains  are 
taken  so  to  state  them  as  to  show  their 


England.     I  have  done  so  because,  having  !  perfect  consistency  with  the  dictates  of 


their  origin  in  those  churches,  it  was  prop. 
er  to  trace  them  forward  in  the  line  where 
they  commenced ;  and  because  I  was  best 
acquainted  with  their  history,  and  the  char- 
acter they  assumed,  in  the  communion  to 


right  reason  and  the  consciousness  of  ev- 
ery honest  mind.  In  seasons  of  revival, 
the  most  effective  preaching  is  of  the  same 
general  character,  though,  of  course,  more 
fervid  and  urgent.     It  does  not  consist,  to 


which  I  belong.  It  is  of  such  revivals  that  any  great  extent,  in  exhortation,  in  any 
I  shall  continue  to  speak,  and,  without  dis- !  appeals,  however  forcible  or  just,  to  mere 
paragement  to  others,  I  may  be  permitted  |  excited  sensibility  or  feeling.  Its  object 
to  express  my  preference  for  that  mode  of  |  still  is  to  pour  truth  upon  the  sinner's  mind ; 
conducting  revivals  which  has  generally  I  to  make  him  see,  under  his  new  circum- 
prevailed  in  the  Congregational  churches  j  stances  of  awakened  interest,  the  evidence 
of  New-England.     These  churches  have  |  of  those  doctrines  which  he  has  admitted, 


Chap.  VII.] 


REVIVALS    OF   RELIGION. 


203 


perhaps,  in  speculation,  all  his  life,  and  yet 
never  once  truly  believed ;  to  anticipate 
all  his  objections  ;  to  strip  him  of  every 
plea  and  pretence  for  delay ;  to  fill  and  oc- 
cupy his  wholo  soul  with  reasons  for  im- 
mediate right  aqlion,  and  thus  shut  him  up 
to  "  the  obedience  of  the  truth."  Such 
preaching,  though  it  be  plain,  and  even 
homely,  if  it  flows  from  a  full  heart  and 
large  experience,  is  ordinarily  much  bless- 
ed of  God  in  seasons  of  revival. 

The  leading  doctrine  at  such  seasons  is 
that  of  "  the  new  birth" — of  the  sinner's 
entire  dependance,  for  a  change  of  heart, 
on  the  direct  interposition  of  God.  And 
yet,  for  this  very  reason,  the  other  doc- 
trine implied  above,  of  duty,  of  obligation 
to  immediate  right  action,  is  urged  with 
redoubled  force.  Without  feeling  this,  the 
sinner  cannot  feel  his  guilt,  for  there  is  no 
guilt,  except  in  the  violation  of  duty ;  and 
where  guilt  is  not  felt,  the  influences  of 
the  Spirit  are  not  given  to  renew  the  heart. 
And  here,  at  this  precise  point,  is  the  great 
difficulty  in  dealing  with  the  impenitent. 
They  do  not  believe  that  God  requires 
them,  in  their  present  state,  to  become  in- 
stantly holy.  It  is  not  possible,  they  think, 
that  he  should  command  them  to  do  that 
very  thing  without  the  influences  of  his 
Spirit,  which,  if  ever  done,  will  be  the  re- 
sult of  those  influences.  They  therefore 
feel  that  there  must  be,  somewhere  at  this 
stage  of  their  progress,  a  kind  of  neutral 
ground  —  a  resting-place,  where,  having 
done  their  part  in  "  awaking  out  of  sleep," 
they  are  allowed  to  "  wait  God's  time"  (in 
the  customary  phrase),  until  He  has  done 
his  part,  and  renewed  their  souls.  Nor 
are  these  views  confined  to  the  impeni- 
tent. They  have  been  openly  avowed  by 
some  theological  writers,  and  have  exert- 
ed a  secret  but  most  powerful  influence 
upon  far  greater  numbers  who  never  main- 
tained them  in  form.  There  has  been,  ex- 
tensively, a  feeling  that  all  which  the  un- 
converted are  bound  to  do  is  diligently  to 
use  the  means  of  grace  ;  that  if  they  do 
this,  it  would  be  hard  in  God  to  withhold 
the  renewing  influence  of  his  Spirit ;  and 
that  He  has  promised  that  influence  to 
their  prayers  and  exertions  if  sincere — 
meaning,  of  course,  a  kind  of  sincerity  in 
which  there  is  no  true  holiness.  These 
views  prevailed  in  New-England  previous 
to  the  revival  of  1735,  and  were  one  cause 
of  the  great  decline  in  religion  which  pre- 
ceded that  event.  Mr.  Edwards  was  there- 
fore called  upon,  when  that  work  com- 
menced, to  take  his  ground  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  the  principles  which  guided  him 
in  that  revival  have  been  the  great  con- 
trolling principles  in  all  our  revivals  ever 
since.  They  are  thus  stated  by  his  biog- 
rapher :  "  To  urge  repentance  on  every 
sinner  as  his  immediate  duty ;  to  insist  that 
God  is  under  no  obligation  to  any  unre- 


newed man  ;  and  that  a  man  can  challenge 
nothing,  either  in  absolute  justice  or  by 
free  promise,  on  account  of  anything  he 
does  before  he  repents  and  believes."  The 
celebrated  Whitefield,  when  he  first  visited 
America,  in  1740,  was  much  struck  with 
the  power  imparted  to  our  preaching  by 
these  principles.  "  How  can  they  possi- 
bly stand,"  says  he  in  a  letter  to  an  Eng- 
lish friend,  "  who  were  never  brought  to 
see,  and  heartily  confess,  that  after  they 
had  done  all,  God  might,  notwithstanding, 
deny  them  mercy  !  It  is  for  preaching  in 
this  manner  that  I  like  Messrs.  Tennents. 
They  wound  deeply  before  they  heal.  They 
know  there  is  no  promise  made  but  to  him 
that  believeth,  and,  therefore,  they  are 
careful  not  to  comfort  overmuch  those  that 
are  convicted.  I  fear  I  have  been  too  in- 
cautious in  this  respect,  and  often  given 
comfort  too  soon.  The  Lord  pardon  me 
for  what  is  past,  and  teach  me  more  right- 
ly to  divide  the  word  of  life  in  future." 
Against  this  disposition  to  "  comfort  too 
soon" — to  allow  the  impenitent  some  rest- 
ing-place short  of  instant  submission,  the 
following  very  pointed  cautions  were  once 
given  by  Dr.  Nettleton,  who  has  had  great 
experience  in  the  conduct  of  revivals. 
"Now,  what  do  you  mean  by  tins'?  Do 
you  mean  to  encourage  the  sinner  in  his 
sins,  and  take  his  part  against  God?  You 
are  attempting  to  ease  and  soothe  him  while 
he  is  in  rebellion  against  God.  When  the 
sinner  is  in  this  distress,  there  are  two 
things  that  press  heavily  upon  him  —  a 
sense  of  his  obligation  to  repent,  and  a 
fearful  apprehension  that  he  never  will  re- 
pent. Now,  if  you  tell  him  to  '  wait  God's 
time,'  and  the  like,  you  take  off  this  obli- 
gation at  once.  You  remove  all  anxiety, 
and  most  probably  cause  him  to  sink  down 
into  a  state  of  stupidity  and  indifference 
on  the  subject.  You  take  away  the  ap- 
prehension also  ;  and  the  danger  is  that  he 
will  sink  down  into  a  state  of  stupidity,  or 
mistake  the  relief  he  feels  for  a  change  of 
heart.  Now,  instead  of  quieting  him  in 
his  sins  by  such  language,  you  should  en- 
deavour to  increase  his  distress  as  much 
as  possible.  You  should  press  him  down, 
and  tell  him  he  must  submit  to  God,  and 
generally  he  will.  I  know  some  have  been 
brought  out  truly  regenerated  after  all  this 
flattery,  but  it  was  not  in  consequence,  but 
in  spite  of  it.  Again,  you  say,  '  Look  to 
the  promises.'  Now,  there  is  no  promise 
to  the  impenitent,  and  how  can  you  expect 
him  to  look  to  the  promises  while  he  is  in 
his  sins  !  I  distinguish  between  promises 
and  invitations.  Men  are  invited  to  repent, 
but  there  is  no  promise  to  them  till  they 
do  repent."  Such  has  been  the  uniform 
mode  of  exhibiting  this  subject.  The  prom- 
ises of  God  are  a  part  of  his  covenant,  and 
the  indispensable  conditions  of  the  cove- 
nant are  repentance  and  faith. 


204 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


But  the  impenitent,  when  thus  pressed 
with  the  duty  of  at  once  giving  their  hearts 
to  God,  are  extremely  apt  to  say  (or  at 
least  to  feel),  "  I  cannot;  Christ  has  decla- 
red it  to  be  beyond  my  power.  It  cannot, 
therefore,  be  my  immediate  duty;  I  am 
authorized  to  wait  till  power  is  given  me 
from  on  high."  Here,  as  in  the  former 
case,  the  New-England  clergy  are  guided 
by  the  principles  of  Edwards.  They  ap- 
ply that  familiar  distinction  of  common 
life  which  he  made  so  clear  and  palpable 
in  theological  science,  the  distinction  be- 
tween natural  and  moral  ability  and  inabil- 
ity. You  are  not  unable  in  the  sense 
you  claim.  You  have  all  the  faculties 
which  constitute  a  moral  being.  He  who 
is  capacitated  to  do  wrong,  must,  from  the 
nature  of  the  case,  be  capacitated  to  do 
right.  Your  cannot,  therefore,  is  only  will 
not.  Christ,  who  has  spoken  of  the  inabil- 
ity you  plead,  has  explained  its  nature  : 
"  Ye  ivill  not  come  unto  me  that  ye  might 
have  life."  "Oh!  Jerusalem,  how  often 
would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  to- 
gether, as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens 
under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not."  These 
views  have  formed  the  basis  of  New-Eng- 
land preaching  for  nearly  a  century.  Dr. 
Dwight,  speaking  of  this  subject,  says, 
"  The  nature  of  this  inability  to  obey  the 
law  of  God  is,  in  my  view,  completely  in- 
dicated by  the  word  indisposition,  or  the 
word  disinclination.  A  child  is  equally  un- 
able to  obey  a  parent,  against  whom  his 
will  is  as  much  opposed,  as  to  obey  God. 
In  both  cases  this  inability,  I  apprehend,  is 
of  exactly  the  same  nature.  Indisposition 
to  come  to  Christ,  therefore,  is  the  true 
and  the  only  difficulty  which  lies  in  our 
way."*  Nor  are  these  views  confined  to 
New-England.  A  distinguished  Scottish 
divine,  Dr.  Witherspoon,  afterward  presi- 
dent of  Princeton  College,  speaking  of  the 
alleged  impossibility,  says,  "  Now  consid- 
er, I  pray,  what  sort  of  impossibility  this 
is.  It  is  not  natural,  but  moral.  It  is  not 
want  of  power,  but  want  of  inclination.''''] 
I  am  far  from  saying  that  no  preacher  is 
favoured  with  revivals  of  religion  who 
does  not  thus  explicitly  assert  man's  pow- 
er as  a  moral  agent  to  give  his  heart  to 
God.  Men  see  their  way  with  very  differ- 
ent degrees  of  clearness  and  confidence, 
through  the  numerous  questions  that  arise 
out  of  such  a  statement.  I  only  say,  that 
the  views  of  Dwight  and  Witherspoon,  giv- 
en above,  prevail  universally  among  the 
New-England  clergy,  and  to  a  great  extent 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church  ;  and  that  those 
who  maintain  them  consider  these  views 
as  lying  at  the  foundation  of  all  their  suc- 
cessful efforts  to  promote  revivals.  When 
they  can  go  to  the  impenitent  sinner  and 
treat  him  (after  the  manner  of  Dr.  Dwight) 

*  Theology,  Sermon  cxxxiii; 
t  Works,  -vol.  11.,  p.  279. 


just  as  they  would  treat  a  child  in  rebellion 
against  an  earthly  parent,  and  can  make 
him  feel  that  the  whole  difficulty  in  his  case 
is  a  mere  reluctance  to  duty,  they  find  the 
great  impediment  removed  out  of  the  way. 
They  feel  an  unembarrassed  freedom  in 
pressing  obligation,  and  a  power  of  fasten- 
ing conviction  of  sin  upon  the  conscience, 
which  they  never  possessed  before.  A 
writer  of  great  experience  in  revivals  has 
remarked,  "  Whatever  may  be  the  specu- 
lative opinions  of  ministers  with  regard  to 
the  nature  of  depravity,  inability,  regener- 
ation, &c,  it  is  a  fact,  that  where  their 
ministry  is  successful,  as  it  is  in  revivals, 
they  preach  to  sinners  as  if  they  believed 
them  to  be  possessed  of  all  the  powers  of 
moral  agency,  capable  of  turning  to  God, 
and  on  tlds  account,  and  no  other,  inexcu- 
sable for  not  doing  so.  Some  have  seen 
these  points  more  clearly,  and  have  ex- 
plained them  more  philosophically,  and 
more  scripturally  than  others,  but  there 
has  always  been  a  substantial  agreement 
in  their  mode  of  preaching  among  those 
who  have  been  blessed  in  turning  sinners 
to  righteousness."* 

But  it  may  be  said,  granting  (as,  indeed, 
we  must  on  some  ground)  the  duty  of  the 
unconverted  to  turn  instantly  to  God,  still 
they  will  never  succeed  in  doing  it  with- 
out an  influence  from  on  high.  Why,  then, 
press  them  so  urgently  to  the  act  1  Why 
multiply  motives,  as  if  you  expected  to  pro- 
duce the  change  by  the  force  of  moral  sua- 
sion? Is  it  not  true,  after  all,  that  both 
you  and  they  must  "wait  God's  time?" 
It  would  be  enough  to  answer,  that  God 
himself  has  set  us  the  example  :  "  Make 
you  a  new  heart  and  a  new  spirit,  for  why 
will  ye  die  ?"  Christ  and  his  apostles  urged 
to  repentance  by  argument  and  persuasion, 
just  as  they  did  to  any  of  the  ordinary  acts 
of  life.  The  whole  Bible  is  filled  with 
warnings,  expostulations,  and  entreaties, 
pressing  a  lost  race,  with  every  motive  that 
two  worlds  can  offer,  to  immediate  right 
action.  Nor  is  it  difficult  to  see,  at  least, 
some  of  the  reasons.  First :  Let  the  sin- 
ner really  put  himself  to  the  act  of  giving 
his  heart  to  God,  and  he  will  learn,  as  he 
can  never  learn  in  any  other  way,  the  depth 
of  his  depravity,  the  utter  and  hopeless  des- 
titution of  all  spiritual  sensibility  within 
him.  Nothing  can  so  effectually  crush  his 
pride  and  self-reliance.  This  practical  dem- 
onstration of  his  entire  helplessness,  in  him- 
self considered,  may  be  just  the  thing  that 
was  necessary  to  bring  him  to  that  point 
where  alone  it  would  be  proper  for  God  to 
grant  him  the  renewing  influences  of  his 
grace.  Secondly  :  The  Spirit,  in  sanctify- 
ing, operates  "  through  the  truth ;"  and  the 
presence  of  that  truth  upon  the  mind  as  an 
instrumental  cause  is,  therefore,  just  as  ne- 


*  Views  and  Feelings  requisite  to  Success  in  the 
Gospel  Ministry.     By  W.  G.  Walton. 


Chap.  VII.] 


REVIVALS   OF  RELIGION. 


205 


cessary  to  the  result  (at  least  in  the  case 
of  adults)  as  the  renewing  influence  itself. 
While  it  was  the  uniform  doctrine  of  the 
Apostle  Paul  that  the  redeemed  are  "  be- 
gotten of  God,"  he  thought  it  no  arrogance 
to  say,  "  /  have  begotten  you  through  the 
Gospel."  Without  affirming  that  the  influ- 
ences of  the  Spirit  are  granted  in  exact 
proportion  to  the  wisdom  and  power  with 
which  truth  is  urged  upon  the  conscience, 
we  may  safely  say  that  such,  to  a  very 
great  and  prevailing  extent,  is  the  fact.  It 
is,  at  least,  all  that  man  can  do  ;  and  if  the 
doctrines  of  the  sinner's  dependence  leads 
us  to  do  this  with  one  particle  of  diminish- 
ed force,  if  we  do  not  ply  him  with  truth 
and  motive  just  as  earnestly  as  if  we  ex- 
pected to  convert  him  by  our  own  efforts 
alone,  it  is  a  serious  question  whether  our 
orthodoxy  has  not  lost  its  true  balance. 
Is  there  not  reason  to  fear  that  very  ex- 
cellent men  sometimes  err  on  this  subject 
from  the  best  of  motives,  the  desire  to  ex- 
alt the  grace  of  God  I  "  How  often,"  says 
a  writer  quoted  above,  (W.  G.  Walton), 
"  do  we  hear  the  preaching  of  the  word 
compared  to  the  blowing  of  rams'  horns 
around  the  walls  of  Jericho !  The  man 
who  preaches  has  certainly,  in  himself  con- 
sidered, no  more  power  to  convert  the  souls 
of  his  hearers,  than  was  possessed  by  the 
Jewish  priests  to  demolish  the  bulwarks  of 
that  city.  But  are  the  instruments  used  in 
the  two  cases  equally  impotent  1  Are  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel  no  more  adapted  to  the 
conversion  of  the  soul  than  the  blast  of  a 
horn  to  the  destruction  of  a  city?"  No 
honour  is  done  to  the  Holy  Spirit  by  exalt- 
ing His  influences  in  conversion,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  truth  which  He  has  himself 
revealed.  It  is  the  glory  of  that  blessed 
Agent,  that  in  turning  the  soul  to  God,  He 
does  it  in  strict  accordance  with  the  laws 
of  our  moral  constitution.  "  Sanctify  them 
through  thy  truth,"  was  the  prayer  of  Christ 
himself;  and  I  believe  it  will  be  found  that 
the  most  successful  preachers  are  those 
who  have  the  most  exalted  views  of  the 
power  of  divine  truth  in  turning  the  soul 
to  God.  Such  views  give  a  peculiar  so- 
lemnity, and  earnestness,  and  authority  in 
preaching,  by  which  attention  is  secured, 
and  conviction  wrought  in  the  minds  of  the 
hearers.  Thirdly :  The  result  produced 
by  renewing  grace  is  right  action.  "  God," 
says  Edwards, "  produces  all,  and  we  act  all. 
For  that  is  what  he  produces,  viz.,  our  own 
acts." — {Efficacious  Grace,  sec.  64.)  Is  it 
not,  therefore,  most  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  this  grace  (if  bestowed  at  all)  will  be 
granted  to  those  who  are  putting  them- 
selves to  the  act  of  giving  their  hearts  to 
God,  who  "  strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait 
gate  ;"  and  not  to  those  who  remain  in  the 
attitude  of  mere  passive  recipients !  Ac- 
count for  it  as  we  will,  there  is  no  fact 
which  our  revivals  have  taught  us  more 


fully  than  this,  the  great  success  which 
attends  the  urging  of  sinners  to  turn  immedi- 
ately to  God,  as  though  we  expected  them  to 
do  it  at  once  and  upon  the  spot.  Among  the 
numerous  cases  in  point  Avhich  occur  at 
once  to  my  mind,  I  will  briefly  mention 
one.  A  young  man,  soon  after  joining  one 
of  our  colleges,  called  on  a  friend  one  even- 
ing, and  stated  that  he  had  always  been 
taught  to  regard  religion  as  the  highest  in- 
terest of  life,  but  had  ever  shrunk  from  ma- 
king it  a  personal  concern;  that  his  change 
of  residence,  separation  from  friends,  and 
sense  of  loneliness,  had  made  him  desirous 
to  seek  salvation,  and  that  he  now  wished 
to  learn  the  way.  A  long  conversation 
ensued,  in  which  the  object  was,  not  so 
much  to  point  out  what  he  should  do  when 
he  returned  to  his  room,  as  to  lead  him  (if 
such  were  the  will  of  God)  to  embrace  the 
Saviour  at  once,  even  before  the  conver- 
sation closed.  With  this  view,  the  char- 
acter of  God  and  Christ  was  dwelt  upon  at 
large  ;  their  treatment  of  him  during  his 
years  of  past  rebellion,  and  his  treatment 
of  them  under  the  continued  invitations  of 
their  mercy ;  with  examples  taken  from 
the  case  of  those  whose  absence  had  pro- 
duced this  unwonted  tenderness,  of  un- 
wearied assiduity  and  kindness  on  their 
part,  requited  with  insult,  ingratitude,  and 
rebellion  on  his.  The  design  was  to 
show  him,  in  this  familiar  way,  the  exact 
state  of  mind  into  which  he  was  required 
to  come ;  the  ingenuous  sorrow,  heartfelt 
confidence,  and  grateful  love,  whose  nature 
and  reasonableness  he  could  so  perfectly 
understand  in  respect  to  an  earthly  parent 
I  have  thus  dwelt  for  a  moment  on  the  in  - 
structions  given,  for  the  sake  of  remark- 
ing how  extremely  simple  and  elementary 
it  has  been  found  necessary  to  make  them. 
Such  is  the  case  even  with  those  who,  like 
this  young  man,  have  been  most  religious- 
ly educated.  As  these  views  of  the  sub- 
ject were  seen  to  open  his  mind  with  con- 
tinually deepening  interest  and  solemnity, 
under  the  prolonged  exhibition  of  divine 
truth,  the  question  was  at  length  proposed, 
"  Can  there  ever  be  a  more  favourable 
moment  than  the  present  for  attempting 
to  put  forth  the  feelings  now  described'? 
You  will  not  do  it,  indeed,  without  an  in- 
fluence from  on  high.  That  influence  may 
justly  be  withheld,  but  it  may,  also,  be 
granted :  '  Peradventure,  God  may  give 
you  repentance.'  Will  you,  then,  go  with 
me  to  the  throne  of  grace,  not  to  gain 
more  conviction,  not  to  do  any  preparato- 
ry work  (for  this  will  defeat  the  object), 
but  to  put  yourself  at  once,  as  I  go  before 
you  in  prayer,  to  the  exercise  of  this  in- 
genuous sorrow  for  sin,  and  grateful  trust 
in  the  blood  of  Christ  ?"  They  knelt  down 
together  to  perform  this  duty,  and  closed 
with  a  solemn  dedication  of  the  soul  to 
God.    They  rose  and  read  over  the  fifty- 


206 


RELIGION   IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


first  Psalm,  the  fifty-fifth  chapter  of  Isaiah, 
and  other  appropriate  passages,  and  went 
again,  with  increased  solemnity,  to  the 
throne  of  grace.  Four  hours  were  thus 
spent,  and  they  separated  for  the  night. 
They  met  in  the  morning,  and  the  young 
man  said,  "  I  hope  I  have  given  my  heart 
to  God ;  I  think  I  did  it  before  we  parted 
last  evening."  That  hope  he  has  never 
relinquished,  and  during  a  number  of  years 
which  have  since  elapsed,  the  uniform 
tenour  of  his  life,  as  an  active  and  devoted 
member  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  has  given 
satisfactory  evidence  that  he  was  not  de- 
ceived. 

This,  then,  is  the  point  to  which  all  my 
observations  are  directed — the  union  of 
these  two  doctrines  of  activity  and  depend- 
ence, which  are  so  commonly  felt  to  be 
subversive  of  each  other ;  the  bringing  of 
both  to  bear  with  undiminished  force  on 
the  minds  of  the  impenitent.  Establish 
one  of  these  doctrines  to  the  exclusion  or 
weakening  of  the  other,  and  just  to  the 
same  extent  is  the  Gospel  robbed  of  its 
power.  Inculcate  dependence  without 
pressing  to  the  act  of  instantly  giving  up 
the  heart  to  Christ,  and  the  sinner  sits 
down  quietly  to  "  wait  God's  time."  Urge 
him  to  duty  on  the  ground  of  his  possess- 
ing all  the  requisite  power,  while  (with 
the  Pelagians)  you  do  away  his  depend- 
ence, and  his  reluctant  heart  will  lead  him 
to  take  his  own  time,  and  that  is  never. 
Address  him  on  the  Arminian  scheme  of 
gracious  aid,  which  is  always  ready  at  his 
call  (except  in  cases  of  extreme  contu- 
macy), and  how  strongly  is  he  tempted  to 
put  off  to  a  more  "  convenient  season" 
what  he  feels  may  at  any  time  be  done  ! 
But  place  him  under  the  pressure  of  both 
these  doctrines — the  necessity  of  action 
on  his  part  in  coming  to  God,  the  weighty 
obligations  which  urge  him  to  it,  the  crush- 
ing sense  of  guilt  every  moment  he  de- 
lays, the  momentous  interests  which  seem 
to  be  crowded  into  the  decision  of  the 
passing  hour,  the  encouragement  to  "  strive 
as  in  an  agony"  afforded  by  the  gift  of  the 
Spirit's  influences  to  others  around  him 
(an  encouragement  peculiarly  great  in  sea- 
sons of  revival,  and  giving  them  so  much 
of  their  power),  the  feeling  that  God  may 
justly  withhold  those  influences,  and  that 
every  moment  of  delay  increases  the  dan- 
ger of  this  fearful  doom — and  have  we  not 
here,  most  perfectly  combined,  all  the  ele- 
ments of  that  system  of  grace  which  is 
emphatically  the  power  of  God  unto  sal- 
vation 1 

I  will  conclude  my  remarks  on  this  part 
of  the  subject  in  the  words  of  the  late  Rev. 
Dr.  Griffin,  formerly  a  professor  at  Ando- 
ver,  and  afterward  president  of  Williams 
College,  Massachusetts.  Being  requested 
to  account  for  the  prevalence  of  revivals 
in  this  country,  he  gave  the  following  as 


the  principal  reason :  "  It  is  found  in  the 
distinct,  apprehensions  which  prevail  in 
New-England  about  the  instantaneousness 
of  regeneration,  the  sinfulness  of  every 
moral  exercise  up  to  that  moment,  and 
the  duty  of  immediate  submission.  Such 
a  view  of  things  leads  the  preacher  to  di- 
vide his  audience  into  two  classes,  and  to 
run  a  strong  and  affecting  line  of  demar- 
cation between  them.  When  one  feels 
that  the  moral,  sober,  prayerful,  unregen- 
erate  part  of  his  audience  are  doing  pretty 
well,  and  can  afford  to  wait  a  little  longer 
before  they  submit,  he  will  not  be  so  press- 
ing, nor  fall  with  such  a  tremendous  weight 
upon  their  conscience.  When  he  feels 
that  they  cannot  do  much  more  than  they 
do,  but  must  wait  God's  time,  he  will  not 
annoy  and  weary  them,  and  make  them 
sick  of  waiting,  and  compel  them  to  come 
in.  But  when  one  enters  the  pulpit  under 
a  solemn  sense,  that  every  unregenerate 
man  before  him,  however  awakened,  is  an 
enemy  to  God,  is  resisting  with  all  his 
heart,  and  will  continue  to  resist  till  he 
submits  ;  that  he  must  be  '  born  again'  be- 
fore he  is  any  better  than  an  enemy,  or  has 
made  any  approaches  towards  holiness ; 
when  one  looks  round  upon  the  unregen- 
erate part  of  his  audience,  and  sees  that 
they  are  under  indispensable  obligations 
to  yield  at  once,  that  they  have  no  man- 
ner of  excuse  for  delaying  ;  that  they  de- 
serve eternal  reprobation  for  postponing 
an  hour  ;  when  one  feels  from  the  bottom 
of  his  heart  that  there  is  nothing  short  of 
regeneration  that  can  answer  any  purpose, 
and  that  he  cannot  leave  his  dear  charge 
to  be  turned  from  enemies  of  God  to  friends 
ten  years  hence  ;  delivered  from  condem- 
nation ten  years  hence  ;  but  must  see  it 
now,  oh  !  how  will  he  pray  and  preach  \ 
He  will  give  God  no  rest,  and  he  will  give 
sinners  no  rest ;  and  he  will  bring  down 
their  immediate,  pressing,  boundless  obli- 
gations upon  them  with  the  weight  of  a 
world.  Under  such  preaching  sinners  must 
either  turn  to  God  or  be  miserable.  There 
is  no  chance  for  them  to  remain  at  ease 
this  side  of  infidelity  itself." 

We  pass  now  to  consider  the  second 
question  proposed,  viz.,  What  is  there  in 
the  fact  that  many  are  awakened  at  once, 
and  are  pressing  together  into  the  kingdom 
of  God,  which  is  peculiarly  adapted  (un- 
der the  divine  blessing)  to  secure  the  de- 
sired result  ?  This  question  has  been  vir- 
tually answered  in  the  facts  stated  or  im- 
plied in  the  preceding  part  of  this  chap- 
ter. I  will,  however,  briefly  advert  to 
them  again,  and  present  in  a  single  view 
some  of  those  influences  which  unite  to 
give  extraordinary  power  to  a  well-con- 
ducted revival  of  religion. 

As  far  as  human  instrumentality  is  con- 
cerned, the  conversion  of  sinners  depends 
on  two  things— the  clear  and  vivid  pres- 


Chap.  VII.] 


REVIVALS    OF    RELIGION. 


207 


sentation  of  divine  truth  to  their  minds,  and 
importunate  prayer,  on  the  part  of  Chris- 
tians, for  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  give  that  truth  effect.  I  am,  therefore, 
to  show  what  there  is  in  these  seasons  of 
concentrated  religious  interest,  which  is 
peculiarly  adapted  both  to  animate  the 
prayers  and  efforts  of  the  people  of  God, 
and  to  give  the  Gospel  readier  access  to 
the  hearts  of  the  impenitent,  and  superior 
efficacy  in  bringing  them  to  "  the  obedi- 
ence of  the  truth."  In  doing  so,  I  shall 
point  to  certain  original  principles  of  our 
mental  constitution  which  have  confess- 
edly very  great  power  in  moving  the  minds 
of  men,  and  shall  endeavour  to  show  that 
revivals  appeal  to  these  principles  or 
springs  of  human  action,  with  a  force  and 
effect  altogether  greater  than  can  ever  be 
realized  under  any  other  circumstances. 
I  shall  thus  give  what  may  not  improperly 
be  termed  a  theory  of  revivals,  and  shall 
show  that  they  are  not  seasons  of  mere 
excitement  and  fanaticism,  but  might  rea- 
sonably be  expected,  from  their  consisten- 
cy with  the  laws  of  human  action,  to  pro- 
duce those  great  and  lasting  reformations 
with  which  they  have  actually  blessed  the 
American  churches.  In  pursuing  the  sub- 
ject, I  hope  I  shall  not  be  suspected  of 
losing  sight  for  one  moment  of  the  fact, 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  author  of  all 
the  good  produced  in  this  case,  both  in 
the  hearts  of  Christians  and  impenitent 
sinners.  But  it  is  the  glory  of  that  bless- 
ed Agent,  that,  in  dispensing  his  sanctify- 
ing influences,  he  does  not  set  aside  or  de- 
stroy the  established  laws  of  human  agen- 
cy ;  and  it  is  not,  therefore,  detracting  from 
these  influences,  but  rather  doing  them 
honour,  to  point  out  their  perfect  consist- 
ency with  the  great  principles  of  our  men- 
tal constitution. 

1.  The  first  of  these  principles  to  which 
I  shall  now  advert,  and  which  relates  par- 
ticularly to  Christians,  is  strongly-awaken- 
ed desire. 

The  scenes  presented  in  a  revival  are 
eminently  adapted  to  create  those  strong 
spiritual  desires  which  are  only  another 
name  for  fervent  prayer,  and  are  indispen- 
sable to  all  successful  Christian  effort.  Let 
any  church,  in  its  ordinary  state  of  feel- 
ing, hear  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  poured  out 
on  a  neighbouring  town ;  let  some  of  its 
members  visit  the  spot,  and  bring  back  a 
report  of  what  is  passing  there ;  that  the 
people  of  God  are  animated  with  all  the 
zeal  of  their  first  love,  fervent  in  pray- 
ers and  labours  for  the  salvation  of  sin- 
ners, full  of  joy  and  hope ;  let  them  tell 
of  the  crowded  assemblies,  the  deathlike 
stillness,  the  solemnity  and  awe  depicted 
on  every  countenance ;  of  some  who  but 
a  few  days  before  were  thoughtless  and 
even  abandoned  to  sin,  now  bowed  down 
under  a  sense  of  guilt,  and  of  others  re- 


joicing in  the  hope  of  having  found  the 
Saviour,  and  reconciliation  through  his 
blood  ;  let  it  appear  that  there  is  nothing 
disorderly  or  extravagant  in  this  move- 
ment, nothing  but  the  natural  and  appro- 
priate effect  of  divine  truth  applied  to  the 
conscience  by  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  and  what 
is  there  that  can  appeal  more  strongly  to- 
all  the  sensibilities  of  a  Christian  heart  I 
What  more  natural,  under  the  impulse  of 
the  fervent  desires  thus  awakened,  than  to- 
"  put  away  all  their  idols,"  to  bow  before 
God  in  deep  self-abasement  for  their  past 
backslidings,  to  mourn  over  the  multi- 
tudes around  them  who  are  in  danger  of 
perishing  in  their  sins,  and  to  pour  out  the 
prayer  of  the  prophet  from  overflowing 
hearts,  "  O  Lord,  revive  thy  work  in  the 
midst  of  the  years,  in  the  midst  of  the 
years  make  known ;  in  wrath  remember 
mercy."  And  if,  through  the  grace  of  God, 
a  similar  dispensation  of  the  Spirit  is  grant- 
ed in  answer  to  their  prayers,  how  much 
more  fervent  and  absorbing  do  those  de- 
sires become  as  the  blessing  is  brought 
home  to  their  own  doors !  How  do  we 
see  parents  pleading  for  their  children, 
wives  for  their  husbands,  friend  for  friend, 
with  all  the  importunity  of  the  patriarch  of 
old,  "  I  will  not  let  thee  go,  except  thou 
bless  me."  How  is  all  reserve  laid  aside 
— all  the  ordinary  backwardness  of  Chris- 
tians to  speak  and  act  openly  on  the  side 
of  the  Redeemer,  and  every  feeling  ab- 
sorbed amid  these  triumphs  of  divine 
grace,  in  the  one  great  question,  li  Lord, 
what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do"  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  thy  cause  1  Faint  and  fee- 
ble, indeed,  when  compared  with  these,  are 
the  spiritual  desires  which  are  found  to 
prevail  in  any  ordinary  state  of  the  Church. 

2.  The  second  of  these  principles,  now 
to  be  mentioned,  is  expectation. 

If  I  were  asked  why  revivals  are  so  fre- 
quent in  America,  and  so  rare  in  Europe, 
my  first  answer  would  be,  that  Christians 
on  one  side  of  the  Atlantic  expect  them, 
and  on  the  other  they  do  not  expect  them. 
These  seasons  of  "  refreshing  from  on 
high"  are  a  part  of  the  blessing  that  rested 
on  our  fathers ;  and  the  events  of  the  last 
forty  years,  especially,  have  taught  us,  that 
if  we  seek  their  continuance  in  the  spirit 
of  those  with  whom  they  commenced,  we 
shall  never  seek  in  vain.  Nor  is  there 
anything  to  confine  them  within  our  own 
borders.  They  have  been  carried  by  our 
missionaries  to  a  number  of  Indian  tribes. 
Our  stations  in  Ceylon  have  been  repeat- 
edly visited  with  the  effusions  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  the  Sandwich  Islands,  within 
the  last  three  years,  have  been  favoured 
with  one  of  the  most  glorious  dispensa- 
tions of  divine  grace  which  the  world  has 
ever  witnessed.  Similar  periods  of  "  re- 
freshing from  on  high"  existed  formerly  in 
Scotland ;  and  there  are  cheering  indica- 


208 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


tions  in  recent  events,  that  God  may  even 
now  be  ready  to  bring  down  again  the 
blessing  of  their  fathers  upon  the  churches 
in  that  country.  In  all  the  evangelical 
churches  of  Europe,  indeed,  where  the 
Gospel  is  preached  with  plainness  and 
power,  there  are  seasons  of  more  than 
ordinary  religious  interest,  which,  if  not 
revivals  in  our  sense  of  the  term  (and 
they  sometimes  are),  would  undoubtedly 
become  revivals  if  the  same  expectation 
of  this  result  could  only  pervade  those 
churches  which  animates  their  brethren  of 
America  under  similar  circumstances. 

But,  leaving  this  more  general  view  of 
the  subject,  it  is  obvious  that  nothing  is 
more  calculated  to  fill  the  hearts  of  Chris- 
tians with  courage,  and  expectation,  and 
hope,  than  the  feeling  that  God  is  in  the 
midst  of  them  with  the  peculiar  dispensa- 
tion of  his  grace.  One  must  witness  the 
scene,  indeed,  to  have  any  just  conception 
of  the  power  of  a  revival  in  this  respect 
— of  the  multiplied  appeals  which  it  makes 
to  this  most  essential  element  in  all  the 
successful  efforts  of  men.  ';  God  is  pour- 
ing out  his  Spirit  in  a  neighbouring  town  !" 
In  how  many  hundreds  of  instances  has 
this  thought,  and  the  encouragement  it  af- 
forded, been  the  starting-point  of  those  ex- 
ertions, which  resulted,  under  the  divine 
blessing,  in  the  commencement  of  one  re- 
vival more  !  "  God  is  here  with  the  effu- 
sions of  his  Spirit !"  Who  does  not  feel 
the  thrill  of  joy,  of  hope,  of  confidence, 
which  pervades  the  heart  of  every  spiritu- 
ally-minded Christian  1  What  can  be  more 
suited  to  revive  the  decaying  graces  of 
backsliders,  and  to  bring  the  whole  Church 
to  harmonious  action,  to  fervent  prayer, 
and  strenuous  efforts  ?  When  the  confi- 
dence thus  inspired  has  been  high,  and  yet 
humble,  resting  on  the  mighty  power  of 
the  Spirit  and  the  efficacy  of  divine  truth, 
when  has  God  ever  failed  to  bestow  a  sig- 
nal blessing1?  On  the  contrary,  if  the 
work  of  grace  has  not  gone  forward,  as 
was  hoped,  how  uniformly  do  we  find  that 
the  people  of  God  either  became  faint- 
hearted in  consequence  of  some  difficulty 
or  delay,  and  did  not  expect  to  succeed  ;  or 
that  their  confidence  was  misplaced,  that 
they  rested  on  some  favourite  instrument 
or  system  of  measures,  and  not  on  the  arm 
of  the  Most  High !  Nor  is  the  influence  of 
which  I  speak  confined  to  Christians.  It 
acts  on  the  minds  of  the  impenitent  in  va- 
rious ways,  and  with  great  power.  "  God 
is  calling  some  of  my  companions  into  his 
kingdom  !"  This  thought  strikes  upon  the' 
hearts  of  many  who  have  been  religiously 
educated,  who  have  always  intended  at 
some  time  to  seek  eternal  life,  and  who 
are  induced  by  what  is  passing  around 
them  to  do  it  now,  because  they  are  en- 
couraged to  hope  they  shall  succeed.  "  God 
is  renewing  the  hearts  of  many  others,  why 


may  he  not  renew  mine  V  This  thought 
to  the  awakened  sinner,  writhing  under 
conviction  of  sin,  crushed  by  a  sense  of 
his  utterly  helpless  condition  in  himself 
considered,  tempted,  under  repeated  fail- 
ures, to  give  up  all  in  despair — this  thought 
affords  him  an  encouragement  which  is 
worth  to  him  more  than  worlds  besides ; 
and,  as  I  before  remarked,  it  is  an  encour- 
agement which  especially  abounds  in  a 
season  of  revival.  "  God  is  causing  the 
stout-hearted  to  fall  before  him !"  This 
thought  often  awakens  in  the  impenitent 
another  kind  of  expectation,  mingled  with 
dread,  as  a  revival  goes  forward  ;  it  is, 
that  they  loill  be  compelled  to  yield  ;  that  they 
cannot  stand  before  it.  Sometimes  it  dis- 
arms opposition,  and  sometimes  it  makes 
men  flee.  An  instance  occurs  to  me, 
which  I  will  briefly  mention.  A  student 
in  one  of  our  colleges,  during  a  powerful 
work  of  grace,  struggled  for  a  time  to  ward 
off  conviction  by  argument  and  ridicule, 
and  finding  that  he  could  not  succeed, 
framed  a  plausible  excuse,  and  obtained 
liberty  to  return  home.  As  he  drove  into 
his  native  village,  at  the  close  of  the  day, 
rejoicing  at  the  thought  of  having  escaped 
from  the  revival,  he  saw  large  numbers  of 
people  returning  from  the  house  of  God. 
"  What  has  happened  1  What  is  going  on?" 
was  his  first  inquiry  when  he  alighted  at 
his  father's  door.  "  A  revival  of  religion 
has  just  commenced,"  was  the  reply;  and 
one  and  another  of  his  most  thoughtless 
companions  were  mentioned  as  under  con- 
viction of  sin.  He  felt,  like  one  of  old, 
that  it  was  in  vain  to  flee  from  the  pres- 
ence of  God.  All  his  former  convictions 
revived  at  once,  aggravated  by  a  sense  of 
his  guilt  in  striving  to  suppress  them.  He 
gave  himself  to  the  pursuit  of  eternal  life, 
and,  through  the  grace  of  God  (as  he 
hoped),  within  a  few  days  found  the  Sav- 
iour from  whom  he  had  attempted  to  flee. 
He  returned  at  once  to  college,  called  im- 
mediately on  those  whom  he  had  deterred 
from  seriousness  by  his  influence  and  ex- 
ample, and  invited  them  to  his  room  that 
evening,  telling  them  that  he  had  a  story 
to  relate.  When  they  met,  he  gave  them 
a  full  account  of  the  efforts  he  had  made 
to  resist  the  strivings  of  the  Spirit,  and  the 
conclusion  to  which  (through  the  grace  of 
God)  he  had  come,  and  ended  with  the  ex- 
hortation, "  Go  ye  and  do  likewise."  Such 
are  some  of  the  ways  in  which  revivals 
appeal  to  this  powerful  principle  of  our 
nature  with  a  force  never  to  be  expected 
at  a  period  of  no  general  interest  in  reli- 
gion. 

3.  A  third  principle  intimately  connect- 
ed with  this  subject  is  sympathy.  God, 
in  establishing  public  worship,  has  deci- 
ded that  the  social  and  sympathetic  feel- 
ings of  our  nature  ought  to  be  enlisted  in 
the  cause  of  religion.    It  would  be  strange, 


Chai\  VII.] 


REVIVALS    OF    RELIGION. 


209 


indeed,  if  it  were  otherwise;  if  that  pow- 
erful principle  which  binds  man  to  his  fel- 
low were  yielded  up  to  Satan  for  the  de- 
struction of  unnumbered  millions  who  "  fol- 
low a  multitude  to  do  evil,"  and  were  nev- 
er employed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  bringing 
those  who  act  in  masses  on  every  other 
subject,  to  act,  at  least,  sometimes  togeth- 
er in  coming  to  the  "  obedience  of  the 
truth."  That  strong  tendency  of  our  na- 
ture to  be  moved  and  excited  because  we 
see  others  excited  around  us,  is  not  of  ne- 
cessity a  blind  and  headlong  impulse  ;  it 
may  be  guided  by  reason,  and  made  sub- 
servient to  the  best  ends  of  our  intellectual 
and  moral  existence.  In  respect  to  every 
subject  but  religion,  this  is  conceded  by 
all ;  and  he  would  be  thought  superlatively 
weak  who  should  refuse  the  aid  of  sympa- 
thy in  any  other  enterprise  for  the  well- 
being  of  man.  But  what  is  there  so  mys- 
terious or  unreasonable  in  the  fact,  that 
when  the  Holy  Spirit  has  impressed  one 
mind  with  a  sense  of  its  responsibilities 
and  violated  obligations,  and  awakened 
within  it  correspondent  feelings  of  fear, 
shame,  and  self-condemnation,  these  views 
•and  feelings  should  spread  by  contact  into 
other  minds ;  thatthis  blessed  Agent  should 
make  use  of  sympathy  as  well  as  attention, 
memory,  and  various  other  principles  of 
our  nature,  in  bringing  men  to  a  knowl- 
edge of  'God  1  That  he  docs  so  operate 
Avhere  revivals  are  wholly  unknown,  that 
the  awakening  of  one  individual  is  fre- 
quently made  the  occasion  of  arresting  the 
attention  of  a  number  of  his  associates, 
and  fastening  conviction  on  their  minds,  is 
matter  of  familiar  observation  in  every  re- 
ligious community.  When  such  cases  be- 
come numerous,  and  other  influences  unite 
with  this  to  deepen  the  impression  of  di- 
■vine  truth,  that  is,  when  there  is  a  revival, 
this  principle  operates  with  still  greater 
power  and  much  wider  extent.  Hundreds 
are  drawn  to  religious  meetings  at  first, 
simply  because  the  current  sets  that  way. 
When  there,  they  are  led  by  the  awe  and 
solemnity  which  pervade  the  place  to  lis- 
ten, perhaps  for  the  first  time  in  their 
lives,  with  fixed  attention  and  impartial 
self-application  to  the  Avord  dispensed. 
Their  incipient  conviction  of  sin  is  height- 
ened by  the  emotion  which  prevails  around 
them,  and  by  conversation  with  those  who 
have  felt  longer  and  more  deeply  than 
themselves.  They  are  led  to  "  strive  as 
in  an  agony,"  to  "  enter  in  at  the  strait 
gate,"  and  thus  "  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
suffereth  violence,  and  the  violent  take  it 
by  force."  As  the  strong  images  I  have 
used,  so  perfectly  descriptive  of  the  state 
of  things  in  a  revival,  are  borrowed  from 
the  language  employed  by  our  Saviour 
himself,  with  evident  approbation,  in  de- 
scribing similar  scenes  in  his  own  day,  it 
Is  certain  there  is  nothing  inconsistent 
O 


with  perfect  soundness  of  mind,  or  the 
presence  of  the  sanctifying  Spirit,  in  a 
season  of  simultaneous  and  highly-awa- 
kened interest  on  the  subject  of  the  soul's 
salvation.  That  such  seasons  are  liable 
to  be  abused,  and  have,  in  some  instances, 
actually  degenerated,  under  the  guidance 
of  weak  and  rash  men,  into  scenes  of  dis- 
order or  mere  animal  excitement,  is  no 
more  an  argument  against  them,  than  a 
similar  abuse  of  any  of  the  great  powers 
of  nature,  or  principles  of  our  mental  con- 
stitution, is  an  argument  against  their  le- 
gitimate and  well-directed  use.  We  should 
remember,  too,  that  if  there  is  danger  on 
one  side,  there  is  danger  also  on  the  other. 
Men  may  die  of  palsy  as  well  as  fever. 
And  when  so  many  millions  are  sunk  in 
the  anticipated  slumbers  of  the  second 
death,  we  ought  not  to  be  too  timid  or  fas- 
tidious as  to  the  means  employed  in  awa- 
kening them  to  the  extremity  of  their  dan- 
ger. The  fact,  however,  is  (as  mbre  and 
more  fully  shown  in  our  revivals),  there 
can  be  in  very  powerful  operation  what 
may  be  called  moral  sympathy,  that  is,  the 
action  of  one  mind  upon  another  in  sober, 
calm,  but  very  deep  emotion,  under  just 
views  of  divine  truth,  without  any  of  that 
animal  excitement  or  nervous  agitation 
which  leads  to  strong  and  sometimes  dis- 
orderly exhibitions  of  feeling.  In  this  re- 
spect a  very  important  change  has  taken 
place  in  our  New-England  revivals  in  the 
progress  of  a  century.  During  the  re- 
markable work  of  grace  in  1735,  persons 
were  often  so  agitated  under  the  powerful 
preaching  of  the  word,  as  to  groan  and 
cry  out  in  the  midst  of  religious  worship, 
under  the  anguish  of  their  spirit.  The 
clergy  did  not  encourage  these  strong  ex- 
pressions of  feeling,  but  they  thought  them, 
to  some  extent,  perhaps  unavoidable,  and, 
therefore,  to  be  tolerated.  In  the  progress 
of  the  next  great,  revival,  in  1710-3,  this 
practice  became  still  more  prevalent,  and 
was  connected,  to  a  certain  extent,  with 
other  forms  of  bodily  excitement,  such  as 
trances,  &c,  which  produced  great  con- 
tention, and  created  a  prejudice,  in  the 
minds  of  many,  against  the  entire  work. 
This  led  our  Congregational  clergy,  when 
revivals  recommenced  on  a  broad  scale  at 
the  close  of  the  last  century,  to  unite  from 
the  first  to  discountenance  this  practice ; 
to  repress  mere  animal  excitement  of 
every  kind  ;  to  make  their  religious  meet- 
ings, especially  in  the  evening,  short  (not 
generally  exceeding  an  hour  or  an  hour  and 
a  half),  in  order  to  prevent  exhaustion  and 
nervous  agitation  ;  and  to  impress  upon 
their  people  that  the  presence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  ought  to  be  recognised  in  silence 
and  awe,  not  with  noise  and  confusion. 
So  complete  was  their  success,  that,  al- 
though I  have  been  much  conversant  with 
revivals  for  more  than  thirty  years,  I  have 


210 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


never,  but  in  one  instance,  and  that  a  very- 
slight  one  and  for  a  moment,  witnessed 
any  audible  expression  of  emotion  in  a  re- 
ligious assembly.  All  our  experience  has 
shown  that  it  is  wholly  unnecessary,  and 
from  what  we  see  in  some  sects  where  it 
prevails  to  some  extent,  we  are  constrain- 
ed to  feel  that  it  is  injurious,  not  only  as 
creating  prejudices  against  revivals,  but  as 
leading  many  to  mistake  nervous  excite- 
ment for  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

4.  A  fourth  of  these  principles  is  the 
spirit  of  inquiry  awakened  among  the 
thoughtless  and  prejudiced  by  the  striking 
scenes  of  a  revival. 

When  crowds  are  seen  flocking  to  the 
house  of  God,  many  persons  are  drawn 
thither  by  the  impulse  of  mere  curiosity, 
and  when  thus  brought  under  the  power  of 
divine  truth,  are  often  taught  of  the  Spirit ; 
like  the  Athenians  assembled  by  the  same 
impulse  around  Paul  on  Mars  Hill,  who, 
we  are  told,  "  clave  unto  him  and  believed." 
Others,  who  have  always  doubted  or  denied 
the  doctrines  of  grace,  are  led,  by  what  is 
going  on  around  them,  to  enter  into  the 
argument  for  the  first  time  with  candour 
and  attention  ;  until,  struck  by  the  blaze  of 
evidence,  not  only  from  the  word  preached, 
but  from  the  lives  and  conversation  of 
Christians  in  their  revived  state,  like  the 
man  described  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Corin- 
thians, they  are  "  convinced  of  all,  are 
judged  of  all,  and  so  falling  down  on  the 
face,  shall  worship  God,  and  report  that 
God  is  in  you  of  a  truth."  Others  still, 
who  were  wholly  skeptical  as  to  the  ex- 
istence of  any  inward  principle  of  spiritual 
life,  when  they  witness  the  amazing  change 
produced  in  the  character  of  many  around 
them,  are  compelled  to  exclaim,  "  This  is 
indeed  the  finger  of  God."  Many,  too, 
who  went  to  religious  meetings  purposely 
to  find  occasion  to  cavil  and  blaspheme, 
have  had  the  scales  fall  from  their  eyes  in 
the  midst  of  their  iniquity,  and  been  led  to 
cry  out  with  the  persecutor  of  old,  "  Lord, 
what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?"  Thus  the 
notoriety  given  to  religion  by  the  scenes  of 
a  revival  is  turned  with  great  effect  to  the 
furtherance  of  the  Gospel. 

5.  As  a  fifth  of  these  principles,  I  may 
mention  the  influence  of  that  prolonged  and 
exclusive  attention  to  divine  truth  which  pre- 
vails in  a  revival. 

The  power  of  fixed  and  continuous  at- 
tention in  deepening  the  impressions  of 
any  subject  is  one  of  the  most  familiar 
principles  of  mental  science.  To  nothing, 
however,  does  it  apply  with  so  much  force 
as  religion,  whose  objects  are  at  once  so 
vast,  so  remote,  and  so  repulsive  to  the 
natural  heart.  Men  must  look  at  their 
condition  and  ponder  it  deeply,  before  they 
can  feel  the  extremity  of  their  wretched- 
ness and  guilt.  It  is  the  first  step  in  turn- 
ing to  God  ;  and  one  reason,  no  doubt,  why 


so  many  sit  from  year  to  year  under  the 
ordinary  preaching  of  the  word,  moved 
and  affected,  in  some  degree,  almost  every 
Sabbath,  and  yet  making  no  progress  in 
divine  things,  is,  that  the  impressions  pro- 
duced are  not  followed  up  and  deepened  du- 
ring the  subsequent  week.  On  the  con- 
trary, even  when  a  person  feels  but  slightly 
moved,  if  his  mind  can  be  held  to  the  sub- 
ject in  steady  and  prolonged  attention, 
while  every  object  is  excluded  that  can 
divert  his  thoughts,  and  the  whole  field  of 
vision  is  filled  with  clear  and  vivid  exhi- 
bitions of  divine  truth,  it  is  surprising  to 
see  how  rapid,  in  many  cases,  the  progress 
of  conviction  becomes.  An  instance  has 
already  been  mentioned  (and  many  others 
might  be  adduced)  of  a  young  man  who 
appeared  to  be  brought  in  this  way,  through 
divine  grace,  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  in 
a  conversation  of  a  few  hours.  The  pe- 
riod was  still  shorter  in  the  days  of  the 
Apostles ;  and  whether  it  be  the  will  of 
God  to  make  it  long  or  short,  the  best 
means  certainly  that  a  man  can  use  is,  to 
|  hold  the  mind  fixed  in  the  solemn  con- 
i  templation  of  divine  truth. 

But  the  impenitent,  to  a  great  extent,  are 
|  very  imperfectly  qualified  for  such  a  task. 
[  Their  minds  are  so  wandering,  so  unused 
I  to  dwell  on  spiritual  objects,  so  estranged 
from  the  throne  of  grace,  so  entirely  in  the 
j  dark  as  to  the  nature  of  those  feelings  with 
|  which  they  must  come  to  God,  that  most 
j  of  the  time  they  give  to  contemplation  is 
!  wasted  in  chaotic  thought ;  and  they  are 
|  often  led  to  relinquish  the  attempt  in  de- 
:  spair.     It  is  not,  therefore,  sufficient,  when 
their  attention  is  awakened,  to  send  them 
j  to  their  Bibles  and  their  closets.     In  addi- 
I  tion  to  this,  they  need,  at  every  step,  the 
I  assistance  of  an  experienced  mind  to  hold 
them  to  the  subject,  to  remove  obstacles  out 
I  of  the  way,  and  throw  light  on  the  path 
before   them.     Here,   then,   is  the  great 
principle  of  revivals.     At  certain  seasons 
which  seem  peculiarly  to  promise  a  divine 
blessing,  an  extraordinary  effort  is  made 
(such  as  cannot  from  its  nature  last  many 
months)  to  bring  the  impenitent  complete- 
ly under  the  power  of  divine  truth.     Re- 
ligious meetings  are  made  so  frequent,  as 
not,  on  the  one  hand,  to  weary  and  distract 
the  mind,  nor,  on  the  other,  to  leave  the 
impression  made  at  one  meeting  to  be  ef- 
faced or  much  weakened  before  the  next 
arrives ;  but  to  keep  the  impenitent  con- 
stantly, as  it  were,  in  an  atmosphere  of  di- 
vine truth,  brightening  continually  around 
them,  and  bringing  their  minds  more  and 
more  perfectly  under  "  the  power  of  the 
world  to  come."     There  is  preaching,  per- 
haps, an  hour  every  evening,  but  the  sub- 
ject is  not  left  there.     At  the  close  of  the 
service,  all  who  are  willing  to  be  considered 
as  serious  inquirers  are  invited  to  remain 
for  a  half  hour  longer,  to  receive  more  fa- 


Chap.  VII.] 


REVIVALS  OF    RELIGION. 


211 


miliar  and  direct  instruction  suited  to  their 
case ;  while  the  members  of  the  church 
withdraw  to  the  vestry,  or  some  other 
convenient  room,  to  implore  the  influences 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  meeting  to  be 
continued  under  these  new  and  more  in- 
teresting circumstances.  There  is  much 
to  awaken  deep  emotion  in  the  separation 
thus  made;  as  parent  and  child,  husband 
and  wife,  friend  and  friend,  part  from  each 
other,  the  one  to  be  prayed  for  and  the 
other  to  pray.  The  great  object  of  the 
meeting  with  inquirers,  as  thus  continued, 
is  to  bring  them  at  once  to  the  point ;  to 
anticipate  and  remove  objections  ;  to  draw 
them  off  from  resting  in  any  mere  prepar- 
atory work ;  to  set  before  them  the  great 
objects  in  view  of  which,  if  at  all,  they 
will  (through  divine  grace)  exercise  right 
affections,  and  then  call  them  lo  do  it;  lead- 
ing them  to  the  throne  of  grace  in  the  fer- 
vent expression  of  repentance  for  sin,  faith 
in  Christ,  and  deliberate  consecration  to 
the  service  of  God.  The  inquirers  are  then 
invited  to  assemble  again  at  some  conve- 
nient hour  the  next  day — or  the  next  even- 
ing, if  there  is  preaching  only  every  other 
night — at  what  is  called  the  meeting  for 
inquiry.  Here  the  pastor  converses  for  a 
few  moments  with  each  individual  sep- 
arately as  to  the  peculiar  state  of  his  feel- 
ings, and  then  addresses  them  collectively, 
as  before,  on  the  one  great  subject  of 
coming  at  once  to  Christ.  An  hour  is  also 
appointed  at  which  he  will  meet  those  who 
are  desirous  to  see  him  alone.  Those 
who  entertain  hopes  are  strictly  examined, 
formed  into  praying  associations,  encour- 
aged to  judicious  effort  for  the  salvation 
of  others,  and  frequently  assembled  as  a 
body  to  receive  instruction  in  the  eviden- 
ces of  genuine  piety.  The  members  of 
the  church,  in  the  mean  time,  if  they  do 
their  duty,  are  actively  engaged,  according 
to  their  ability,  in  similar  labours  in  their 
own  families  and  neighbourhoods.  Their 
efforts,  if  well  directed,  present  religion  in 
a  new  and  striking  form.  It  is  brought 
home  to  "  the  business  and  bosoms  of 
men,"  as  it  can  never  be  by  mere  preach- 
ing. Thus,  in  a  great  variety  of  ways, 
divine  truth  is  made  to  bear  on  the  impeni- 
tent during  the  progress  of  a  revival,  with 
a  directness,  force,  and  continuity  of  im- 
pression, which  can  never  be  attained 
under  any  other  circumstances  ;  while  the 
people  of  God  are  pleading  before  him  to 
give  that  truth  effect,  with  a  fervour  of 
supplication  corresponding  to  the  interest 
Of  the  scene  around  them. 

6.  Another  principle  involved  in  revivals 
is,  the  removal  of  many  causes  which  prevent 
the  access  of  divine  truth  to  the  mind  under 
ordinary  circumstances. 

I  can  barely  glance  at  a  few  of  these.  In 
a  season  of  general  religious  interest,  much 
of  that  reserve  is  laid  aside  which  ordinarily 


prevails  in  respect  to  close  conversation 
on  personal  religion,  and  which  forms  so 
effectual  a  guard  for  backsliding  Christians 
and  impenitent  sinners,  against  the  intru- 
sion of  this  unwelcome  subject.  Men  are 
expected,  at  such  times,  to  speak  freely ; 
and  if  they  do  it  with  kindness  and  a  little 
tact,  they  can  converse  with  almost  any 
one  on  the  state  of  his  spiritual  concerns 
without  wounding  his  pride  or  awakening 
his  resentment. 

The  sense  of  shame,  the  reluctance  to  ie 
singular — one  of  the  strongest  impediments 
(especially  with  the  young)  to  entering  on 
a  religious  course — loses,  at  such  times,  al- 
most all  its  power.  In  an  extensive  revi- 
val, the  singularity  lies  on  the  other  side. 

Those  changes  in  business  or  family  ar- 
rangements, which  must  often  be  made  as 
the  result  of  becoming  religious,  are  re- 
garded at  such  seasons  with  diminished 
dread  and  repugnance.  Is  a  man  engaged 
in  some  dishonourable  or  sinful  employ- 
ment, as,  for  instance,  the  making  or  vend- 
ing of  ardent  spirits  1  The  sacrifice  is  less 
when  he  is  only  one  among  many  who  are 
called  to  make  it.  Has  the  subject  of 
family  prayer  been  an  impediment  to  his 
entering  on  a  religious  course  1  Such  are 
the  habits  and  feelings  of  our  churches, 
that  no  one  can  be  recognised  as  a  con- 
sistent Christian  who  refuses  to  lead  his 
household  statedly  to  the  throne  of  grace. 
Has  a  feeling  of  diffidence  or  awkwardness 
as  to  commencing  this  duty  been  one  rea- 
son for  shrinking  from  the  service  of 
Christ  I  How  entirely  does  this  obstacle 
disappear  when  so  many  around  are  erect- 
ing the  family  altar,  when,  as  I  once  knew 
in  a  single  small  neighbourhood,  twelve 
plain  and  uneducated  men  in  one  week  are 
seen  entering  on  the  duty  of  family  wor- 
ship ! 

The  ordinary  amusements  of  life,  whichr 
interest  the  feelings  and  divert  the  atten- 
tion, are  at  such  periods  wholly  laid  aside 
among  those  who  are  friendly  to  revivals. 

The  concerns  of  business  are  made  to- 
yield  on  such  occasions  to  the  higher  in- 
terests of  eternity.  The  people  of  God 
will  find  or  make  time  for  the  numerous 
seasons  of  prayer  and  preaching  which 
demand  their  presence  ;  and  will  so  ar- 
range that  their  children  and  dependents 
shall  enjoy  every  facility  that  is  requisite 
to  the  effectual  pursuit  of  eternal  life. 

Such,  without  dwelling  farther  on  the 
subject,  are  some  of  the  ways  in  which  im- 
pediments to  the  progress  of  the  Gospel 
are  removed  out  of  the  way,  by  extraordi- 
nary seasons  of  attention  to  religion. 

7.  The  next  principle  which  I  shall  men- 
tion is,  the  tendency  of  revivals  to  bring 
men  to  a  decision,  and  to  make  them  decide 
right  on  the  subject  of  religion. 

"  Hell,"  says  an  old  English  writer,  "  is 
paved   with  good  intentions" — intentions 


212 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


never  carried  into  effect,  because  the  time 
for  their  execution  never  quite  arrived. 
On  these  dreams  of  the  future  a  revival 
breaks  in  with  startling  power,  and  calls 
men  to  instant  decision :  "  Choose  ye  this 
day  whom  ye  will  serve."  Those  who 
beiicve  in  religion  at  all,  believe  and  know 
that  they  can  never  enjoy  a  more  favour- 
able season  to  secure  the  salvation  of  their 
souls.  Everything,  at  such  a  time,  presses 
upon  them  with  united  force  to  make  them 
.decide  at  once,  and  decide  right.  The 
well-known  shortness  of  such  a  season,  to 
them,  perhaps,  the  end  of  their  day  of 
grace — the  uncommon  clearness  and  pun- 
gency with  which  the  truth  is  preached — 
the  solicitude  of  Christian  friends — the  im- 
portunity of  young  converts  who  have  just 
"tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious'' — the 
impulse  of  the  mass  of  mind  around  them, 
moving  in  one  direction,  with  all  the  mul- 
tiplied influences  that  concentre  in  a  re- 
vival, unite  to  impress  the  truth  with  irre- 
sistible force,  "  Noiv  is  the  accepted  time, 
now  is  the  day  of  salvation."  In  the  mean 
time,  one  step  prepares  the  way  for  an- 
other; a  decision  on  one  point  braces  up 
the  mind  for  farther  and  more  important 
decisions  in  the  onward  progress.  "  Shall 
I  yield  to  the  urgency  of  my  friends,  and 
regularly  attend  religious  meetings'?"  The 
effort  costs  perhaps  but  little.  "  Shall  I 
remain  after  the  service  closes,  and  thus 
acknowledge  myself  an  inquirer  V  The 
struggle  is  far  greater,  but  if  the  victory  is 
gained  over  his  backwardness  and  pride, 
lie  is  still  more  likely  to  go  on.  "  Shall  I 
attend  the  meeting  for  inquiry  !"  "  Shall  I 
go  to  my  pastor,  lay  open  my  heart,  and 
tell  him  of  the  world  of  iniquity  which  I 
find  within  V  In  addition  to  the  other 
happy  consequences  of  taking  such  a  step, 
the  strength  of  purpose  gained  by  the  effort 
is  one  security  against  his  going  back  :  he 
is  now  committed,  and  a  sense  of  consist- 
ency unites  with  higher  motives  to  urge 
him  forward.  Thus  the  multiplied  exer- 
cises of  a  revival  bring  the  sinner  continu- 
ally to  the  trial ;  press  him  to  instantane- 
ous decision  ;  and  prepare  the  way,  through 
divine  grace,  for  his  entering  into  the  king- 
dom of  God. 

8.  Another  principle  involved  in  revivals 
is  the  tendency  of  that  lively  joy  which  pre- 
vails among  Christians,  and  especially  young 
converts,  to  render  religion  attractive  to  the 
unconverted. 

At  ordinary  seasons,  a  life  of  piety  too 
often  appears  to  the  impenitent,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  young,  under  a  forbidding  as- 
pect. Christians  find  but  little  in  the  state 
of  things  around  them  to  call  forth  their 
affections,  before  the  unconverted,  in  lively 
expressions  of  spiritual  joy.  I  f  they  do  not 
decline  in  the  warmth  of  their  feelings  (as 
they  too  often  do),  they  arc  apt  at  least  to 
retire  within  themselves,  and  to  seek  their 


chief  enjoyment  in  secret  communion  with 
God.  But  in  times  of  revival  everything 
is  changed.  Their  hearts  naturally  flow 
forth  in  warm  expressions  of  thankfulness 
and  joy,  as  they  witness  again  the  triumphs 
of  divine  grace.  They  renew  the  fervours 
of  their  first  love.  In  their  intercourse 
with  the  unconverted,  they  naturally  as- 
sume an  unwonted  tenderness  of  manner, 
as  they  seek  to  bring  them  by  their  faith- 
ful admonitions  to  the  cross  of  Christ. 
The  effect  is  often  most  striking.  The  im- 
penitent look  at  religion  under  a  new  as- 
pect, as  they  see  the  kindness  and  solici- 
tude of  so  many  around  them  for  their 
spiritual  good.  A  lady,  during  a  recent 
revival,  as  she  entered  the  shop  of  a  trades- 
man of  infidel  principles,  recollected  that, 
though  she  had  dealt  with  him  for  some 
years,  she  had  never  spoken  to  him  on  the 
subject  of  religion.  She  alluded  at  once  to 
the  scenes  which  were  then  passing  in  the 
town ;  to  the  surprising  changes  that  had 
taken  place  in  some  of  her  acquaintance  ; 
and  inquired  whether  any  of  those  whom 
he  employed  were  interested  in  the  work. 
The  man  was  deeply  affected  as  the  con- 
versation went  on,  and  at  last,  wiping  his 
eyes,  he  said,  with  much  emotion,  "  I  know 
not  why  it  is  that  the  ladies  who  deal  with 
me  are  so  anxious  for  my  good.  A  num- 
ber have  spoken  to  me  on  the  subject  be- 
fore, and  one  or  two  have  conversed  with 
some  of  my  workmen.  Religion  must  be 
something  very  different  from  what  I  had 
supposed." 

But  the  effect  on  the  impenitent  is  still 
more  striking,  when  they  witness  the  joy 
which  is  manifested  in  the  countenance 
and  conversation  of  the  new  converts  to 
religion.  Every  natural  man  bears  in  his 
bosom  a  testimony  that  he  is  in  the  wrong. 
He  has,  too,  a  sense  of  want,  an  insatiable 
desire  of  some  good  which  he  has  never 
yet  obtained;  and  when  he  sees  multitudes 
around  him  who  have  found  that  good, 
where  he  knows  it  can  alone  exist,  in  the 
favour  of  God,  how  strong  is  the  appeal 
to  one  of  the  deepest  principles  of  our  na- 
ture, especially  in  the  case  of  those  wrho 
are  already  somewhat  convinced  of  sin, 
and  of  the  unsatisfying  nature  of  all  worldly 
enjoyment !  It  is  the  very  appeal  so  beau- 
tifully set  forth  in  the  parable  of  the  prodi- 
gal son.  It  was  the  reflection  that  there 
was  bread  enough  and  to  spare  in  his  father's 
house,  while  he  perished  with  hunger,  that 
made  him  exclaim,  "  I  will  arise  and  go 
unto  my  father!"  Some  years  ago.  two 
young  ladies,  under  deep  conviction  of  sin, 
went,  after  an  evening  meeting,  to  the  house 
of  their  pastor  for  farther  instruction.  As 
the  preacher  conversed  with  them  much 
at  large,  and  was  urging  them,  by  motives 
drawn  from  the  love  of  Christ,  instantly  to 
accept  the  offered  salvation,  one  of  them 
was  observed  to  rest  her  head  upon  her 


Chap.  VIII.] 


REVIVALS    OF  RELIGION. 


213 


hand,  as  in  deep  abstraction,  till  her  face 
sank  at  last  on  the  table,  in  solemn  and 
overpowering  emotion.  After  a  few  mo- 
ments of  entire  silence,  she  looked  np  with 
a  countenance  of  serene  joy,  dropped  upon 
one  knee  before  her  companion,  and  said, 
with  the  simplicity  of  a  child,  "  Julia,  do 
love  Christ.  He  is  so  beautiful.  Do  come 
with  me  and  love  him  !"  This  led  Julia  to 
the  reflection,  "  She  has  entered  in  while 
I  remain  out."  "  One  shall  be  taken  and 
another  left."  It  was  this  which  seemed 
to  be  the  means  (under  God)  of  bringing 
her  also  to  Christ  before  she  laid  her  head 
that  night  upon  her  pillow. 

9.  The  last  of  these  principles  to  which 
I  shall  advert  is,  the  solemnity  and  awe  in~ 
spired  by  a  sense  of  the  peculiar  presence  of 
God,  the  sanctifying  Spirit. 

The  feeling  of  the  supernatural  is  one 
of  the  strongest  and  most  subduing  emo- 
tions of  the  human  heart.  It  has  been 
used  by  the  adversary  of  souls  to  convert 
unnumbered  millions  into  bond-slaves  of 
the  most  degrading  superstition  ;  and  it  is 
worthy  of  being  employed  by  the  Spirit  of 
all  grace,  as  an  instrument  of  bringing  the 
chosen  of  God  to  that  liberty  wherewith 
Christ  shall  make  them  free.  It  is  the 
great  distinctive  sentiment  of  a  revival  of 
religion.  "  How  dreadful  is  this  place  :  it 
is  none  other  than  the  house  of  God  and 
the  gate  of  heaven."  Such  is  the  feeling 
with  which  those  who  believe  in  the  reality 
of  divine  influence  move  amid  the  scenes 
which  are  hallowed  by  the  especial  pres- 
ence of  the  sanctifying  Spirit.  In  the  chil- 
dren of  God,  as  they  are  employed  in  bear- 
ing forward  the  triumphs  of  his  grace,  it 
awakens  that  mingled  awe  and  delight 
which  we  may  imagine  filled  the  breasts  of 
those  who  bore  before  the  armies  of  Israel 
the  ark  of  the  covenant,  on  which  rested 
the  Shechinah  of  the  Most  High.  To  the  en- 
emies of  God  it  comes  with  a  solemnity  of 
appeal  second  only  to  that  of  the  bed  of 
death  and  the  scenes  of  approaching  judg- 
ment, as  they  see  around  them  the  striking 
manifestations  of  his  presence  who  "  will 
have  mercy  on  whom  he  will  have  mercy, 
and  whom  he  will  he  hardeneth."  "  Grieve 
not  the  Spirit,"  is  the  admonition  continu- 
ally impressed  upon  them  by  the  messen- 
gers of  the  Most  High.  "  Grieve  not  the 
Spirit,"  is  the  argument  urged  especially  by 
those  who  have  recently  tasted  the  sweet- 
ness of  his  renovating  grace.  "  Grieve 
not  the  Spirit,"  is  the  admonition  which 
comes  to  them  at  times  from  those  who 
feel  that  they  have  wasted  their  day  of 
grace.  A  striking  instance  of  this  kind 
occurred  within  my  own  knowledge.  A 
lady  who  had  passed  unsubdued  through 
more  than  one  of  these  seasons  of  visita- 
tion from  on  high,  and  who  had  deliber- 
ately stifled  her  convictions  and  delayed 
repentance,  was  lying  on  the  bed  of  death 


when  another  revival  commenced.  When 
entreated  to  avail  herself  of  this  last  period 
(to  her)  of  the  Spirit's  influences,  she  re- 
plied that  it  was  utterly  in  vain ;  that  she 
had  deliberately  resisted  his  grace,  and 
now  felt  that  the  curse  of  abandonment 
was  upon  her.  Nothing  could  change  her 
views.  She  went  down  to  the  grave  with 
the  admonition  continually  upon  her  lips, 
to  those  who  stood  around  her  bedside, 
"  Grieve  not  the  Spirit."  These  were  the 
last  words  she  uttered  as  she  entered  the 
eternal  world. 

Thus  have  I  given  a  brief  sketch  of  the 
rise  and  progress  of  our  revivals  ;  of  the 
mode  of  presenting  divine  truth  which  has 
been  found  most  effectual  at  such  periods; 
and  of  those  principles  in  our  mental  con- 
stitution which  are  appealed  to  with  pecu- 
liar power  by  these  seasons  of  concentra- 
ted religious  interest.  As  the  limits  as- 
signed me  have  already  been  exceeded,  I 
must  here  leave  the  subject,  commending 
the  very  imperfect  exhibition  which  has 
now  been  made  to  the  candour  and  prayers 
of  the  Christian  reader." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SUPPLEMENTARY     REMARKS     ON     REVIVALS     OF 
RELIGION. 

I  will  add  only  a  few  words  to  the  full 
and  able  discussion  of  the  subject  of  reli- 
gious revivals  contained  in  the  preceding 
chapter. 

The  reader  will  have  perceived  that  it 
treats  particularly  of  the  revivals  which 
have  taken  place  in  New-England,  that 
being  the  part  of  the  United  States  with 
which  its  author  is  most  intimately  ac- 
quainted. But  as  it  has  fallen  to  my  lot 
to  be  conversant  with  the  different  evan- 
gelical denominations  of  all  parts  of  the 
country,  during  several  years  devoted  to 
religious  and  philanthropic  enterprises  be- 
fore my  going  to  Europe,  it  may  not  be 
amiss  that  I  should  give  the  result  of  that' 
experience. 

I  should  say,  then,  that  the  same  blessed 
influences  of  the  Spirit,  which  have  been 
so  signally  manifested  in  the  churches  and 
many  of  the  literary  institutions  of  New- 
England,  have  been  experienced,  and  per- 
haps in  no  less  a  measure,  in  the  evangel- 
ical churches  of  all  denominations  through- 
out the  United  States.  I  have  been  my- 
self a  witness  to  these  blessed  movements 
in  almost  every  one  of  those  States,  at  one 
time  or  another,  and  have  ever  found  their 
effects  to  be,  in  all  ossential  respects,  the 
same. 

It  may  be  fairly  remarked,  I  think,  that 
under  a  permanent,  well-instructed  minis- 
ter, revivals  are  usually  less  alloyed  with 
unnecessary,  and,  on  the  whole,  injurious 


214 

accompaniments,  such  as  great  physical 
excitement,  manifesting  itself  in  sobbing, 
or  crying,  or  ineffectual  efforts  to  retain 
one's  composure.  Still,  it  is  not  the  case 
that  a  preacher  has  it  in  his  power  to  re- 
press all  such  agitation.  Much  depends 
on  the  kind  of  people  he  has  to  do  with. 
Among  the  rude  and  uneducated,  who  are 
accustomed  to  boisterous  expressions  of 
feeling,  there  will  always  be  found  more 
visible  and  irrepressible  excitement  than 
in  other  cases,  as  any  one  who  is  acquaint- 
ed with  such  classes,  in  any  country,  will 
readily  acknowledge.  Judicious  preachers 
will  certainly  endeavour  to  suppress  all 
undue  excitement  and  agitation,  as  inter- 
rupting the  services,  and  preventing  the 
more  composed  from  profiting  by  them. 

It  is  not  very  wonderful,  however,  when 
a  considerable  number  of  persons  who 
have  been  living  all  their  lives  in  rebellion 
against  God,  and  in  the  neglect  of  their 
souls,  become,  as  it  were,  suddenly  awa- 
kened out  of  a  profound  sleep,  that  in  the 
distress  into  which  they  are  thrown  by  a 
view  of  the  jeopardy  in  which  they  stand, 
they  should  be  ready,  like  Saul  of  Tarsus, 
to  exclaim,  "  Lord  !  what  wilt  thou  have 
me  to  do  ?'.'  No  man  can  be  more  a  friend 
of  order  than  I  am,  yet  I  have  seen  times 
when,  under  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel, 
such  pungent  distress  has  been  produced 
by  pressing  the  truth  on  plain  and  com- 
paratively ignorant  minds,  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  maintain  the  calmness  that 
might  be  found  in  a  congregation  of  better- 
educated  and  more  refined  persons,  among 
whom,  nevertheless,  there  might  be  quite 
as  much  real  contrition  of  heart  for  sin. 

That  some  excellent  men,  who  have 
been  eminently  useful  in  the  ministry,  are 
not  sufficiently  careful  in  repressing  un- 
necessary manifestations  of  feeling  is  cer- 
tain, and  they  are  to  be  found  in  all  denom- 
inations. Some,  even,  are  so  much  want- 
ing in  prudence  as  rather  to  encourage 
such  outbursts  of  feeling.  But  among  so 
many  ministers,  widely  different  from  each 
other  in  education,  intellectual  acquire- 
ments, and  modes  of  thinking  on  almost 
every  subject,  entire  agreement  as  to  the 
best  ways  of  conducting  a  revival,  so  far 
as  human  agency  is  concerned,  is  not  to  be 
expected. 

It  is  delightful  to  think  that  revivals  of 
religion  have  really  occurred,  and  do  ev- 
ery year  occur,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent, 
in  all  our  States,  and  among  all  the  evan- 
gelical denominations.  And  although  they 
may  not  always  be  so  quietly  and  judi- 
ciously conducted  as  might  be  desired,  in 
the  newer  parts  of  the  country,  and  where 
the  population  is  somewhat  rude,  yet  they 
have  certainly  exerted  a  happy  influence 
upon  the  churches  and  upon  society,  wher- 
ever they  have  occurred. 


RELIGION  IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


ALLEGED  ABUSES  IN  REVIVALS  OF  RELIGION. 

It  was  my  first  intention  not  to  add  any- 
thing to  what  has  been  said  in  the  chapter 
on  revivals  respecting  the  abuses  alleged 
to  have  been  connected  with  them,  but,  on 
farther  reflection,  I  consider  that  a  few 
words  more  on  that  point  would  not  be 
amiss. 

No  man,  certainly,  who  is  at  all  acquaint- 
ed with  human  nature,  should  be  surprised 
to  hear  that  the  greatest  blessings  bestowed 
on  mankind  are  liable  to  be  abused,  and 
even  the  purest  and  noblest  qualities  to  be 
counterfeited.  Where,  then,  is  there  any 
matter  of  astonishment  should  we  find 
that  abuses  mingle  with  religious  revivals, 
through  man's  imprudence  and  the  malig- 
nity of  the  great  Adversary,  or  should  we 
even  discover  some  revivals  which  deserve 
to  be  called  spurious  ! 

I  ought,  however,  to  premise  that,  what- 
ever abuses  may  have  at  any  time  taken 
place  in  the  revivals  in  America,  or  what- 
ever spurious  ones  may  have  occurred,  it 
cannot  be  disputed  that  our  truly  zealous, 
intelligent,  and  devoted  Christians,  what- 
ever be  their  denomination,  not  only  be- 
lieve in  the  reality  of  revivals,  but  consid- 
er that,  when  wisely  promoted,  they  are 
the  greatest  and  most  desirable  blessings 
that  can  be  bestowed  upon  the  churches. 
There  are,  I  admit,  persons  among  us  who 
oppose  religious  revivals,  and  it  would  be 
sad  evidence  against  them  if  there  were 
not.  There  are  the  openly  wicked,  the 
profane,  Sabbath-breakers,  enemies  of  pure 
religion  in  every  form,  and  avowed  or  se- 
cret infidels.  These  form  the  first  catego- 
ry, and  it  is  not  a  very  small  one.  They 
may  be  found  in  our  cities  and  large  towns, 
and  sometimes  in  our  villages,  and  are  the 
very  persons  whom  strangers  are  most 
likely  to  meet  with  about  our  hotels  and 
taverns.  Next,  there  are  Roman  Catholics, 
Unitarians,  Universalists,  and  others  whose 
Christianity  is  greatly  marred  with  errors 
and  heresies.  These,  too,  almost  with- 
out exception,  hate  revivals,  nor  can  we 
wonder  that  they  should.  A  third  class 
consists  of  those  members  of  our  evangel- 
ical churches  who  conform  too  much  to 
the  opinions  and  practices  of  the  world; 
are  so  much  afraid  of  what  they  call  en- 
thusiasm and  fanaticism  as  to  do  nothing, 
or  nothing  worthy  of  mention,  for  the  pro- 
motion of  the  Gospel ;  and  would  never  be 
known  to  be  Christians,  either  by  the  world 
or  by  their  fellow-Christians,  were  they 
not  occasionally  seen  to  take  their  places 
at  the  communion-table.  Some  such  there 
are  in  all  our  evangelical  churches,  and  in 
one  or  two  of  those  whose  discipline  is  lax- 
er  than  it  should  be,  they  constitute  a  con- 
siderable party. 

Now  it  is  natural  that  European  travel- 


Chap.  IX.] 


REVIVALS    OF  RELIGION. 


215 


lers  in  the  United  States,  when  not  deci- 
dedly religious  themselves,  should  chiefly 
associate  with  one  or  all  of  these  three 
classes ;  and  that,  taking  up  their  notions 
from  them,  they  should  have  their  note- 
books and  journals  filled  with  all  sorts  of 
misrepresentations  with  respect  to  our  re- 
ligious revivals.  Hence  many,  who  have 
never  visited  America,  owe  all  their  ideas 
on  that  subject  to  writers  whose  own  in- 
formation was  partial  and  incorrect,  and 
who,  as  their  very  books  show,  know  no- 
thing of  true  religion,  and  would  never  have 
touched  upon  the  subject,  but  that  they 
wished  to  give  piquancy  to  their  pages  by 
working  up  for  the  wonder  and  amusement 
of  their  readers  every  false  and  exaggera- 
ted statement,  and  foolish  anecdote,  which 
on  that  subject  had  been  poured  into  their 
ears. 

But  serious  and  worthy  people  in  Europe, 
and  particularly  in  Great  Britain,  have  been 
prejudiced  against  revivals  in  another  way. 
They  have  too  readily  allowed  themselves 
to  be  influenced  by  what  has  been  written 
by  excellent  men  among  us,  who,  appre- 
hending much  danger  to  the  cause  of  revi- 
vals from  the  measures  taken  to  promote 
them  by  some  zealous,  but,  in  their  opinion, 
imprudent  men,  and  perceiving  the  mis- 
chievous results  of  such  measures,  have 
faithfully  exposed  them,  and  warned  the 
churches  to  be  upon  their  guard ;  and  this 
they  have  done  in  the  columns  of  our  reli- 
gious journals,  in  pamphlets,  and  in  books. 
Their  endeavours  met  with  much  success 
against  the  Enemy,  who,  on  failing  to  pre- 
vent, had  been  seeking  to  pervert  these 
blessed  manifestations  of  divine  mercy ; 
but,  as  was  natural,  the  strong  language  in 
which  they  had  been  prompted  to  indulge 
by  the  actual  view  of  some  evils,  and  the 
apprehension  of  worse,  impressed  foreign- 
ers with  very  exaggerated  ideas  of  those 
evils.  This  result  was  perhaps  unavoida- 
ble, yet  it  is  much  to  be  deplored ;  for  in- 
jury has  thus  been  done  to  the  cause  abroad 
by  men  who  would  be  the  last  to  intend  it. 

It  is  an  infelicity  to  which  all  endeav- 
ours for  good  are  subject  in  this  evil  world, 
that  they  are  liable  to  be  marred  by  prof- 
fered aid  from  men  who,  notwithstanding 
the  fairest  professions,  prove,  at  length,  to 
have  been  more  actuated  by  their  own  mis- 
erable ambition  than  by  a  true  zeal  for  God's 
glory  and  man's  salvation.  Such  false 
friends  did  no  small  injury  to  the  great  revi- 
val of  religion  in  1740-43,  already  mention- 
ed ;  and  so,  likewise,  did  the  successive 
revivals  that  took  place  in  the  West  in 
1801-3  suffer  much  from  the  imprudence 
of  some  who  desired  to  be  leaders  in  the 
work  of  God.  This  was  the  case  partic- 
ularly in  Kentucky.  And  within  the  last 
few  years,  after  a  blessed  period  marked 
by  revivals  in  many  parts  of  the  country, 
the  same  Adversary  who,  when  "  the  sons 


of  God  come  to  present  themselves  before 
the  Lord,"  seldom  fails  to  obtrude  himself 
among  them,  and  who  can  on  such  occa- 
sions assume  the  garb,  as  it  were,  "  of  an 
angel  of  light,"  contrived  for  a  while  to  do 
no  little  damage  to  the  work.  Some  good 
men,  as  we  still  consider  the  greater  num- 
ber of  them  to  have  been,  not  content  with 
the  more  quiet  and  prudent  character  which 
had  hitherto  marked  the  revivals,  attempted 
to  precipitate  matters  by  measures  deem- 
ed unwise  and  mischievous  by  many  wor- 
thy and  experienced  persons,  both  minis- 
ters and  laymen.  The  passions,  instead 
of  the  judgment  and  the  conscience,  were 
too  much  appealed  to  ;  too  much  stress 
was  laid  on  the  sinner's  natural  ability, 
and  not  enough  on  the  needed  influence 
of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  too  superficial  a  view 
was  presented  of  the  nature  and  evidences 
of  conversion  ;  in  a  word,  the  Gospel  was 
held  forth  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  lead  to 
that  self-abasement  which  becomes  a  sin- 
ner saved  wholly  by  grace. 

One  of  the  reprehended  measures  was 
the  practice  of  earnestly  pressing  those 
who  were  somewhat  awakened  to  a  sense 
of  their  sin  and  danger,  to  come,  at  the 
close  of  the  sermon,  to  seats  immediately 
before  the  pulpit,  called  "anxious  seats," 
or  seats  for  such  as  were  anxious  to  be 
saved,  in  order  that  they  might  be  specially 
prayed  for,  and  receive  some  special  coun- 
sels. This,  though  comparatively  harm- 
less, perhaps,  when  adopted  by  prudent 
men  among  certain  classes  of  people,  was 
much  the  reverse  when  attempted  in  large 
congregations  by  men  not  gifted  with  ex- 
traordinary wisdom.  It  proved  a  poor 
substitute  for  the  simpler  and  quieter  meth- 
od of  meeting  such  as  chose  to  remain  af- 
ter the  public  services  were  over,  in  order 
to  receive  such  advice  as  their  case  might 
require,  or  for  the  good  old  practice  of 
having  special  meetings  at  the  pastor's 
house,  or  in  the  church  vestry  or  lecture- 
room,  for  such  as  were  "  inquiring  the  way 
to  Zion." 

Another  measure,  hardly  deserving  to 
be  called  new,  for  it  has  long  existed  in 
substance  in  the  Presbyterian  churches  of 
the  interior,  and  at  one  time,  I  understand, 
in  Scotland  also,  that  of  having  public  ser- 
vices during  three  or  four  days  on  sacra- 
mental occasions,  was  found  hurtful,  when 
carried  to  the  extent  encouraged  by  some, 
at  what  are  called  "  protracted  meetings." 
These,  when  transferred  from  the  West 
to  the  East,  and  when  they  began  to  be 
more  frequent  with  us,  were  called  "  four 
days'  meetings"  or  "  three  days'  meetings," 
from  the  length  of  time  during  which  they 
were  held.  But  when  prolonged,  as  they 
were  in  some  places — I  know  not  how 
long,  sometimes,  I  believe,  for  a  month  or 
forty  days — the  practice  was  regarded  as 
an  abuse,   and  as  such  it  was   resisted. 


216 


RELIGION   IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


No  one,  perhaps,  would  condemn  such 
meetings  when  called  for  by  particular  cir- 
cumstances ;  but  when  people  seem  in- 
clined to  rely  more  on  them  than  on  the 
ordinary  services  of  the  sanctuary,  and  to 
think  that  without,  them  there  can  be  no 
revivals  and  no  conversions,  it  is  time 
they  were  abolished,  or  at  least  restored 
to  their  proper  use. 

But  what  was  thought  worst  of  all  was 
the  proposal,  for  it  hardly  went  farther, 
of  having  an  order  of  "  revival  preachers," 
who  should  go  through  the  churches, 
spending  a  few  weeks  here  and  a  few 
there,  for  the  sole  object  of  promoting  re- 
vivals. This  was  justly  opposed  as  sub- 
versive of  the  regular  ministry,  for  it  is 
easy  to  see  that  such  men,  going  about 
with  a  few  well-prepared  discourses  on  ex- 
citing topics,  and  recommended,  perhaps, 
by  a  popular  delivery,  would  throw  the 
pastors  in  the  background,  give  the  peo- 
ple "  itching  ears,"  and  in  a  few  weeks  do 
more  harm  than  good.  No  one  would 
deny  that  "  evangelists"  might  be  very 
useful  in  the  new  settlements,  where  a 
regular  clergy  cannot  be  at  once  establish- 
ed, and  even  in  building  up  churches  in 
the  older  parts  of  the  country,  or  preach- 
ing to  churches  without  pastors.  Few, 
likewise,  would  deny  that  some  zealous, 
able,  and  judicious  ministers  might  render 
important  services  in  going  from  church 
to  church  at  the  special  request  of  the 
pastors  for  their  assistance.  Such  men 
should  have  an  eminently  humble,  kind, 
and  prudent  spirit,  and  an  overruling  de- 
sire'to  seek  the  interests  of  their  brethren 
rather  than  to  promote  their  own,  and  some 
such  we  have  had  who  were  widely  use- 
ful. But  should  it  be  thought  that  the 
churches  require  such  men,  they  ought  to 
be  placed  under  the  special  control  of  the 
ecclesiastical  bodies  to  which  they  belong, 
and  without  whose  express  and  continued 
approbation  they  ought  not  to  undertake 
or  continue  such  engagements.  Nothing 
could  be  more  dangerous  to  the  peace  of 
the  churches  than  that  every  man,  who 
may  fancy  himself  a  "  revivalist,"  or  "  re- 
vival preacher,"  should  be  allowed  to  go 
wherever  people  desire  to  have  him,  with 
or  without  the  consent  of  their  pastors. 
Accordingly,  the  institution  of  any  such 
order  was  opposed,  and  the  preachers  who 
had  been  thus  employed  were  urged  each 
to  settle  at  some  one  spot,  which  they 
did ;  and  thus  the  churches  hear  no  more 
of  "  revival  preachers,"  or  "  revival  ma- 
kers," as  some  deserved  to  be  called. 

I  have  said  more  on  this  subject  than  I 
intended,  but  not  more,  perhaps,  than  was 
required.  Yet,  should  any  of  my  readers 
have  been  led  to  suppose  that  the  abuses 
I  have  described  affected  our  churches 
generally,  he  is  mistaken.  They  began 
to   manifest    themselves  about  the   year 


1828,  and  lasted  about  ten  years,  without, 
however,  having  ever  prevailed  widely ; 
and  in  some  extensive  districts  they  have 
been  altogether  unknown.  Of  the  twice 
ten  thousand  churches  of  all  denominations 
among  us,  in  which  "  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus"  is  preached,  only  a  few  hundreds 
are  believed  to  have  been  affected  by  them, 
and  even  these  have  now  become  pretty 
well  rid  both  of  the  abuses  and  their  con- 
sequences. During  the  last  four  years 
our  churches  have  been  more  extensively 
blessed  with  revivals  than  at  any  time  be- 
fore, and  all  well-informed  persons,  whom 
I  have  consulted,  agree  that  those  blessed 
seasons  have  never,  probably,  been  more- 
free  from  whatever  could  offend  a  judicious 
Christian.  For  these  things  we  are  glad  ; 
they  demonstrably  prove  that,  though  our 
sins  be  great,  the  God  of  our  fathers  has 
not  forsaken  us. 

Before  closing  the  subject  of  the  abuses 
attending  religious  revivals,  although  there 
be  no  special  connexion  between  them,  I 
may  say  something  about  camp-meetings, 
respecting  which  I  have  had  many  ques- 
tions put  to  me  in  some  parts  of  Europe. 
Most  foreigners  owe  their  notions  of  these 
meetings  to  the  same  sources  from  which 
they  have  taken  their  ideas  of  revivals — 
the  pages  of  tourists,  who  have  raked  up 
and  woven  into  episodes  for  their  travels, 
all  the  stories  they  have  chanced  to  meet 
with,  and  some  of  whom,  possibly,  have 
even  gone  to  the  outskirts  of  one  of  these 
assemblages,  and  looked  on  with  all  the 
wonder  natural  to  persons  who  had  never 
entered  into  the  spirit  of  such  scenes,  so 
far  as  either  to  comprehend  their  nature 
or  ascertain  their  results. 

Camp-meetings,  as  they  are  called,  ori- 
ginated in  sheer  necessity  among  the- 
Presbyterians  of  Kentucky  in  the  year 
1801,  during  that  great  religious  revival, 
which,  after  commencing  in  the  west- 
ern part  of  North  Carolina,  penetrated 
into  Tennessee,  and  spread  over  all  the 
then  settled  parts  of  the  West.  It  so  hap- 
pened that,  on  one  occasion,  in  the  ear- 
ly part  of  that  revival,  so  many  people 
had  come  from  a  distance  to  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  Lord's  Supper  at  a  particu- 
lar church,  that  accommodation  could  no- 
where be  found  in  the  neighbourhood  for 
all.  during  the  successive  days  and  nights 
which  they  wished  to  spend  at  the  place. 
This  induced  as  many  as  could  to  procure 
tents,  and  form  something  like  a  military 
encampment,  where,  as  provisions  were 
easily  to  be  had,  they  might  stay  till  the 
meetings  closed.  Such  was  the  origin  of 
camp- meetings.  They  were  afterward 
held  at  various  points  during  that  extraor- 
dinary season  of  religious  solicitude.  The 
country  was  still  very  thinly  settled,  and 
as  a  proof  of  the  deep  and  wide-spread 
feelings  that  prevailed  on  the  subject  of 


Chap.  IX.] 


REVIVALS    OF    RELIGION. 


217 


religion,  many  persons  attended  from  dis- 
tances of  thirty,  forty,  and  fifty  miles ;  nay, 
on  one  occasion,  some  came  from  a  dis- 
tance of  even  one  hundred  miles.  It  is  not 
surprising  that  the  meetings  should  have 
lasted  for  a  period  of  several  days,  for 
many  who  attended  them  had  few  oppor- 
tunities of  attending  public  worship  and  of 
hearing  the  Gospel  in  the  wilderness  in 
which  they  lived. 

They  were  held,  when  the  weather  per- 
mitted, in  the  midst,  of  the  noble  forest. 
Seats  were  made  of  logs  and  plank,  the 
under  rubbish  having  been  cleared  away  ; 
a  pulpit  was  erected  in  front  of  the  rows  of 
seats  ;  and  there,  in  the  forenoon,  after- 
noon, and  evening,  the  ministers  of  the 
Gospel  made  known  the  "words  of  eternal 
life."  Public  prayer  was  also  held  at  the 
same  spot  early  in  the  morning,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  services  at  night.  Around,  at 
proper  distances,  were  placed  the  tents, 
looking  to  the  seated  area  prepared  for  the 
great  congregation.  Lamps  were  sus- 
pended at  night  from  the  boughs  of  the 
trees,  and  torches  blazed  from  stakes  some 
eight  or  ten  feet  high,  in  front  of  each  tent. 
In  the  rear  of  the  tents,  in  the  mornings 
and  evenings,  such  simple  cooking  opera- 
tions went  on  as  were  necessary.  Each 
tent  was  occupied  by  one  or  two  families, 
intimate  friends  and  neighbours  sometimes 
sharing  in  one  tent,  when  their  families 
were  not  too  large.  A  horn  or  trumpet 
announced  the  hour  for  the  commencement 
of  the  public  services. 

Such  was  a  primitive  camp-meeting  in 
the  sombre  forests  of  Kentucky  forty  years 
ago.  Solemn  scenes  occurred  at  them, 
such  as  might  well  have  caused  many  who 
scoffed  to  tremble.  Such,  also,  both  as  re- 
pects  their  arrangements,  and  in  many  pla- 
ces, also,  as  respects  the  spirit  that  has  pre- 
dominated at  them,  have  been  the  camp- 
meetings  held  since.  They  were  confined 
for  years  to  the  frontier  settlements,  as  they 
ought,  perhaps,  always  to  have  been,  for 
there  they  were  in  some  measure  necessa- 
ry. I  have  attended  them  in  such  circum- 
stances, have  been  struck  with  the  order 
that  prevailed  at  them,  and  seen  them  be- 
come the  means  of  doing  unquestionable 
good.  They  served  to  bring  together,  to 
the  profit  of  immortal  souls,  a  population 
scattered  far  and  wide,  and  remaining  some- 
times for  years  remote  from  any  regular 
place  of  worship. 

The  reader  must  not  suppose  that  all 
who  come  to  these  meetings  encamp  at 
them.  Only  families  from  a  great  distance 
do  so.  Those  within  a  circuit  even  of  five 
miles,  generally  go  home  at  night  and  re- 
turn in  the  morning,  bringing  something  to 
eat  during  the  interval  of  public  worship. 

In  the  remote  settlements  of  the  Far 
West,  the  utility  of  camp-meetings  seems 
to  be  admitted  by  all  who  know  anything 


about  them;  but  in  densely- settled  neigh- 
bourhoods, and  especially  near  cities  and 
large  towns,  whether  in  the  West  or  the 
East,  they  are  apt  to  give  rise  to  disorder. 
The  idle  rabble  are  sure  to  flock  to  them, 
especially  on  the  Sabbath,  and  there  they 
drink  and  create  disturbance,  not  so  much 
at  the  camp  itself,  for  the  police  would 
prevent  them,  but  at  taverns  and  temporary 
booths  for  the  sale  of  beer  and  ardent  spir- 
its in  the  neighbourhood.  It  is  true  that, 
since  Temperance  societies  have  made 
such  progress,  these  evils  have  much  dimin- 
ished ;  and  even  in  more  populous  places 
good  is  undoubtedly  done  at  these  meet- 
ings ;  the  thoughtless,  who  go  to  them  from 
mere  curiosity,  being  made  to  hear  truths 
that  they  never  can  forget.  Nor  are  these 
meetings  blessed  only  to  the  lower  classes, 
as  they  are  called.  A  young  man  of  the 
finest  talents,  once  my  class-fellow  at  col- 
lege, and  afterward  my  intimate  friend, 
having  gone  to  one  of  them  from  mere  cu- 
riosity, was  awakened  by  a  faithful  sermon 
to  a  sense  of  his  need  of  salvation ;  his 
convictions  never  left  him  until  he  found 
peace  by  "believing  in  the  Son  of  God." 
He  lived  to  become  a  most  popular  and  el- 
oquent minister  of  the  Gospel.* 

Camp-meetings  are  occasionally  held  in 
the  Far  West  by  the  Presbyterians,  espe- 
cially by  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  as 
also  by  some  of  the  Baptists,  possibly,  but 
for  a  longtime  they  have  been  held  mainly 
by  the  Methodists  ;  and  I  understand  that 
many  among  these  have  the  impression 
that,  except  in  the  frontier  and  new  settle- 
ments, they  had  better  give  place  to  "  Pro- 
tracted Meetings,"  which  is  the  course,  L 
believe,  they  are  now  taking. 

Such  is  the  account  I  have  to  give  of 
camp-meetings.  Wicked  men  have  some- 
times taken  advantage  of  them  for  their 
own  bad  purposes,  and  such  abuses  have 
been  trumpeted  through  the  world  with  the 
view  of  bringing  discredit  on  the  religion  of 
the  country.  Without  having  ever  been  a 
great  admirer  of  such  meetings,  I  must  say, 
after  having  attended  several,  and  careful- 
ly observed  the  whole  proceedings,  that  I 
am  satisfied  that  the  mischiefs  alleged  to^ 
arise  from  them  have  been  greatly  exagger- 
ated, while  there  has  been  no  proper  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  good  that  they  have 
done. 

In  some  parts  of  the  West  there  is  a 
practice,  familiar  to  me  in  early  life,  and  of 
which  I  still  retain  very  tender  and  pleas- 
ing recollections.  It  consists  in  hold- 
ing the  services  of  the  sanctuary  in  a  for- 
est during  summer,  both  to  accommodate 
a  greater  number  of  people,  and  also  for 


*  The  late  Rev.  Joseph  S.  Christmas,  some  time 
pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  church  at  Montreal  in  Cana- 
da, and  afterward  settled  in  New- York,  where  he 
died  a  few  years  ago.  An  interesting  Memoir  of  him 
has  been  published. 


218 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  V. 


the  sake  of  the  refreshing  shade  afforded 
by  the  trees.  Seats  are  prepared  in  rows 
before  a  temporary  pulpit  made  of  boards, 
and  there,  from  a  temple  made  by  God  him- 
self, prayer  and  praise  ascend  unto  Him 
"  who  dwelleth  not  in  temples  made  with 
hands,"  and  who  is  ever  present  where 
contrite  and  believing  hearts  are  engaged 
in  worshipping  Him. 

In  such  scenes,  too,  it  is  now  common, 
in  almost  all  parts  of  the  United  States, 
for  Sabbath-schools  to  assemble  on  the 
Fourth  of  July,  if  the  weather  be  good ;  for 
the  purpose  of  hearing  appropriate  address- 
es, far  more  religious  than  political ;  of 
uniting  in  prayer  for  the  blessing  of  God 
upon  the  country,  and  the  country's  hope, 
the  rising  generation  ;  and  of  praising  Him 
from  whom  all  our  privileges,  civil  and  re- 
ligious, have  been  received.  Temperance 
meetings  on  the  same  occasion  are  now 
held  in  our  beautiful  forests,  and  some- 
thing better  is  heard  than  the  boastful  and 
unchristian  self-adulation,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  profaneness  and  ribaldry  which  too 
often  characterized  such  scenes  in  the 
"  olden  time,"  when  Temperance  societies 
and  Sunday-schools  were  unknown. 


CHAPTER   X. 

CONCLUDING  REMARKS  ON  THE  CHURCH  AND  THE 
PULPIT  IN  AMERICA. 

A  stranger,  upon  visiting  extensively 
our  evangelical  churches  of  all  denomina- 
tions, would  be  struck,  I  am  sure,  with  the 
order  that  prevails  in  them ;  and  this  ap- 
plies equally  to  the  smaller  prayer-meet- 
ings to  be  found  in  every  parish  and  con- 
gregation that  has  any  life  in  it,  and  to  the 
greater  assemblies  that  meet  for  public 
worship.  Foreigners  seem  impressed  with 
the  idea,  if  I  may  judge  from  what  I  have 
often  heard  hinted  rather  than  expressed, 
that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  disorder  and 
lawlessness  in  the  United  States,  and  they 
infer  that  there  must  be  no  less  insubordi- 
nation in  the  religious  commonwealth  than 
they  ascribe  to  the  civil.  But  both  opin- 
ions are  totally  unfounded.  It  does  not 
follow,  because  of  a  few  disturbances,  ari- 
sing from  the  disgraceful  opposition  made 
in  some  places  to  abolitionists,  and  the 
resentment  of  an  exasperated  populace 
against  gangs  of  gamblers  in  others,  that 
the  whole  country  is  a  scene  of  continual 
commotion.  In  no  part  of  the  world  have 
there  been  so  few  dreadful  riots,  attended 
■with  loss  of  life,  as  in  the  United  States, 
during  these  last  sixty  years.  There  are 
bad  men  among  us,  and  there  are  crimes, 
but,  after  all,  life  is  quite  as  safe  among  us 
as  in  any  country  I  have  ever  visited,  and 
I  have  been  in  most  of  those  that  are  con- 
sidered civilized. 

As  for  the  Church,  a  regard  for  law  and 


order  reigns  to  a  degree  not  surpassed  in 
any  other  country.  There  is  no  confusion 
of  the  respective  rights  of  the  ministry  and 
people.  The  duties  of  both  are  well  under- 
stood everywhere.  Most  of  the  churches, 
such  as  the  Presbyterian  and  the  Episco- 
palian in  all  their  branches,  possess  and 
maintain  a  strong  ecclesiastical  govern- 
ment, and  even  the  Congregational,  how- 
ever democratic  in  theory,  have  a  govern- 
ment that  exercises  a  hardly  less  powerful 
control.  How  seldom  do  we  hear  of  dis- 
order occurring  at  the  little  meetings  of 
Christians  held  for  prayer  and  the  read- 
ing of  the  Word  of  God — meetings  so  nu- 
merous, and  almost  always  conducted  by 
pious  laymen !  How  seldom  do  private 
church  members  encroach  by  word  or  deed, 
at  meetings  of  any  kind,  on  the  proper 
sphere  of  those  who  hold  office  in  the 
churches!  Indeed,  on  no  one  point  are 
our  churches  more  perfectly  united  in  opin- 
ion than  with  respect  to  the  necessity  of 
maintaining  due  order  and  subordination. 
The  ministry  enjoys  its  full  share  of  influ- 
ence. No  one  ever  hears  of  unauthorized, 
unlicensed  persons  being  allowed  to  speak 
in  our  meetings  for  public  worship.  Those 
levelling  doctrines,  now  spreading  in  other 
countries — doctrines  which  would  reduce 
the  ministry  to  nothing,  and  encourage  lay 
brethren  to  take  it  upon  them  to  preach  or 
teach  in  the  churches — I  dare  affirm,  will 
not  make  much  progress  among  us.  At- 
tempts to  introduce  something  of  this  sort 
have  often  been  made,  but  in  vain.  We 
have,  indeed,  our  meetings  in  which  debate 
is  allowed,  and  there  the  laity  may  even 
take  the  lead,  but  these  meetings  are  about 
the  temporal  affairs  of  the  church,  or  the' 
calling  of  a  pastor,  not  for  the  public  wor- 
ship of  God. 

Experience  has  also  taught  us  the  ne- 
cessity of  maintaining  order  at  meetings 
held  during  revivals — occasions  on  which, 
in  consequence  of  the  strong  excitement 
of  the  most  powerful  feelings  of  the  human 
heart,  there  is  a  special  call  for  watchful- 
ness in  this  respect.  It  is  a  sad  mistake 
to  multiply  meetings  unnecessarily  during 
revivals,  or  to  prolong  them  to  unseason- 
able hours  at  night,  to  the  exhaustion  of 
strength,  the  loss  of  needed  repose,  and 
the  unnatural  and  dangerous  irritation  of 
the  nervous  system.  Yet  these  are  the 
points  in  which  the  inexperienced  are  most 
liable  to  err.  They  begin  a  meeting,  say 
at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The 
preacher  feels  deeply,  and  the  people  are 
much  interested.  Instead  of  preaching  for 
an  hour,  he  is  tempted,  by  the  manifest  at- 
tention of  his  hearers,  to  go  on  for  an  hour 
and  a  half  or  two  hours,  and  instead  of  send- 
ing them  home  at  half  past  eight  o'clock, 
or  at  nine  at  the  farthest,  so  that  they  may 
have  time  for  meditation  and  secret  prayer, 
in  which,  after  all,  the  sinner  is  most  like- 


Chap.  X.] 


EVANGELICAL    CHURCHES. 


219 


ly  to  give  his  heart  unto  God,  he  dismisses 
them  at  ten  or  eleven  o'clock,  fatigued, 
yet  excited,  and  altogether  unfit  for  the  ex- 
ercises of  the  closet.  This  is  sometimes 
done  under  the  ilea  that  the  people  would 
lose  their  serious  impressions  were  the 
service  to  be  short.  But  here  there  is 
often  a  temptation  of  the  Adversary.  No 
revival  ever  suffered  by  evening  meetings 
being  confined  to  a  moderate  length.  Let 
the  people  be  almost  compelled  to  leave 
the  house  rather  than  unduly  protract  such 
meetings. 

One  of  the  most  important  and  difficult 
duties  of  a  minister  in  a  revival  is  rightly 
to  direct  awakened  souls.  Alas!  how  often 
are  even  good  men  found  to  fail  in  this. 
Many  ministers,  whom  I  have  known,  seem 
to  me  to  excel  in  addressing  unawakened 
sinners,  and  yet  to  fail  when  called  to  give 
clear,  intelligible,  and  scriptural  directions 
to  those  who  are  awakened.  Many,  too, 
fail  in  judging  of  the  evidences  of  conver- 
sion, and  "  heal  the  hurt  of  the  people 
softly." 

But  on  no  point,  I  am  convinced,  from 
what  I  have  seen  in  America,  is  there  a 
greater  call  for  the  exercise  of  a  sound  pru- 
dence than  in  receiving  into  the  Church 
persons  who  entertain  the  belief  that  they 
have  "  passed  from  death  unto  life."  While 
they  may  possibly  be  kept  back  too  long, 
the  great  error  lies  on  the  other  side.  The 
new  convert  naturally  desires  to  join  him- 
self to  those  whom  he  now  considers  to  be 
the  children  of  God.  He  thinks  that  it  is 
his  duty  to  do  so,  and  he  may  possibly  be 
right.  But  the  office-bearers  in  the  Church, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  see  to  the  admission  of 
none  but  proper  persons  into  it,  are  no  less 


clearly  bound  to  see  that  the  candidate 
for  membership  gives  such  evidences  of 
piety  as,  on  scriptural  grounds,  shall  be 
deemed  satisfactory.  The  one  may  be 
perfectly  right  in  desiring  to  enter,  and  in 
coming  to  them  for  admission  ;  the  others 
may  be  no  less  justified  in  refusing  until 
they  have  had  satisfactory  evidence  of  the 
applicant's  piety.  No  harm  can  result  from 
this  temporary  conflict  of  duty,  if  I  may 
call  it  so.  Both  seek  to  do  what  is  right, 
and  both  will  soon  find  their  way  clear. 

1  consider  hasty  admissions  to  our  church- 
es to  be  the  greatest  of  all  the  evils  con- 
nected with  revivals  in  some  parts  of  the 
country,  and  among  some  denominations 
in  particular.  But  this  evil  is  not  peculiar 
to  revivals.  It  is  quite  as  likely  to  occur 
when  there  is  no  revival  as  when  there  is. 
With  all  possible  care  it  is  difficult  to  keep 
a  church  pure,  in  a  reasonable  sense  of 
that  word.  How  absurd,  then,  to  expect 
it  when  the  doors  are  thrown  wide  open  to 
admit  hastily  all  that  profess  to  be  con- 
verted !  Experience  shows  the  necessity 
of  decided  views  on  this  subject,  and  of 
firmness  in  enforcing  them.  On  this  point, 
as  well  as  on  all  others  relating  to  the  dis- 
cipline and  government  of  the  Church,  too 
much  care  cannot  be  taken  to  avoid  latitu- 
dinarian  practices.  The  Church  must  be 
kept  a  living  body  of  believers — a  compa- 
ny of  persons  who  have  come  out  from 
the  world,  and  are  determined  to  adorn  the 
profession  which  they  have  made.  In  their 
organization  and  action,  order,  which  is 
said  to  be  "  heaven's  first  law,"  must  be 
maintained.  In  this  opinion,  I  am  sure, 
Christians  of  all  denominations  in  the  Uni- 
ted States  sincerely  and  entirely  concur. 


BOOK    VI. 

THE    EVANGELICAL   CHURCHES    IN   AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PRELIMINARY  REMARKS  IN  REFERENCE   TO  THIS 
SUBJECT. 

This  part  of  our  work  we  propose  to  de- 
vote to  a  brief  notice  of  the  doctrines,  or- 
ganization, and  history  of  each  of  the  evan- 
gelical denominations  in  the  United  States, 
nothing  beyond  a  sketch  of  these  being 
consistent  with  our  limits.  We  shall  en- 
deavour, of  course,  to  confine  ourselves  as 
much  as  possible  to  what  is  important, 
omitting  what  is  least  essential  or  neces- 
sary. 

We  begin  with  the  five  most  numerous 
evangelical  denominations  in  the  United 
States.  These,  in  the  order  of  their  rise, 
are  the  Episcopalians,  the  Congregational- 
ists,  the  Baptists,  the  Presbyterians,  and 


the  Methodists,  and  in  that  order  we  shall 
proceed  to  notice  them.  We  shall  then 
consider  as  briefly  as  possible  the  smaller 
orthodox  denominations,  such  as  the  Mora- 
vians, the  Lutherans,  the  German  Reform- 
ed, and  other  German  sects,  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church,  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rians, the  Protestant  or  Reformed  Metho- 
dists, the  Reformed  Presbyterians  or  Cov- 
enanters, the  Associate  Church,  the  Asso- 
ciate Reformed,  the  Quakers,  &c. 

Numerous  as  are  the  evangelical  denom- 
inations in  the  United  States,  yet  when 
grouped  in  reference  to  doctrine  on  the  one 
hand,  or  church  government  on  the  other, 
it  is  surprising  into  how  small  a  number 
they  may  be  reduced.  In  doctrine  we  have 
but  two  great  divisions — the  Calvinistic 
and  the  Arminian   schools  ;    the  former, 


220 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  Vj. 


with  its  various  peculiarities,  comprehend- 
ing the  Presbyterians,  usually  so  called, 
the  evangelical  Baptists,  the  Episcopalians 
(though  they  generally  consider  them- 
selves as  intermediate  between  the  two), 
the  Congregationalists.  the  German  Re- 
formed, the  Dutch  Reformed,  the  Cove- 
nanters, the  Associate,  and  the  Associate 
Reformed  Churches  ;  the  latter,  with  its 
variations,  comprehending  the  Methodists 
of  all  branches,  the  Lutherans,  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterians,  the  United  Brethren 
or  Moravians,  and  some  other  small  bodies. 

Considered  in  reference  to  their  forms 
of  church  government,  they  all  range  them- 
selves in  three  great  families.  The  Epis- 
copal, comprehending  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church,  the  Methodist  Episcopal, 
and  the  Moravians  ;  the  Presbyterian,  in- 
cluding the  Presbyterians  usually  so  called, 
the  Dutch  Reformed,  the  German  Re- 
formed, the  Lutherans,  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterians,  the  Protestant  Methodists, 
the  Covenanters,  the  Associate,  and  the 
Associate  Reformed  ;  the  Congregational 
(or  Independent,  as  it  is  more  commonly 
called  in  England),  embracing  the  Congre- 
gationalists and  the  Baptists. 

But  when  viewed  in  relation  to  the  great 
doctrines  which  are  universally  conceded 
by  Protestants  to  be  fundamental  and  ne- 
cessary to  salvation,  then  they  all  form  but 
one  body,  recognising  Christ  as  their  com- 
mon Head.  They  then  resemble  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  a  great  temple,  all  constituting 
but  one  whole  ;  or  the  various  corps  of  an 
army,  which,  though  ranged  in  various 
divisions,  and  each  division  having  an  or- 
ganization perfect  in  itself,  yet  form  but 
one  great  host,  and  are  under  the  command 
of  one  chief. 

This  suggests  the  observation  that  on  no 
one  point  are  all  these  churches  more 
completely  united,  or  more  firmly  estab- 
lished, than  on  the  doctrine  of  the  suprem- 
acy of  Christ  in  his  Church,  and  the  unlaw- 
fulness of  any  interference  with  its  doc- 
trine, discipline,  and  government,  on  the 
part  of  the  civil  magistrate.  There  is  not 
a  single  evangelical  church  in  the  United 
States  that  does  not  assert  and  maintain 
the  glorious  doctrine  of  the  Headship  of 
Christ  in  his  Church,  and  that  from  Him 
alone  comes  all  just  and  lawful  authority 
in  the  same.  On  this  point  they  hold 
unanimously  the  great  doctrine  which  the 
Church  of  Scotland  has  been  so  nobly  con- 
tending for.  If  the  civil  power  has  ever 
referred  for  a  moment  to  the  doctrine  and 
discipline  of  the  Church,  it  has  only  been 
in  courts  of  justice,  and  that  solely  "for  the 
purpose  of  determining  which  of  two  par- 
ties has  a  legal  title  to  be  considered  as  the 
church  in  question.  For  example  :  A 
church  divides  ;  the  parties  into  which  it 
is  divided  contend  for  the  property  that  be- 
longed to  it  when  entire ;   and  the  court 


before  which  they  come  for  a  decision  of 
their  claims,  is  compelled  to  look  to 
points  of  doctrine  and  discipline  in  order 
to  settle  this  question  as  to  property. 
Thus  it  was  in  the  great  Quaker  case, 
formerly  referred  to. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    PROTESTANT    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH. 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States  derives  its  origin  from  the 
Church  of  England,  of  which  it  is  not  only 
an  offshoot,  but  to  which  it  is  "  indebted, 
under  God,  for  a  long  continuance  of  nur- 
sing care  and  protection."*  It  agrees  with 
that  Church  in  doctrine  ;  and  its  ritual  and 
formularies,  with  some  variations  intro- 
duced after  the  Revolution  by  which  the 
Colonies  became  independent  States,  are 
the  same.  Unlike  the  mother-church, 
however,  it  is  in  no  way  connected  with 
the  State,  nor  do  its  Li shops,  in  virtue  of 
their  office,  enjoy  any  civil  powers,  im- 
munities, or  emoluments. 

The  chief  particulars  in  which  the  Ser- 
vice Book  differs  from  that  of  the  Church 
of  England  are  as  follows  :  1.  A  shorter 
form  of  absolution  is  allowed  to  be  used 
instead  of  the  English,  which  is,  however, 
retained,  and  frequently  used  in  the  public 
service.  2.  The  Athanasian  creed  is  omit- 
ted. 3.  In  the  administration  of  baptism, 
the  sign  of  the  cross  may  be  dispensed 
with,  if  requested.  4.  The  marriage  ser- 
vice has  been  considerably  abridged.  5.  In 
the  funeral  service,  some  expressions,  con- 
sidered as  liable  to  misconstruction,  have 
been  altered  or  omitted.  6.  There  has 
been  a  change,  of  course,  in  the  prayers 
for  rulers.  7.  It  is  allowed  to  omit  in 
communion  service  the  prayer  called  the 
"  Oblation,"  and  the  Invocation.  8.  It  is 
permitted  to  change  the  words  "  He  de- 
scended into  hell,"  which  occur  in  the 
Apostles'  Creed,  into  "  He  descended  into 
the  world  of  departed  spirits,"  or  words 
equivalent.  The  other  modifications,  being 
of  less  importance  and  chiefly  verbal,  need 
not  be  specified. 

As  in  the  parent  church  in  England, 
there  are  three  ranks  or  orders  in  the 
ministry,  and  these  are  believed,  by  its 
friends,  to  be  of  apostolical  institution,  viz., 
bishops,  priests,  and  deacons.  Ordination 
is  peformed  solely  by  the  bishops.  The 
churches  choose  their  own  pastors,  but 
their  installation,  or  induction,  requires  the 
consent  of  the  bishop  of  the  diocess.f    The 


*  Preface  to  the  American  Book  of  Common: 
Prayer. 

t  When  the  bishop  is  unable  to  preside  at  the  in- 
stallation or  institution  of  a  minister  as  rector  or 
pastor  of  a  church,  he  appoints  a  committee  of  neigh- 
bouring presbyters  to  act  as  institutors  on  the  occa- 
sion.   So,  also,  in  diocesses  that  have  no  bishops,  if 


Chap.  II.] 


PROTESTANT    EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


221 


regulation  of  the  temporal  affairs  of  each 
church  is  confided  to  a  board  of  church- 
wardens, and  vestry,  the  former  of  which 
are  chosen  by  the  communicants,  the  lat- 
ter by  the  members  of  the  parish  general- 
ly. The  spiritual  rule  rests  mainly  with 
the  pastor,  or  rector,  as  he  is  more  com- 
monly called. 

The  increase  and  wide  diffusion  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  has 
led,  I  understand,  to  the  determination  that 
each  state  shall  constitute  a  diocess,  ex- 
cept when  its  extent,  and  the  number  of 
churches  in  it,  may  require  its  being  divi- 
ded, like  that  of  New-York,  into  two  dio- 
cesses.  In  some  instances,  however,  as 
in  Virginia,  where  the  state  is  extensive, 
and  the  churches  not  very  numerous,  and 
especially  where  the  principal  or  senior 
bishop  does  not  enjoy  robust  health,  an 
assistant  bishop  has  been  appointed. 

Each  diocess  has  its  affairs  directed  by 
an  Annual  Convention,  composed  of  the 
diocesan  clergy  and  one  or  more  lay  dele- 
gates from  each  parish,  elected  by  the  peo- 
ple, or  appointed  by  the  wardens  and  ves- 
try ;  the  clergy  and  laity  forming  one  body, 
but  voting  separately  whenever  this  is  de- 
manded, the  clergy  forming  one  house  and 
the  laity  another.  The  bishop  presides, 
should  there  be  one  ;  if  not,  a  president  is 
chosen  in  his  place.  A  concurrent  vote  of 
both  orders,  when  voting  separately,  is 
necessary  before  any  measure  or  law  can 
pass. 

Every  three  years  a  General  Convention 
is  held ;  the  last  always  appointing  the 
place  of  meeting  for  the  next  after.  This 
body  is  composed  of  clerical  and  lay  dele- 
gates from  each  state  or  diocesan  conven- 
tion, who  form  the  house  of  delegates,  and  of 
the  bishops,  who  form  the  house  of  bishops. 
When  any  proposed  act  has  passed  one 
house,  it  is  sent  to  the  other  for  its  concur- 
rence, the  consent  of  both  houses  being 
requisite  to  its  having  the  force  of  law. 
The  Episcopal  Church,  throughout  the 
country,  is  governed  by  the  canons  of  the 
General  Convention.  These  canons  regu- 
late the  election  of  bishops,  declare  the 
qualifications  necessary  for  obtaining  the 
orders  of  deacon  and  priest,  the  studies  to 
be  previously  pursued,  the  examinations  to 
be  undergone,  and  the  age  which  candidates 
must  have  attained  before  they  can  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  three  grades  of  the  ministry. 
The  age  of  twenty-one  is  required  for 
deacon's  orders,  twenty-four  for  those  of 
priest,  and  before  a  man  can  be  ordained 
a  bishop  he  must  have  completed  his  thir- 
tieth year. 

Candidates  for  ordination  do  not,  as  in 
the  Church  of  England,  subscribe  the  Thir- 
ty-nine Articles,  but  simply  the  following 


the  services  of  a  neighbouring  prelate  cannot  be  ob- 
tained, a  self-constituted  committee  of  neighbouring 
presbyters  may  give  institution. 


declaration  :  "  I  do  believe  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  to 
be  the  word  of  God,  and  to  contain  all 
things  necessary  to  salvation  ;  and  I  do 
solemnly  engage  to  conform  to  the  doc- 
trines and  worship  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  in  these  United  States." 
These  doctrines  are  understood  to  be  con- 
tained in  the  articles  of  religion  printed 
with  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and 
implied  in  the  liturgy  of  the  Church.  The 
fall  of  man,  the  Trinity  of  divine  persons 
in  the  Godhead,  the  proper  Deity  and  hu- 
manity of  the  Saviour,  the  atonement 
through  his  sufferings  and  death,  the  re- 
generating and  sanctifying  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  general  judgment,  the 
everlasting  reward  of  the  righteous  and 
punishment  of  the  wicked — or,  in  other 
words,  what  are  called  the  doctrines  of 
the  Reformation — are  fully  taught  in  these 
formularies,  and  are  in  reality  professed 
by  those  who  subscribe  the  above  decla- 
ration. 

The  Episcopal  was  the  first  Protestant 
Church  planted  on  the  American  Conti- 
nent, and  the  reader  has  seen  how  it  was 
the  favoured  Church  in  Virginia  from  the 
earliest  settlement  of  that  state  until  the 
Revolution  ;  also,  how  it  came  to  be  estab- 
lished in  the  colonies  of  Maryland,  New- 
York,  and  the  Carolinas.  But,  notwith- 
standing all  the  aid  which  it  received  from 
the  civil  government,  its  prosperity  was 
far  from  commensurate  with  its  external 
advantages.  When  the  Revolution  com- 
menced it  had  not  more  than  eighty  min- 
isters in  the  colonies  north  and  east  of 
Maryland,  and  even  these,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  such  as  were  settled  in  Philadel- 
phia, New- York,  Newport,  Boston,  and  a 
few  other  of  the  most  important  cities  and 
towns,  were  supported  by  the  Society  for 
the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign 
Parts  ;  while  in  the  colonies  south  of  Vir- 
ginia, viz.,  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia,  all 
the  clergy  taken  together  were  but  few. 
The  number  in  Virginia  and  Maryland, 
amounting  to  about  150,  greatly  exceeded 
that  of  all  the  other  colonies. 

The  causes  of  this  ill  success  during  the 
colonial  era  lay,  as  we  have  stated,  in  the 
Church  being  dependant  upon  England  al- 
together for  Episcopal  supervision,  and,  in 
a  great  degree,  for  its  ministers ;  in  the 
unfitness,  for  the  colonies,  of  many  that 
were  sent  over  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  to 
whose  diocess  the  Episcopal  churches  in 
America  were  then  attached ;  and  the  great 
difficulties  attending  the  raising  up  of  a  na- 
tive clergy,  and  sending  them  to  England 
for  consecration,  though  this  had  been 
done  to  a  very  great  extent  in  the  colony 
of  Connecticut,  and  it  was  in  that  colony 
that  the  Episcopal  Church  had  made  by 
far  the  greatest  advance.  We  have  also 
seen  how  disastrous  were  the  Revolution 


222 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VL 


and  the  changes  it  effected  on  the  Episco- 
pal Church  in  all  the  colonies,  and  particu- 
larly in  Virginia,  and  that  it  was  many 
years  before  it  could  rise  from  the  pros- 
tration in  which  the  return  of  peace  in  1783 
found  it. 

One  of  the  first  measures  attempted  after 
that  event  was  the  formation  of  an  eccle- 
siastical constitution,  by  a  special  conven- 
tion of  the  clergy  from  several  of  the 
states,  held  in  Philadelphia  in  1785,  for 
the  purpose  of  uniting  all  the  Episcopal 
churches  in  one  body.  Another  important 
measure  was  the  ordination  of  American 
bishops.  For  this  purpose,  the  above  con- 
vention, which  was  the  first  that  was  held, 
opened  a  correspondence  with  the  Arch- 
bishops of  Canterbury  and  York.  This 
was  followed  by  the  British  Parliament 
passing  an  act  authorizing  the  English  prel- 
ates to  consecrate  bishops  for  America. 
The  Rev.  Drs.  White  and  Provoost,  the 
former  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  latter  of 
New- York,  were  thereupon  sent  over  to 
England,  and  received  ordination  to  the 
Episcopal  office  from  the  hands  of  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  and  the  Archbishop 
of  York,  the  Bishops  of  Bath  and  Wells 
and  of  Peterborough  assisting.  Upon  their 
return  to  America,  Bishops  White  and  Pro- 
voost entered  upon  the  discharge  of  their 
Episcopal  duties  in  their  respective  dio- 
cesses. 

A  short  time  before  the  consecration  of 
Bishops  White  and  Provoost,  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Seabury,  D.D.,  had  gone  over  to 
England  for  consecration  to  the  Episcopal 
office.  But  having  abandoned  all  hope  of 
success  from  that  quarter,  he  went  to  Scot- 
land, and  was  consecrated  by  three  of  the 
non-juring  bishops  of  that  kingdom.  Upon 
his  return  he  became  Bishop  of  Connecti- 
cut. In  the  Convention  of  1789,  it  being 
proposed  to  ordain  another  bishop,  that 
body  requested  Bishops  White  and  Pro- 
voost to  unite  with  Bishop  Seabury  in  per- 
forming that  act,  the  presence  of  three 
bishops  being  necessary.  But  Bishop 
White  having  some  doubts  whether  it  was 
consistent  with  the  faith  understood  to 
have  been  pledged  to  the  English  bishops, 
not  to  proceed  to  an  act  of  consecration 
without  having  first  obtained  from  them 
the  number  held  in  their  church  to  be  ca- 
nonically  necessary  to  such  an  act,  the  dif- 
ficulty was  terminated  by  sending  the  Rev. 
James  Madison,  D.D.,  of  Virginia,  to  Eng- 
land, and  his  consecration  there.  At  the 
next  triennial  convention,  held  in  the  city 
of  New-York  in  1792,  the  four  bishops, 
Drs.  White,  Provoost,  Madison,  and  Sea- 
bury, ordained  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  John 
Clagget  to  the  Episcopal  office  in  the  dio- 
cess  of  Maryland. 

About  that  epoch  the  Church  may  be 
said  to  have  passed  its  apogee  of  depres- 
sion, occasioned  by  the  Revolution  and  its 


effects.  Its  subsequent  history  has  been, 
marked  by  an  ever-increasing  prosperity. 
I  have  not  the  means  of  knowing  what 
was  the  precise  number  of  its  clergy  in 
1792,  but  I  am  sure  that  it  could  not  have 
exceeded  200,  and  its  bishops  were  four. 
Just  forty  years  later,  in  1832,  according 
to  the  Journal  of  the  General  Convention 
held  in  New- York  in  October  of  that  year, 
the  number  of  the  bishops  had  increased 
to  fifteen,  and  that  of  the  clergy  to  583. 
Twelve  years  later  still,  in  1844,  we  find 
the  number  of  bishops  augmented  to  twen- 
ty-three, the  clergy  to  1176,*  while  the 
churches  probably  exceed  1200. 

Nor  has  the  spiritual  prosperity  of  this 
church  been  less  remarkable  than  its  ex- 
ternal. It  possesses  a  degree  of  life  and 
energy  throughout  all  its  extent,  and  an 
amount  of  vital  piety  in  its  ministers  and 
members,  such  as  it  never  had  in  its  colo- 
nial days.  It  is  blessed  with  precious  re- 
vivals, and  flourishes  like  a  tree  planted 
by  the  rivers  of  water.  And  in  no  por- 
tions of  the  country  does  it  possess  more 
spiritual  health  than  in  the  States  of  Vir- 
ginia and  Maryland,  where,  in  the  ante- 
revolutionary  era,  it  was  in  a  deplorable 
state  as  regards  piety,  both  in  its  ministry 
and  its  laity.  Happier  days  have  dawned 
upon  it  in  those  states,  and,  indeed,  every- 
where else.  Even  while  writing  this  chap- 
ter, I  have  received  a  letter  from  an  excel- 
lent young  Episcopal  minister  set! led  in  a 
country  parish  in  the  centre  of  Virginia, 
who  informs  me  that  the  last  winter  and 
spring  were  seasons  of  remarkable  bless- 
ing to  the  Episcopal  Church  in  that  state. 
He  states  that  about  100  persons  have 
been  added  to  the  church  at  Norfolk  ;  near- 
ly as  many  to  that  of  Petersburg ;  while 
at  Richmond,!  so  interesting  was  the  state 
of  things,  that  the  rectors  of  the  churches 
there  (three  or  four  in  number)  did  not 
feel  it  to  be  their  duty  to  leave  their  flocks 
in  order  to  attend  the  Convention  of  the 
Diocess  which  had  just  taken  place. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  the  societies 
which  have  sprung  up  in  the  Episcopal 
Church  for  the  promotion  of  domestic  mis- 
sions, Sunday-schools,  the  education  of 
poor  and  pious  young  men  for  the  minis- 
try, and  the  publication  of  religious  tracts 
and  books. 

I  have  also  taken  some  notice  of  the 
theological  schools  or  seminaries  connect- 
ed with  it,  viz.,  one  at  New-York,  another 
in  Fairfax  county,  Virginia,  a  few  miles 
from  Alexandria,  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, and  a  third  at  Gambier,  Ohio,  in  con- 
nexion with  Kenyon  College.  These  insti- 
tutions have  already  sent  forth   a  large 


*  Swords's  Pocket  Almanac  for  1844.  The  pres- 
ent number  of  bishops  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  America  is  twenty-three,  including  the 
bishop  elect  of  New-Hampshire. 

t  These  three  are  the  largest  cities  in  the  state. 


Chap.  III-l 


CONGREGATIONAL    CHURCHES. 


223 


number  of  young  men  into  the  ministry, 
and  some  140  or  150  are  at  this  moment 
pursuing  their  theological  studies  at  them, 
under  the  instruction  of  able  professors. 

The  clergy  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in 
America,  like  those  of  the  Established 
Church  in  England,  are  divided  into  two 
classes,  one  called  "  high  church"  and  the 
other  "low."  Sometimes  these  parties 
are  called  "evangelical"  and  "non-evan- 
gelical," but  not  with  accuracy,  for  not  a 
few  of  the  high-churchmen,  that  is,  men 
charged  with  carrying  their  preference  for 
Episcopacy  to  an  extravagant  length,  are 
entirely  evangelical  in  their  doctrines  and 
preaching.  But  a  part  of  these  high- 
churchmen  are  not  considered  evangelical 
— not  so  much  because  of  what  they  do 
preach,  as  because  of  what  they  do  not 
preach.  Their  sermons  are  of  too  nega- 
tive a  character;  an  efficacy  unknown  to 
the  Scriptures  is  ascribed  to  ceremonies 
and  forms  ;  neither  are  the  sinner's  sin 
and  danger  as  fully  and  earnestly  set  forth 
as  they  should  be,  nor  is  the  glorious  suffi- 
ciency of  Christ  unfolded,  and  salvation 
by  faith  alone  fully  and  clearly  presented. 
Their  preaching,  consequently,  does  not 
reach  the  hearts  of  their  hearers  as  does 
that  of  their  evangelical  brethren,  nor  does 
it  lead  the  members  of  their  churches  to 
renounce  the  "  world,  its  pomps  and  its 
vanities,"  to  as  great  an  extent  as  they 
should  do.  Yet  they  are  not  to  be  classed 
with  the  fox-hunting,  theatre-going,  ball- 
frequenting,  and  card-playing  clergy  of 
some  other  countries.  They  are  an  infi- 
nitely better  class  of  men  and  ministers. 

I  know  not  the  comparative  numbers  of 
the  evangelical  and  non-evangelical  cler- 
gy, but  infer,  from  the  statements  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Tyng,*  in  his  speech  in  London 
before  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  in 
May,  1842,  that  they  are  in  the  proportion 
of  about  two  thirds  of  the  former  to  one 
third  of  the  latter.  Of  the  twenty-three 
bishops,  fourteen  or  fifteen  are  considered, 
I  believe,  entirely  evangelical,  while  seven 
or  eight  cannot  properly  be  placed  in  that 
category.  But  all  are  laboriously  occu- 
pied in  their  official  work  ;  and  I  believe  it 
would  be  difficult  to  find  an  Episcopal  body 
of  equal  number,  in  any  other  country,  sur- 
passing them  in  talents,  zeal,  and  piety. 
To  be  a  bishop  with  us  is  quite  a  different 
thing  from  holding  that  office  where  bish- 
ops live  in  palaces  and  have  princely  rev- 
enues. Our  bishops  are  frequently  parish 
priests  also,  and  can  find  time  to  visit  their 
diocesses  only  by  employing  an  assistant 
preacher,  or  rector,  to  fill  their  places 
when  they  are  engaged  in  their  visitations. 
Their  revenues  do  not  much  exceed,  in 
some  instances  do  not  equal,  those  of 
many  of  their  clergy. 


*  Dr.  Tyng  is  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the 
Episcopal  ministers  in  the  United  States. 


As  for  the  Puseyite  or  Tractarian  doc- 
trines, or  whatever  they  may  be  called, 
three,  or  perhaps  four,  of  the  high-church 
bishops  are  supposed  to  have  embraced 
them,  or  at  least  to  be  favourable  to  them, 
as  understood  in  America.  But  there  is 
not  one  who  adopts  the  notions  recently  put 
forth  by  the  "  British  Critic,"  the  advocate 
of  this  party  in  England,  and  but  one  who 
has  ever  declined  the  name  of  Protestant. 
Among  the  inferior  clergy  it  has  been 
feared  that  these  sentiments  have  made 
considerable  progress ;  but  those  whose  sit- 
uation enables  them  to  judge  with  a  good 
deal  of  accuracy,  say  that  it  is  much  less 
than  has  been  supposed.  Among  the  laity 
there  is  scarcely  any  sympathy  with  these 
semi-popish  doctrines,  and  1  cannot  be- 
lieve that  they  will  make  much  way  in  the 
country  at  large. 

The  prospects  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  United  States  are  certainly  very  en- 
couraging. The  friend  of  a  learned  and 
able  ministry,  to  form  which  she  has  found- 
ed colleges  and  theological  institutions,* 
she  sees  among  her  clergy  not  a  few  men 
of  the  highest  distinction  for  talents,  for 
learning,  for  eloquence,  and  for  piety  and 
zeal.  A  large  number  of  the  most  respect- 
able people  in  all  parts  of  the  country  are 
among  her  friends  and  her  members,  es- 
pecially in  the  cities  and  large  towns. 
Under  such  circumstances,  if  she  be  true 
to  herself  and  her  proper  interests,  with 
God's  blessing  she  cannot  but  continue  to 
prosper  and  extend  her  borders. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCHES. 

The  faith  of  the  Congregational  church- 
es of  America  is  common  to  the  evangeli- 
cal churches  of  both  hemispheres,  but  their 
organization  and  discipline  are,  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  peculiar  to  themselves. 
A  large  and  most  respectable  body  of  dis- 
senters in  Great  Britain,  formerly  known 
as  Independents,  have  of  late  preferred  the 
name  of  Congregational,  but  the  differences 
between  American  Congregationalism  and 
that  which  bears  the  same  name  in  Eng- 
land are,  in  some  respects,  highly  impor- 
tant. Some  of  these  differences,  as  well 
as  the  points  of  agreement,  will  appear  in 
the  statements  which  follow. 

New-England  is  the  principal  seat  of  the 
Congregational  churches  in  America.  This 
is  the  region  which  the  Puritans  planted 
in  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  centu- 
ry ;  and  here  they  have  left  upon  the  struc- 


*  The  founding  of  the  Theological  Seminary  of  this 
Church,  at  the  city  of  New-York,  was  greatly  pro- 
moted by  the  princely  gift  of  60,000  dollars  (above 
£12,000)  by  a  Mr.  Jacob  Sherred.  Such  beneficence- 
deserves  to  be  most  gratefully  commemorated. 


224 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


ture  and  institutions  of  society,  and  upon 
the  opinions  and  manners  of  the  people, 
the  deepest  impression  of  their  peculiar 
character.  In  all  these  states,  with  the 
exception  of  Rhode  Island,  the  Congrega- 
tionalists  are  more  numerous  than  any- 
other  sect,  and  in  Massachusetts  and  Con- 
necticut they  are  probably  more  numerous 
than  all  others  united. 

Out  of  New-England  the  Congregation- 
alists  have  never  been  zealous  to  propa- 
gate their  own  peculiar  forms  and  institu- 
tions. Of  the  vast  multitudes  of  emigrants 
from  New-England  into  other  states,  the 
great  majority  have  chosen  to  unite  with 
churches  of  the  Presbyterian  connexion 
rather  than  to  maintain  their  own  peculi- 
arities at  the  expense  of  increased  division 
in  the  household  of  faith.  In  so  doing, 
they  have  followed  the  advice  and  fallen 
in  with  the  arrangements  of  the  associated 
bodies  of  Congregational  pastors  in  New- 
England.  Yet  in  the  States  of  New- York, 
Ohio,  Michigan,  Illinois,  and  the  Territories 
of  Wisconsin  and  Iowa,  many  congrega- 
tions retain  the  forms  of  administration 
which  have  descended  to  them  from  the 
New-England  fathers,  and  refuse  to  come 
into  connexion  with  any  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian judicatories.  Since  the  recent  division 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  the  number  of 
such  congregations  is  increasing. 

The  whole  number  of  Congregational 
churches  in  the  United  States  is  probably 
not  far  from  1500,  of  which  more  than  1000 
are  in  New-England.  The  number  of  min- 
isters is  about  1350,  and  the  members  or 
communicants  may  be  stated  at  180,000. 
This  estimate  does  not  include  those 
churches  originally  or  nominally  Congre- 
gational, which  have  rejected  what  are 
called  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation. 
These  churches  are  better  known  by  their 
distinctive  title,  Unitarian.  The  churches 
of  this  description  are  nearly  all  in  Massa- 
chusetts ;  a  few  are  in  Maine,  two  or  three 
in  New-Hampshire,  one  or  more  in  Ver- 
mont, as  many  in  Rhode  Island,  and  one, 
in  a  state  of  suspended  animation,  in  Con- 
necticut. Out  of  New-England  there  are 
perhaps  from  six  to  ten  churches  of  the 
same  kind,  differing  very  little  in  their 
principles,  or  in  their  forms,  from  the  Uni- 
tarians of  England. 

The  "  Pilgrims,"  as  they  are  called — the 
little  band  of  exiles  who,  having  fled  from 
England  into  Holland,  afterward,  in  1620, 
migrated  from  Holland  to  America,  and 
formed  at  Plymouth  the  first  settlement  in 
New-England — were  separatists  from  the 
Church  of  England,*  and  for  the  crime  of 
attempting  to  set  up  religious  institutions 
not  established  by  law,  they  were  com- 


*  In  what  sense  they  were  Separatists  the  reader 
will  have  perceived  from  what  was  said  in  chapter 
iv.  of  book  ii.  He  will  also  perceive  in  what  sense 
they  were  not  Separatists.  ' 


pelled  to  flee  from  their  native  country, 
embarking  by  stealth  and  at  night  as  fugi- 
tives from  justice,  as  we  have  related  in 
detail  elsewhere.*  But  those  bodies  of 
emigrants,  far  more  numerous  and  far  bet- 
ter prepared  and  furnished,  which,  from 
1628  onward,  planted  Salem  and  Boston, 
Hartford,  and  New-Haven  —  the  emigra- 
ting Puritans,  who  were  the  actual  found- 
ers of  New-England,  and  whose  character 
gave  direction  to  its  destiny — were  men 
who  considered  themselves  as  belonging 
to  the  Church  of  England  till  their  emi- 
gration into  the  American  wilderness  dis- 
solved the  tie.  They  were  Puritans  in 
England,  it  is  true,  but  the  Puritans  were 
a  party  within  the  Church  contending  for 
a  purer  and  more  thorough  renovation,  and 
not  a  dissenting  body,  with  institutions  of 
their  own,  out  of  the  Church.  The  minis- 
ters who  accompanied  the  Puritan  emi- 
grants, or,  rather,  who  led  them  into  the 
wilderness,  and  who  were  the  first,  pastors 
of  the  churches  in  New-England,  were,  be- 
fore their  emigration,  almost/ without  ex- 
ception, ministers  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, educated  at  the  universities,  episco- 
pally  ordained,  regularly  inducted  into  liv- 
ings ;  Nonconformists,  it  is  true,  as  refu- 
sing to  wear  the  white  surplice,  to  baptize 
with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  or  to  use  other 
ceremonies  which  seemed  to  them  super- 
stitious, but  yet  exercising  their  ministry 
as  well  as  they  could  under  many  disabili- 
ties and  annoyances.  Cotton  and  Wilson, 
of  Boston,  Hooker  and  Stone,  of  Hartford, 
Davenport  and  Hooke,  of  New-Haven — 
not  to  extend  the  catalogue — were  all  ben- 
ficed  clergymen  before  their  emigration. 
These  men  having  emigrated  to  what  were 
then  called  "  the  ends  of  the  earth,"  and 
supposing  that  their  expatriation  had  made 
them  free  from  that  ecclesiastical  bondage 
to  which  they  had  been  "  subjected  unwill- 
ingly," set  themselves  to  study,  with  their 
Bibles  in  their  hands,  the  Scriptural  model 
of  church  order  and  discipline,  and  to  form 
their  churches  after  the  pattern  thus  dis- 
covered. The  result  was  Congregational- 
ism— a  system  which  differed  as  much 
from  Brownism  on  the  one  hand,  as  it  did 
from  Presbyterianism  on  the  other.  After 
the  Puritans  in  America  had  set  up  their 
church  order,  the  Puritans  in  England, 
having  become  a  majority  in  Parliament, 
attempted  to  reduce  the  Established  Church 
of  that  nation  to  the  Presbyterian  form ; 
and  it  was  not  till  a  still  later  period  that 
Congregationalism,  or,  as  it  was  more  gen- 
erally called  there,  Independency,  began 
to  make  a  figure  under  the  favour  of 
Cromwell. 

Thus  it  appears  that  Congregationalism 
in  America,  instead  of  being  an  offset  from 
that  in  England,  is  the  parent  stock.     No 


*  See  book  ii.,  chap.  L 


€hap.  Ill] 


CONGREGATIONAL    CHURCHES. 


225 


Congregational  church  in  England,  it  is 
believed,  dates  its  existence  so  far  back  as 
the  Act  of  Uniformity  in  1662  ;  but  many 
of  the  New- England  churches  have  records 
of  more  than  200  years. 

It  may  also  be  remarked  that  American 
Congregationalists  are  not  "  dissenters," 
and  never  were.  In  New-England  the 
Congregational  churches  were  for  a  long 
time  the  ecclesiastical  establishment  of  the 
country,  as  much  as  the  Presbyterian 
Church  is  now  in  Scotland.  The  whole 
economy  of  the  civil  state  was  arranged 
■with  reference  to  the  welfare  of  these 
churches  ;  for  the  state  existed,  and  the 
country  had  been  redeemed  from  the  wil- 
derness, for  this  very  purpose.  At  first  no 
dissenting  assembly,  not  even  if  adopting 
the  ritual  and  order  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, was  tolerated.  Afterward  dissenters 
of  various  names  were  permitted  to  wor- 
ship as  they  pleased,  and  were  not  only 
released  from  the  obligation  to  contribute 
towards  the  support  of  the  established  re- 
ligion, but  so  incorporated  by  law  that  each 
congregation  was  empowered  to  tax  its 
own  members  for  the  support  of  its  own 
religious  ministrations.  But  still,  till  the 
principle  was  adopted  that  the  support  of 
religion  is  not  among  the  duties  of  civil 
government,  the  Congregationalists  main- 
tained this  precedence — that  every  man 
who  did  not  prefer  to  contribute  to  the  sup- 
port of  public  worship  in  some  other  form, 
was  liable  to  be  taxed  as  a  Congregation- 
alist.  Thus,  though  some  of  the  members 
of  one  denomination  in  New-England  some- 
times affect  to  speak  of  the  Congregation- 
alists around  them  as  "  dissenters,"  those 
who  do  so  only  expose  themselves  to  ridi- 
cule. Every  man  sees  that  if  there  is  such 
a  thing  as  "  dissent"  in  New-England,  the 
Episcopalians,  with  the  Baptists  and  the 
Methodists,  and  all  the  other  sects  who 
have  at  different  times  separated  them- 
selves from  the  ecclesiastical  order  origi- 
nally established  on  the  soil,  and  still  flour- 
ishing there,  are  the  dissenters. 

The  Congregationalists  differ  from  most 
other  communions,  in  that  they  have  no 
common  authoritative  standards  of  Faith 
and  Order,  other  than  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
Yet  their  system  is  well  known  among 
themselves,  and  from  the  beginning  they 
have  spared  no  reasonable  pains  to  make  it 
known  to  others.  John  Cotton,  the  first 
teacher  of  the  first  church  in  Boston,  was 
the  author  of  a  book  on  "  the  Keys  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven,"  published  as  early 
as  1644,  which,  in  its  time,  was  highly  es- 
teemed, not  only  as  a  controversial  defence 
of  Congregationalism,  but  also  as  a  practi- 
cal exposition  of  its  principles.  John 
Norton,  too,  teacher  of  the  church  in  Ips- 
wich, and  afterward  settled  in  Boston, 
gave  to  the  Reformed  churches  of  Europe 
in  1646  a  full  account  of  the  ecclesiastical 


order  of  New-England,  in  a  Latin  epistle 
to  Apollonius,  a  Dutch  minister,  who,  in 
the  name  of  the  divines  of  Zealand,  had 
written  to  America  for  information  on  that 
subject.  In  1648,  a  synod  of  pastors  and 
churches,  called  together  at  Cambridge  (a 
town  near  Boston)  by  the  invitation  of  the 
civil  authorities  of  Massachusetts,  drew 
up  a  scheme  of  church  discipline,  which, 
from  the  place  at  which  the  synod  met, 
was  called  the  "  Cambridge  Platform." 
This  platform,  however,  though  highly  ap- 
proved at  the  time,  and  still  quoted  with 
great  deference,  was  never  an  authorita- 
tive rule  ;  and  at  this  day  some  of  its  prin- 
ciples have  become  entirely  obsolete.  In 
1708,  a  synod,  or  council,  representing  the 
pastors  and  churches  of  Connecticut,  was 
assembled  at  Saybrook  by  the  invitation  of 
the  Legislature  of  that  colony.  By  this 
Connecticut  synod  a  system  was  formed, 
differing  in  some  respects  from  the  Cam- 
bridge Platform,  and  designed  to  supply 
what  was  deemed  the  deficiencies  of  that 
older  system.  The  Saybrook  Platform 
was  adopted  by  the  churches  of  Connecti- 
cut, and  was  for  many  years  in  that  colony 
a  sort  of  standard  recognised  by  law.  Its 
application  was  gradually  modified,  and  its 
stringency  relaxed  or  increased  by  various 
local  rules  and  usages,  and  by  successive 
acts  of  the  Legislature  ;  and  at  the  present 
time  this  Platform  alone  is  a  very  inade- 
quate account  of  the  ecclesiastical  order 
of  Connecticut. 

The  following  outline,  it  is  believed,  will 
give  the  reader  some  idea  of  the  system  of 
New-England  Congregationalism  as  it  is  at 
this  day. 

1.  The  Congregational  system  recog- 
nises no  church  as  an  organized  body  poli- 
tic, other  than  a  congregation  of  believers 
statedly  assembling  for  worship  and  reli- 
gious communion.  It  falls  back  upon  the 
original  meaning  of  the  Greek  word  iKKk-qaia, 
and  of  the  Latin  coitus. 

Popery  claims  that  all  Christians  consti- 
tute one  visible,  organized  body,  having  its 
officers,  its  centre,  and  its  head  on  earth. 
The  first  reformers  seem  to  have  supposed 
that  each  national  church  has  its  own  in- 
dependent existence,  and  is  to  be  consid- 
ered as  one  organic  body,  which  has  some- 
where within  itself,  in  the  clergy,  or  in  the 
people,  or  in  the  civil  government  of  the 
nation,  a  power  to  regulate  and  govern  all 
the  parts.  Congregationalism  rejects  both 
the  universal  church  of  the  Papists,  and  the 
national  churches  which  the  Reformation 
established  in  England,  in  Scotland,  in  cer- 
tain States  of  Germany  and  Switzerland, 
and  attempted  to  establish  in  France. 

Hence  the  name  Congregational.  Each 
congregation  of  believers  is  a  church  ;  and 
exists  not  as  a  subordinate  part,  or  as 
under  the  sovereignty  of  a  national  church, 
nor  as  a  part,  or  under  the  sovereignty  of 


226 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


an  organized   universal  church,  but  sub- 
stantively and  independently. 

Other  religions  communions  in  America 
are  organized  under  the  form  of  national 
churches,  and  are  named  accordingly.  Thus 
we  have  "  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States,"'  "  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States,"  "  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States ;" 
but  no  intelligent  person  ever  speaks  of 
the  Congregational  Church  in  the  United 
States,  or  of  the  American  Congregational 
Church.  Congregationalists  always  speak 
of  the  churches  of  America,  or  of  New-Eng- 
land, or  of  Massachusetts,  except  when,  in 
courtesy  to  other  denominations,  they  use 
their  forms  of  speech  in  speaking  of  them 
and  of  their  affairs.  In  like  manner,  the 
Apostles  speak  of  the  churches  of  Mace- 
donia, Galatia,  or  Judea,  but  never  of 
Church  national  or  Church  provincial. 

2.  A  church  exists  by  the  consent,  ex- 
pressed or  implied,  of  its  members  to  walk 
together  in  obedience  to  the  principles  of 
the  Gospel,  and  the  institutions  of  Christ. 
In  other  words,  a  church  does  not  derive 
its  existence  and  rights  from  some  char- 
ter conceded  to  it  by  another  church,  or 
by  some  higher  ecclesiastical  judicatory. 
When  any  competent  number  of  believers 
meet  together  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and 
agree,  either  expressly  or  by  some  impli- 
cation, to  commune  together  statedly  in 
Christian  worship,  and  in  the  observance 
of  Christ's  ordinances,  and  to  perform  to- 
wards each  other  the  mutual  duties  of  such 
Christian  fellowship,  Christ  himself  is  pres- 
ent with  them  (Matt.,  xviii.,  20),  and  they 
receive  from  Him  all  the  powers  and  priv- 
ileges which  belong  to  a  church  of  Christ. 

At  the  orderly  formation  of  a  church,  the 
neighbouring  churches  are  ordinarily  invi- 
ted to  be  present  by  their  pastors  and  del- 
egates, as  witnesses  of  the  Faith  and  Order 
of  those  engaged  in  the  transaction,  and 
that  they  may  extend  the  "  right  hand  of 
fellowship,"  recognising  the  new  church  as 
one  of  the  sisterhood  of  churches.  The 
neglect  of  this,  though  it  might  be  deemed 
a  breach  of  courtesy  and  order,  would  not, 
of  itself,  so  vitiate  the  proceedings  as  to 
prevent  the  new  church  from  being  recog- 
nised ultimately  by  the  churches  of  the 
neighbourhood. 

3.  The  officers  of  a  church  are  of  two 
sorts — elders  and  deacons.  When  the  Con- 
gregational churches  of  New-England  were 
first  organized,  two  centuries  ago,  the  plan 
was  that  each  church  should  have  two  or 
more  elders — one  a  pastor — another  char- 
ged with  similar  duties  under  the  title  of  a 
teacher — the  third  ordained  to  his  office 
like  the  other  two,  a  ruling  elder,  who, 
with  his  colleagues,  presided  over  the  dis- 
cipline and  order  of  the  church,  but  took 
no  part  in  the  official  authoritative  preach- 
ing of  the  word,  or  in  the  administration 


of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  Thus 
it  was  intended  that  each  church  should 
have  within  itself  a  presbytery,  or  clerical 
body,  perpetuating  itself  by  the  ordination 
of  those  who  should  be  elected  to  fill  suc- 
cessive vacancies.  This  plan,  however, 
soon  fell  into  disuse  ;  and  now,  except  in 
the  rare  cases  of  colleagues  in  office,  all 
the  powers  and  duties  of  the  eldership  de- 
volve upon  one  whose  ordinary  official  title 
is  pastor.  The  office  of  deacons,  of  whom 
there  are  from  two  to  six  in  each  church, 
is  to  serve  at  the  Lord's  Table,  and  to  re- 
ceive, keep,  and  apply  the  contributions 
which  the  church  makes  at  each  commu- 
nion for  the  expenses  of  the  Table,  and  for 
the  poor  among  its  own  members.  Ori- 
ginally, the  deacons,  as  in  the  primitive 
churches,  received  on  each  Lord's  Day  the 
contributions  of  the  whole  congregation, 
which  were  applied  by  them  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  ministers,  and  for  all  other  ec- 
clesiastical uses.  But  at  an  early  period 
other  arrangements  were  adopted,  as  more 
convenient. 

4.  Admission  to  membership  in  the 
church  takes  place  as  follows.  The  per- 
son desiring  to  unite  himself  with  the 
church  makes  known  his  wishes  to  the 
pastor.  The  pastor  (or  in  some  churches 
the  pastor  and  deacons,  or  in  others,  the 
pastor  and  a  committee  appointed  for  the 
purpose),  having  conversed  with  the  can- 
didate, and  having  obtained  by  conversa- 
tion and  inquiry  satisfactory  evidence  of 
his  having  that  spiritual  renovation — that 
inward  living  piety  which  is  considered 
as  the  condition  of  membership,  he  is  pub- 
licly proposed  in  the  congregation,  on  the 
Lord's  Day,  as  a  candidate,  so  that  if  there 
be  any  objection  in  any  quarter,  it  may  be 
seasonably  made  known.  One,  two,  three,, 
or  four  weeks  afterward,  according  to  the 
particular  rule  or  usage  of  the  church,  a 
vote  of  the  "  brotherhood"  (or  male  mem- 
bers) is  taken  on  thequestion,  "  Shall  this 
person  be  admitted  to  membership  in  the 
church j"  After  this,  the  candidate  ap- 
pears before  the  congregation,  and  gives 
his  assent  to  a  formal  profession  of  the 
Christian  faith  read  to  him  by  the  pastor, 
and  to  a  form  of  covenant,  by  which  he  en- 
gages to  give  himself  up  to  God  as  a  child 
and  servant,  and  to  Christ  as  a  redeemed 
sinner,  and  binds  himself  to  the  church 
conscientiously  to  perform  all  the  duties 
of  Christian  communion  and  brotherhood. 
5.  The  censures  of  the  church  are  pro- 
nounced by  the  pastor  in  accordance  with  a 
previous  vote  or  determination  of  the  broth- 
erhood. The  directions  given  by  Christ  in 
regard  to  the  treatment  of  an  offending 
brother  (Matt.,  xviii.,  15-17)  are,  in  most 
churches,  literally  and  directly  adhered  to 
in  all  cases.  First,  one  brother  alone  con- 
fers with  the  brother  offending  or  supposed 
to  offend,  and  this  is  the  first  admonition. 


Chap.  Ill  1 


CONGREGATIONAL    CHURCHES. 


227 


Then,  if  satisfaction  has  not  been  obtained, 
the  same  brother  takes  with  him  one  or 
two  others,  and  the  effort  is  repeated  :  this 
is  the  second  admonition.  If  this  effort  is 
ineffectual,  the  whole  case  is  reported  to 
the  church,  i.  e.,  the  brotherhood  ;  and  if 
the  church  do  not  obtain  satisfaction,  in 
other  words,  if  they  find  him  guilty  of  the 
offence  alleged  against  him,  and  do  not  find 
him  at  the  same  time  penitent  and  ready 
to  confess  his  fault,  they,  as  a  body,  ad- 
monish him,  and  wait  for  his  repentance. 
If  he  refuses  to  hear  the  church,  that  is,  if 
the  admonition,  after  due  forbearance,  is 
unsuccessful,  the  brethren  by  a  vote  ex- 
clude him  from  their  fellowship,  and  the 
pastor,  as  Christ's  minister,  pronounces  a 
public  sentence  of  excommunication. 

In  some  churches  a  public  and  notorious 
scandal  is  sometimes  taken  up  by  the  church 
as  a  body,  without  waiting  for  the  first  and 
second  admonition  in  private.  Yet,  in  such 
cases,  the  church  commonly  acts  by  a  com- 
mittee, who  follow  the  method  just  descri- 
bed ;  first  one,  and  next  two  or  more  confer 
with  the  offender  privately,  and  then  they 
report  to  the  church  what  they  have  done, 
and  with  what  success. 

Some  churches  have  a  "  standing  com- 
mittee," who,  with  the  pastor,  prepare  all 
business  of  this  nature  for  the  action  of  the 
church.  Every  complaint  or  accusation 
against  a  brother  is  brought  first  to  this 
committee,  and  an  attempt  is  made  by  them 
to  adjust  the  difficulty,  and  to  remove  the 
offence  without  bringing  the  matter  to  the 
church.  If  that  attempt  is  unsuccessful,  the 
committee,  having  investigated  the  case, 
having  heard  the  parties  and  the  witnesses, 
report  to  the  church  the  facts  of  the  case, 
with  their  own  opinion  as  to  what  ought  to 
be  done.  The  committee  are  never  invest- 
ed with  the  power  of  inflicting  any  church 
censures. 

6.  The  arrangements  among  the  Congre- 
gationalists  of  New-England  for  the  sup- 
port of  public  worship  are  in  some  points 
peculiar.  The  church,  of  which  we  have 
thus  far  spoken  exclusively,  is  entirely  a 
spiritual  association.  But  it  exists  in  an 
amicable  connexion  with  a  civil  corpora- 
tion called  the  parish,  or  the  ecclesiastical 
society,  which  includes  the  congregation  at 
large,  or,  more  accurately,  those  adult  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation  who  consent  to  be 
a  civil  society  for  the  support  of  public  wor- 
ship. This  civil  corporation  is  the  propri- 
etor of  the  house  of  worship,  of  the  par- 
sonage,* if  there  be  one,  and  sometimes  of 
other  endowments,  consisting  of  gifts  and 
legacies  which  have  from  time  to  time  been 
made  for  the  uses  for  which  the  society  ex- 
ists. It  can  raise  funds  either  by  volunta- 
ry subscription,  or  by  the  sale  or  rent  of  the 
pews  in  its  house  of  worship,  or  by  assess- 


*  Or  manse, 
Scotland. 


as  it  is  more  commonly  called  in 


ing  a  tax  upon  the  estates  of  its  members, 
in  which  last  case  the  funds  raised  can  be 
applied  only  to  the  current  expenses  of  the 
society.     It  enters  into  a  civil  contract  with 
the  pastor,  and  becomes  bound  in  law  to 
render  him  for  his  services  such  compensa- 
tion as  is  agreed  on  between  him  and  them. 
A  stranger  may  not  easily  understand 
the  difference  between  the  church  and  the 
society,  and  the  relations  of  each  to  the 
other,  without  some  farther  explanation. 
The  church,  then,  is  designed  to  be  a  pure- 
ly spiritual  body.     The  society  is  a  secu- 
lar body.      The  church  consists  only  of 
such  as  profess  to  have  some  experience 
of  spiritual  religion.     The  society  consists 
of  all  who  are  willing  to  unite  in  the  sup- 
port of  public  worship — it  being  understood 
only,  that  no  person   can   thrust  himself 
into  its  ranks,  and  obtain  a  voice  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  its  affairs,  without  the  ex- 
press or  implied  consent  of  those  who  are 
already  members.     The  church   watches 
over  the  deportment  of  its  members,  they 
being  all  bound  to  help  each  other  in  the 
duties  of  the  Christian  life  ;  and  on  proper 
occasions  it  censures  or  absolves  from  cen- 
sure those  under  its  care.     The  society  has 
nothing  to  do  with  church  censures.     To 
the  church  belong  the  ordinances  of  Bap- 
tism and  the  Lord's  Supper.     The  society 
has  no  concern  with  the  administration  of 
either  ordinance.     The  church  has  no  prop- 
erty except  its  records,  and  its  sacrament- 
al vessels,  and  the  eleemosynary   contri- 
butions received  and  dispensed  by  its  dea- 
cons.    The  society  is  a  body  incorporated 
by  law  for  the  purpose  of  holding  and  man- 
aging any  property  necessary  for  the  sup- 
port of  public  worship,  or  designated  by 
donors  for  that  use.     The  church  has  its 
pastor  and  deacons,  and  sometimes  its  com- 
mittees, for  the  management  of  particular 
departments  of  the  church  business.     The 
society  has  its  clerk,  its  treasurer,  and  its 
prudential  committee,  elected  every  year  ; 
and  the  pastor  of  the  church  is  also  the 
minister  and  religious  teacher  of  the  so- 
ciety ;    and   every   family  of  the  congre- 
gation is  considered  as  belonging  to  his 
charge. 

The  great  advantage  of  this  part  of  the 
system  is,  that  it  gives  to  every  member 
of  the  congregation  an  interest  in  its  pros- 
perity, and  a  voice  in  the  management  of 
its  affairs,  while  at  the  same  time  it  gives 
to  the  church  every  desirable  facility  for 
keeping  itself  pure  in  doctrine  and  in  prac- 
tice. There  is  nothing  to  secularize  the 
church ;  no  temptation  to  admit  irreligious 
or  unconverted  men  as  members  for  the 
sake  of  causing  them  to  take  an  interest 
in  the  support  of  public  worship ;  and  no 
temptation  inducing  such  men  to  seek  ad- 
mission to  the  church.  The  pastor  and 
the  place  of  worship  are  as  much  theirs  as 
if  they  were  communicants. 


228 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


The  pastor,  it  has  been  already  remark- 
ed, is  not  only  the  president  or  bishop  of 
the  church,  but  also  the  religious  teacher 
and  minister  of  the  society.  Of  course  he 
is  elected  by  a  concurrent  vote  of  the  two 
bodies.  In  this  the  church  generally  takes 
the  lead.  The  candidate  is  to  some  extent 
known  to  the  people,  for  he  has  already 
preached  to  them  on  probation.  His  fitness 
for  the  place  has  been  the  subject  of  col- 
loquial discussion  in  families  and  among 
neighbours.  The  church  meets,  under  the 
presidency  of  a  neighbouring  minister,  or 
perhaps  of  one  of  its  own  deacons,  and 
decides,  sometimes  by  ballot,  and  some- 
times by  the  lifting  up  of  hands  (x£LPOTOvl-a), 
to  call  him  to  the  pastoral  office,  if  the  so- 
ciety shall  concur.  The  society,  in  like 
manner,  meet,  and  by  a  vote  express  their 
agreement  with  the  church  in  calling  this 
candidate  to  take  the  pastoral  charge  of 
the  church  and  society.  After  this  the 
society  determines  by  vote  what  salary 
shall  be  offered  to  the  candidate  on  the 
condition  of  his  accepting  the  call,  and  to 
propose  any  other  stipulations  as  part  of 
the  contract  between  the  people  and  their 
pastor.  Committees  are  appointed  by  the 
church  and  by  the  society  to  confer  with 
the  pastor  elect,  and  to  report  his  answer  ; 
and  then,  if  his  answer  is  favourable,  to 
make  arrangements  for  his  public  induc- 
tion into  office.  Sometimes  the  society 
leads  in  the  call  of  a  pastor,  and  the  church 
concurs.  If  either  of  these  two  bodies 
does  not  concur  with  the  other — which 
very  rarely  happens — the  election  fails,  of 
course,  and  they  wait  till  another  candi- 
date shall  unite  them. 

7.  The  pastors  of  neighbouring  churches 
form  themselves  into  bodies  for  mutual 
advice  and  aid  in  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
This  body  is  called  an  association.  It  has 
its  stated  meetings  at  the  house  of  each 
member  in  rotation.  At  every  meeting 
each  member  is  called  upon  to  report  the 
state  of  his  own  flock,  and  to  propose  any 
question  on  which  he  may  desire  counsel 
from  his  brethren.  In  these  meetings 
every  question  which  relates  to  the  work 
of  the  ministry,  or  the  interest  of .  the 
churches,  is  freely  discussed.  The  asso- 
ciations of  each  state  meet  annually  by 
their  delegates  in  a  General  Association. 

But  the  most  important  part  of  the  duties 
of  the  association  is  to  examine  those  who 
desire  to  be  introduced  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry.  This  is  on  the  principle  that, 
as  lawyers  are  to  determine  who  shall  be 
admitted  to  practice  at  the  bar,  and  as  phy- 
sicians determine  who  shall  be  received 
into  the  ranks  of  their  profession,  so  min- 
isters are  the  fittest  judges  of  the  qualifi- 
cations of  candidates  for  the  ministry. 
The  candidate,  therefore,  who  has  passed 
through  the  usual  course  of  studies,  liberal* 

*  By  the  word  "  liberal,"  as  applied  to  education, 


and  theological,  cannot  begin  to  preach — 
will  not  be  recognised  by  any  church  as  a 
candidate — till  he  has  received  from  some 
association  a  certificate  of  approbation, 
recommending  him  to  the  churches,  which 
is  his  license  to  preach  the  Gospel  on  trial. 
Such  a  certificate  is  not  granted  without 
his  having  passed  a  close  examination, 
particularly  in  respect  to  his  piety,  his 
soundness  in  the  faith,  and  his  acquaintance 
willi  the  system  of  Christian  doctrines. 

8.  The  fathers  of  the  New-England 
churches  seem  to  have  acknowledged  no 
minister  of  the  Gospel  other  than  the  pas- 
tor or  teacher  of  some  particular  church. 
In  their  zeal  against  a  hierarchy,  they  found 
no  place  for  any  minister  of  Christ  not 
elected  by  some  organized  assembly  of 
believers  to  the  work  of  ruling  and  teach- 
ing in  that  congregation.  The  evangelist 
was  thought  by  them  to  be,  like  the  apostle, 
only  for  the  primitive  age  of  Christianity. 
Accordingly,  the  pastor,  when  dismissed 
from  his  pastoral  charge,  was  no  longer  a 
minister  of  Christ,  or  competent  to  per- 
form anywhere  any  function  of  the  minis- 
try. In  connexion  with  this  view,  it  was 
also  held  that  the  power  of  ordination,  as 
well  as  of  election  to  office,  resides  exclu- 
sively in  the  church,  and  that  if  the  church 
has  no  elders  in  office,  this  power  of  ordina- 
tion may  be  exercised  either  by  a  commit- 
tee of  the  brethren,  or  by  some  neighbour- 
ing elders,  appointed  to  that  function  by  the 
church,  and  acting  in  its  name.  But  these 
views  were  very  early  superseded.  The 
distinction  is  now  recognised  between  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel  having  a  pastoral 
charge,  and  a  minister  who  sustains  no 
office  in  any  church.  The  man  ordained 
to  the  pastoral  office  is,  of  course,  ordained 
to  the  work  of  the  ministry ;  and  if  cir- 
cumstances occur  which  make  it  expedi- 
ent for  him  to  lay  down  his  office  of  pastor, 
he  does  not,  of  course,  lay  down  the  work 
of  the  ministry  to  which  he  was  set  apart 
at  his  ordination.  Sometimes  a  man, 
having  no  call  from  any  church  to  take  the 
office  of  a  pastor,  is  set  apart  to  the  work 
of  the  ministry,  that  he  may  be  a  mission- 
ary to  the  heathen,  or  that  he  may  labour 
among  the  destitute  at  home,  or  that  he 
may  perform  some  other  evangelical  la- 
bour for  the  churches  at  large.  Such  or- 
dinations are  rare,  except  in  the  case  of 
foreign  missionaries,  or  of  missionaries  to 
some  new  region  of  the  country  where 
churches  are  not  yet  organized. 

Ministers,  therefore,  whether  pastors  or 
evangelists,  are  now  ordained  only  by  the 
laying  on  of  the  hands  of  those  who  are 
before  them  in  the  ministry  ;  for  though  it 
belongs  to  the  church  to  make  a  pastor,  it 
belongs  to  ministers  to  make  a  minister. 


is  meant  that  which  is  obtained  in  making  the  curric 
ulum  of  a  college.  It  is  synonymous  with  "  clas 
sical." 


Chap.  IV.] 


REGULAR  BAPTIST    CHURCHES. 


9.  The  reader  has  already  learned  that 
the  American  Congregational  churches 
disavow  the  name  Independent.  From  the 
beginning  they  have  held  and  practised  the 
communion  of  churches.  Continually,  and 
by  various  acts  of  affection  and  intercourse, 
they  recognise  each  other  as  churches  of 
Christ,  as  bound  to  render  to  each  other, 
on  all  proper  occasions,  an  account  of  their 
doings.  They  receive  each  other's  mem- 
bers to  occasional  communion  in  ordinan- 
ces. Members  of  one  church,  removing 
their  residence  to  another  church,  take 
from  the  one  a  letter  of  dismission  and 
recommendation,  and  without  that  are  not 
received  to  membership  in  the  other.  The 
principle  that,  in  matters  which  concern 
not  one  church  alone,  but  all  the  churches 
of  the  vicinity,  no  one  church  ought  to  act 
alone,  is  continually  regarded  in  practice. 
The  ordination  or  installation  of  a  pastor, 
and  in  like  manner  his  dismission  from  his 
office  even  by  the  mutual  consent  of  him 
and  his  flock,  never  takes  place  without 
the  intervention  of  a  council  of  pastors  and 
delegates  from  neighbouring  churches. 
When  any  act  of  a  church  is  grevious  to  a 
portion  of  its  members — when  any  conten- 
tion or  difficulty  has  arisen  within  a  church 
which  cannot  otherwise  be  adjusted — 
when  a  member  excommunicated  deems 
himself  unjustly  treated,  a  council  of  the 
neighbouring  churches  is  called  to  examine 
the  case,  and  to  give  advice ;  and  the  ad- 
vice thus  given  is  rarely,  if  ever,  disregard- 
ed. If  a  church  is  deemed  guilty  of  any 
gross  dereliction  of  the  faith,  or  of  Chris- 
tian discipline,  any  neighbouring  church 
may  expostulate  with  it  as  one  brother  ex- 
postulates with  another,  and  when  expos- 
tulation proves  insufficient,  a  council  of 
the  neighbouring  churches  is  called  to  ex- 
amine the  matter  ;  '  and  from  the  church 
which  obstinately  refuses  to  listen  to  the 
advice  given  by  such  a  council,  the  neigh- 
bouring churches  withdraw  their  commu- 
nion. 

In  Connecticut  the  communion  of  the 
churches  has  been  practised  for  about  130 
years  in  "  consociations,"  or  voluntary 
confederations  of  from  six  to  twenty  con- 
tiguous churches,  binding  themselves  to 
call  upon  each  other  in  all  cases  of  diffi- 
culty which  require  a  council.  Elsewhere 
councils  of  churches,  though  ordinarily 
selected  from  the  immediate  vicinity,  are 
selected  at  the  discretion  of  the  church  by 
which  the  council  is  convened. 

Under  this  ecclesiastical  system  the 
churches  of  New-England  have,  it  is  be- 
lieved by  many,  enjoyed  for  more  than  two 
centuries  a  more  continued  purity  of  doc- 
trine, and  fidelity  of  discipline,  and  a  more 
constant  prosperity  of  spiritual  religion, 
than  has  been  enjoyed  by  any  equal  body 
of  churches,  for  so  long  a  time,  since  the 
days  of  the  Apostles.     No  religious  com- 


munion in  America  has  done  more  for  re- 
ligion and  morals  among  its  own  people, 
more  for  the  advancement  of  learning  and 
general  education,  or  more  for  the  diffusion 
of  the  Gospel  at  home  and  abroad.  None 
has  been  more  characterized  by  that  large 
and  manly  spirit  which  values  the  common 
Christianity  of  all  who  "  hold  the  Head," 
more  than  the  peculiar  forms  and  institu- 
tions of  its  own  sect. 

The  highest  ecclesiastical  bodies  by 
which  the  Congregational  churches  in  the 
United  States  are,  in  a  sense,  united  or  as- 
sociated, are,  the  General  Associations  of 
Connecticut,  Massachusetts,  New-Hamp- 
shire, and  New-York  ;  the  General  Con- 
vention of  Vermont,  the  General  Conso- 
ciation of  Rhode  Island,  and  the  General 
Conference  of  Maine.  These  bodies  meet 
annually,  and  they  maintain  the  "  bond  of 
fellowship"  by  sending  delegates  to  each 
other.  It  must  not  be  understood  that  all 
the  evangelical  Congregational  churches  in 
the  states  just  named  are  "  associated," 
that  is,  connected  with  the  inferior  asso- 
ciations, and  through  them  with  the  "  gen- 
eral association,"  "  general  convention," 
"  general  consociation,"  or  "  general  con- 
ference" of  the  state  in  which  they  are 
situated.  But  the  number  not  thus  united 
with  their  sister  churches  is  not  great. 
The  Congregational  churches  in  Ohio, 
Michigan,  Illinois,  and  the  Territories  of 
Wisconsin  and  Iowa  are  not  yet  sufficient- 
ly numerous  to  render  the  organization  of 
general  associations  convenient,  or  else 
other  causes  have  prevented  this  measure 
from  being  adopted. 

The  Congregationalists  in  New-England 
have  eight  colleges,  five  theological  semi- 
naries and  faculties,  and  about  300  stu- 
dents in  theology.  In  the  other  states 
where  they  exist,  they  give  their  aid  to  the 
Presbyterian  literary  and  theological  in- 
stitutions. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    REGULAR    BAPTIST    CHURCHES. 

Next  to  the  Episcopalians  and  the  Con- 
gregationalists, the  Baptists  are  the  oldest 
of  the  various  branches  of  the  Christian 
Church  in  the  United  States.  And  if  we 
were  to  include  under  this  name  all  who 
hold  that  immersion  is  the  true  and  only 
Scriptural  mode  of  baptism,  without  refer- 
ence to  the  orthodoxy  of  their  faith,  we 
should  probably  find  that  they  are  also  the 
largest  denomination  in  this  country.  But 
if  we  separate  from  them  a  portion  at 
least  of  those  minor  bodies  which,  though 
agreeing  with  them  on  that  point,  differ 
from  them  on  important,  and,  in  some 
cases,  fundamental  doctrines,  we  shall  find 
that  they  are  not  equal  in  number  to  the 
Methodists. 


230 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


In  their  church  government  the  Baptists 
of  all  denominations  are  Independents, 
that  is,  each  church  is  wholly  independent, 
as  respects  its  interior  government,  even 
of  those  other  churches  with  which  it  may 
be  associated  in  ecclesiastical  union.  Each 
separate  church  possesses  and  exercises 
the  right  of  licensing  or  granting  permis- 
sion to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  of  ordaining 
elders  or  presbyters  clothed  with  all  the 
functions  of  the  ministerial  office.  This 
is  the  old  ground  at  first  maintained  by  the 
Independents.  The  Congregationalists, 
spoken  of  in  the  last  chapter,  seem  to  be 
Independents  in  theory,  but  in  spirit  and 
practice  they  are  very  nearly  Presbyteri- 
ans, and  have  often  been  called  Congrega- 
tional Presbyterians. 

Delegates  from  different  Baptist  church- 
es hold  public  meetings  for  purposes  of 
mutual  counsel  and  improvement,  but  not 
for  the  general  government  of  the  whole 
body,  all  right  of  interference  in  the  con- 
cerns of  individual  churches  being  dis- 
claimed by  these  ecclesiastical  assemblies. 
A  very  large  majority  of  our  evangelical 
Baptist  churches  are  associated  by  their 
pastors  in  District  Associations  and  State 
Conventions,  which  meet  every  year  for 
promoting  missions,  education,  and  other 
benevolent  objects.  A  general  convention, 
called  the  Baptist  General  Convention  of 
the  United  States,  meets  likewise  every 
three  years,  the  last  always  appointing  the 
place  of  meeting  for  the  next  after.  The 
General  Convention  is  restricted  by  its 
constitution  to  the  promotion  of  foreign 
missions.  It  held  its  first  meeting  in  1814. 
But  within  the  last  ten  years  a  Home  Mis- 
sionary Society,  a  General  Tract  Society, 
a  Bible  Society,  and  several  societies  for 
the  education  of  poor  and  pious  youths 
having  talents  adapted  for  the  ministry, 
have  sprung  up  in  the  Baptist  body,  and 
already  exert  a  wide  and  happy  influence. 

The  Baptists,  like  the  Congregational- 
ists, make  it  a  fundamental  principle  to 
adopt  the  Bible  as  their  only  confession  of 
faith.  Yet  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  evan- 
gelical churches  that  bear  the  name,  find 
it  convenient  in  practice  to  have  a  creed 
or  summary  of  doctrine,  and  these  creeds, 
although  they  may  vary  in  expression,  all 
agree  in  the  main,  and,  with  few  excep- 
tions, among  the  Regular  and  Associated 
Baptists  are  decidedly  Calvinistic. 

A  few  years  ago,  the  Baptist  Convention 
of  the  State  of  New-Hampshire  adopted  a 
Declaration  of  Faith,  consisting  of  sixteen 
articles,  and  a  form  of  church  covenant, 
which  they  recommended  to  the  Baptist 
churches  of  that  state,  and  which  are  sup- 
posed to  express,  with  little  variation,  the 
general  sentiments  of  the  whole  body  of 
orthodox  Baptists  in  the  United  States. 
The  subjects  of  these  articles  are  :  The 
Scriptures ;  the  true  God ;  the  fall  of  man  ; 


the  way  of  salvation  ;  justification  ;  the 
freeness  of  salvation ;  grace  in  regenera- 
tion ;  God's  purpose  of  grace  ;  perseve- 
rance of  saints  ;  harmony  of  the  law  and 
Gospel  ;  a  Gospel  church  ;  Baptism  and 
the  Lord's  Supper  ;  the  Christian  Sabbath  ; 
civil  government ;  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked  ;  the  world  to  come. 

On  all  these  subjects,  excepting  Baptism, 
these  articles  express  the  doctrines  held 
by  the  Calvinistic  churches  of  all  denomi- 
nations. The  Bible  is  pronounced  to  have 
been  "  written  by  men  divinely  inspired" — 
"  has  God  for  its  Author,  salvation  for  its 
end,  and  truth,  without  any  mixture  of  er- 
ror, for  its  matter" — "  is  the  true  centre  of 
Christian  union,  and  the  supreme  standard 
by  which  all  human  conduct,  creeds,  and 
opinions  should  be  tried."  The  "  true  God," 
it  is  affirmed,  is  "revealed  under  the  per- 
sonal and  relative  distinctions  of  the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost ;  equal  in 
every  divine  perfection,  and  executing  dis- 
tinct and  harmonious  offices  in  the  great 
work  of  redemption."  "  The  salvation  of 
sinners"  is  taught  to  be  "  whoiiy  of  grace, 
through  the  mediatorial  offices  of  the  Son 
of  God,  who  took  upon  Him  our  nature, 
yet  without  sin ;  honoured  the  law  by  his 
personal  obedience,  and  made  atonement 
for  our  sins  by  his  death  ;  being  risen  from 
the  dead,  he  is  now  enthroned  in  heaven  ; 
and  uniting  in  his  wonderful  person  the 
tenderest  sympathies  with  divine  perfec- 
tions, is  every  way  qualified  to  be  a  suit- 
able, a  compassionate,  and  an  all-sufficient 
Saviour."  "  Justification,"  it  is  affirmed, 
"  consists  in  the  pardon  of  sin  and  the 
promise  of  eternal  life,"  and  "  is  bestowed 
not  in  consideration  of  any  works  of  righ- 
teousness which  we  have  done,  but  solely 
of  His  (Christ's)  own  redemption  and  righ- 
teousness." 

On  the  freeness  of  salvation  it  is  taught 
"  that  the  blessings  of  salvation  are  made 
free  to  all  by  the  Gospel ;  that  it  is  the  im- 
mediate duty  of  all  to  accept  them  by  a 
cordial  and  obedient  faith ;  and  that  nothing 
prevents  the  salvation  of  the  greatest  sin- 
ner on  earth,  except  his  own  voluntary  re- 
fusal to  submit  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  ■ 
which  refusal  will  subject  him  to  an  ag- 
gravated condemnation."  "  Regeneration 
consists  in  giving  a  holy  disposition  to  the 
mind,  and  is  effected  in  a  manner  above 
our  comprehension  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  so 
as  to  secure  our  voluntary  obedience  to 
the  Gospel  ;  and  its  proper  evidence  is 
found  in  the  holy  fruit  which  we  bring 
forth  to  the  glory  of  God." 

On  the  subject  of  God's  purpose  of  grace 
it  is  stated,  "  That  election  is  the  gracious 
purpose  of  God,  according  to  which  He 
regenerates,  sanctifies,  and  saves  sinners" 
— is  "  consistent  with  the  free  agency  of 
man" — "  comprehends  all  the  means  in 
connexion   with  the   end"  —  "is   a   most 


Chap.  IV] 


REGULAR   BAPTIST   CHURCHES. 


231 


gracious  display  of  God's  sovereign  good- 
ness"— "  utterly  excludes  boasting,  and  pro- 
motes humility,  prayer,  praise,  trust  in 
God" — "  encourages  the  use  of  means  in 
the  highest,  degree" — "  is  ascertained  in  its 
effects  in  all  who  believe"^-"  is  the  found- 
ation of  Christian  assurance"  —  and  that 
*'  to  ascertain  it  with  regard  to  ourselves, 
demands  and  deserves  our  utmost  dili- 
gence." 

On  the  subject  of  the  perseverance  of 
the  saints,  it  is  affirmed,  "  That  such  only 
are  real  believers  as  endure  unto  the  end  ; 
that  their  persevering  attachment  to  Christ 
is  the  grand  mark  which  distinguishes 
them  from  superficial  professors  ;  that  a 
special  providence  watches  over  their  wel- 
fare ;  and  they  are  kept  by  the  power  of 
God  through  faith  unto  salvation." 

According  to  this  Confession  of  Faith, 
"  a  visible  Church  of  Christ  is  a  congrega- 
tion of  baptized  believers,  associated  by 
covenant  in  the  faith  and  fellowship  of  the 
Gospel,  observing  the  ordinances  of  Christ ; 
governed  by  his  laws  ;  and  exercising  the 
gifts,  rights,  and  privileges  invested  in 
them  by  His  Word  ;  that  its  only  proper 
officers  are  bishops  or  pastors,  and  dea- 
cons, whose  qualifications,  claims,  and  du- 
ties are  defined  in  the  Epistles  of  Timothy 
and  Titus."  And  "  Christian  Baptism  is  the 
immersion  of  a  believer  in  water,  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  to  show  forth  a  solemn  and  beau- 
tiful emblem  of  our  faith  in  a  crucified, 
buried,  and  risen  Saviour,  with  its  purifying 
power,"  and  "  is  a  prerequisite  to  the 
privileges  of  a  church  relation." 

The  "  Christian  Sabbath  is  the  first  day 
of  the  week,"  and  "  is  to  be  kept  sacred  to 
religious  purposes  ;"  "  civil  government  is 
of  divine  appointment,  for  the  interests  and 
good  order  of  society  ;  and  that  magis- 
trates are  to  be  prayed  for,  conscientiously 
honoured  and  obeyed,  except  in  things 
opposed  to  the  will  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  is  the  only  Lord  of  the  con- 
science, and  Prince  of  the  kings  of  the 
earth." 

And  finally,  on  the  subject  of  the  world 
to  come,  it.  is  taught,  "  That  the  end  of  this 
world  is  approaching  ;  that  at  the  last  day 
Christ  will  descend  from  heaven,  and  raise 
the  dead  from  the  grave  to  final  retribu- 
tion ;  that  a  solemn  separation  will  then 
take  place ;  that  the  wicked  will  be  ad- 
judged to  endless  punishment,  and  the 
righteous  to  endless  joy  ;  and  that  this 
judgment  will  fix  forever  the  final  state 
of  men  in  heaven  or  hell  on  principles  of 
righteousness." 

The  covenant  which  follows  this  decla- 
ration of  faith  expresses  in  a  few  brief 
articles  the  determination  of  those  who 
enter  it :  "  to  walk  in  brotherly  love  ;"  "  to 
exercise  a  mutual  care,  as  members  one 
of  another,  to  promote  the  growth  of  the 


whole  body  in  Christian  knowledge,  holi- 
ness, and  comfort ;"  "  to  uphold  the  public 
worship  of  God,  and  the  ordinances  of  his 
house ;"  "  not  to  omit  closet  and  family 
religion,"  nor  the  "  training  up  of  children 
and  those  under  their  care  ;"  to  "  walk  cir- 
cumspectly in  the  world,"  and  be  as  the 
"  light  of  the  world,  and  the  salt  of  the 
earth  ;"  and,  finally,  to  "  exhort"  and  "  ad- 
monish one  another." 

Such,  in  substance,  is  the  "  Declaration 
of  Faith  and  Covenant,"  adopted,  as  I  have 
said,  by  the  Baptist  Convention  of  New- 
Hampshire  a  few  years  ago,  and  no  doubt 
substantially  exhibiting  the  doctrines  held 
by  the  great  body  of  the  Regular  and  As- 
sociated Baptists  throughout  the  United 
States.  It  will  be  perceived  that  it  is  mod- 
erately Calvinistic,  and,  indeed,  to  one  or 
other  shade  of  Calvinism  all  the  Regular 
Baptists  in  America  adhere.  Part  of  their 
body,  particularly  in  the  Southern  and 
Southwestern  States,  are  regarded  as  Cal- 
vinists  of  the  highest  school.  Their  doc- 
trinal views  probably  coincide  with  those 
of  Dr.  Gill  more  than  those  of  any  other 
writer.  But  a  far  greater  number  of  their 
ministers  follow  in  the  main  the  views  of 
Andrew  Fuller;  views  which,  take  them  all 
in  all,  form  one  of  the  best  systems  of  the- 
ology to  be  found  in  the  English  language. 

The  Baptist  churches  have  increased  in 
the  United  States  with  great  rapidity,  par- 
ticularly within  the  last  fifty  or  sixty  years. 
For  although  they  commenced  their  ex- 
istence in  the  days'  of  Roger  Williams,* 
formerly  mentioned,!  who,  having  chan- 
ged his  sentiments  on  the  subject  of  Bap- 
tism a  few  years  after  his  arrival  in  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  was  the  first  Baptist  preach- 
er, and  founded  the  first  Baptist  church  in 
America,  at  Providence,  in  1639  ;  it  was 
long  before  this  denomination  made  much 
progress  beyond  Rhode  Island.  This  arose, 
it  would  appear,  from  their  being  violent- 
ly opposed  in  most  of  the  other  colonies, 
both  in  the  North  and  in  the  South.  In 
Massachusetts  they  were  at  first  "fined," 
"  whipped,"  and  "  imprisoned."  And  though 
they  afterward  obtained  liberty  of  worship 
there,  they  had  but  eighteen  churches  at 
the  commencement  of  the  Revolutionary 
war.  In  Virginia,  where  they  also  met 
with  much  opposition  and  bitter  persecu- 
tion,! they  had  scarcely,  at  that  epoch,  ob- 
tained any  footing  at  all.  In  fact,  with  the 
exception  of  Rhode  Island,  Pennsylvania, 


*  The  reader  must  not  inter,  from  what  is  stated 
above,  that  Roger  Williams  is  to  be  considered  as  the 
author  or  founder  of  the  Baptist  Churches  in  Amer- 
ica. His  influence  was  mainly  confined  to  Rhode 
Island.  The  greater  part  of  the  Baptist  churches 
with  us  owe  their  origin  to  the  labours  of  Baptist 
ministers  who  came  such  directly  from  England. 

t  Book  ii.,  chap',  iv. 

j  It  happened  often  in  that  colony  that  their  preach- 
ers were  cast  into  prison  for  preaching  the  Gospel. 
And  often  they  were  to  be  seen  addressing  from  th« 
jail  windows  the  people  assembled  outside  ! 


232 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  VL 


and  Delaware,  they  almost  no  where  en- 
joyed perfect  freedom  from  molestation 
until  the  country  had  achieved  its  inde- 
pendence by  a  struggle  in  which  the  Bap- 
tists, to  say  the  least,  in  proportion  to  their 
numbers,  took  as  prominent  a  part  as  any 
other  religious  body  in  the  land. 

But  slow  as  was  their  progress  before  the 
Revolution,  it  has  been  much  otherwise 
since.  This  will  be  seen  from  the  follow- 
ing statement  taken  from  the  very  com- 
plete "  View  of  the  Baptist  Interest  in  the 
United  States,7'  prepared  by  the  Rev.  Ru- 
fus  Babcock,  D.D.,  of  Poughkeepsie,  New- 
York,  and  published  in  the  American  Quar- 
terly Register,  in  the  years  1840  and  1841. 
The  number  of  Baptist  ministers,  church- 
es, and  members,  at  five  different  epochs, 
are  stated  there  as  follows  : 


Churches. 

In  1784  .  .  47] 
1790-92  .  891 
1810-12  .  2164 
1832  .  .  5320 
1840  .  .  7766 


Ministers.  Memhers. 

424  35,101 

1150  65,345 

1605  172,972 

3618  384,920 

5204  570,758 


Dr.  Babcock  estimates  the  superannua- 
ted ministers  and  others  who,  from  vari- 
ous causes,  are  not  actively  engaged  in 
the  ministry,  at  about  a  seventh  of  the 
number  in  the  above  table.  Deducting 
these,  and  another  seventh  for  the  licen- 
tiates, who  also  are  included,  we  shall 
have  3717  ordained  ministers  actually  em- 
ployed in  1840 ;  which  is,  upon  an  aver- 
age, less  than  one  minister  for  two  church- 
es. Including  the  licentiates,  who  almost 
all  preach  more  or  less  regularly,  and 
many  of  them  in  vacant  churches,  the 
number  of  preachers  for  that  year  was 
4460. 

In  the  "  Almanac  and  Baptist  Register" 
for  1844,  the  number  of  the  Regular  Bap- 
tist churches  in  1843  is  stated  to  have  been 
8482,  the  ordained  and  licensed  ministers 
5650,  and  the  communicants  or  members 
637,477.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  had 
the  returns  been  complete,  the  last-men- 
tioned number  would  have  been  at  least 
700,000.  According  to  Dr.  Babcock's  mode 
of  estimating  them,  the  ordained  and  active 
ministers  were,  in  that  year,  4036. 

Dr.  Babcock  makes  a  curious  estimate 
of  the  probable  proportion  of  the  inhabi- 
tants in  each  state,  supposed  to  be  direct- 
ly under  the  influence  of  Baptist  preach- 
ing. Without  going  unnecessarily  into 
his  details,  we  find,  as  the  result  of  his  re- 
searches, that  in  1840  these  amounted  to 
a  fifth  of  the  population  in  Massachusetts, 
and  to  a  fourth  in  Virginia,  being  the  two 
provinces  in  which  the  Baptists  were  most 
persecuted ;  whereas  in  Rhode  Island, 
which  was  their  asylum,  the  proportion 
rises  to  two  fifths,  or  nearly  a  half. 

In  this  enumeration  Dr.  Babcock  in- 
cludes some  of  the  smaller  Baptist  sects, 
such  as  those  of  the  Six  Principles,  who 
hold  as  their  creed  the  six  principles  men- 


tioned in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (chap, 
vi.,  ver.  1,  2).  These,  in  1841,  had  sixteen 
churches,  ten  ministers,  and  2017  mem- 
bers. But  the  shades  of  difference  in  doc- 
trine are  not  of  much  consequence,  so  far 
as  regards  the  vital  interests  of  the  truth. 

Above  3,500,000  of  souls,  being  between 
a  fifth  and  a  sixth  of  the  entire  population 
of  the  United  States,  and  embracing  a  re- 
spectable share  of  the  wealth,  talent,  learn- 
ing, and  influence  of  the  country,  are  sup- 
posed to  be  connected  with  the  Regular 
Baptists.  A  large  and  important  part  of 
their  churches  lies  in  the  Southern  States, 
and  includes  many  slaves  and  slave-own- 
ers. With  the  exception  of  the  Methodists, 
they  form  by  far  the  most  numerous  and 
influential  body  of  Christians  in  that  sec- 
tion of  the  country. 

A  strong  prejudice  against  learning  in 
the  ministry  unhappily  prevailed  at  one 
time  in  this  body,  particularly  in  the  South- 
ern States,  and  this  we  might  ascribe  to  sev- 
eral causes.  In  the  religious  denomination, 
which  in  Virginia,  and  the  other  Southern 
colonies,  they  considered  their  greatest  en- 
emy, learning  was  too  often  associated 
with  want  of  piety,  and  sometimes  with 
open  irreligion.  The  effects  of  this  preju- 
dice have  been  very  injurious,  and  are  felt 
to  this  day  in  the  Baptist  churches  through- 
out the  Southern  and  Southwestern,  and  to 
a  considerable  extent  even  in  the  Middle 
States.  But  a  brighter  day  has  dawned. 
Great  efforts  have  been  made  by  zealous 
and  devoted  men  among  them  to  establish 
colleges  and  theological  seminaries,  with 
what  success  we  have  stated  elsewhere. 
I  know  not  how  many  young  men  are  pre- 
paring for  the  ministry  in  theological  and 
other  institutions,  but  ten  years  ago  they 
were  estimated  at  300  in  New-England, 
and  about  twice  that  number  in  other  parts 
of  the  United  States. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  efforts 
of  the  Baptists  in  the  Bible,  Tract,  Sunday- 
school,  and  Home  Missionary  causes,  and 
shall  have  yet  to  speak  of  what  they  are 
doing  in  the  department  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions. 

We  shall  conclude  by  remarking  that, 
although  not  a  third,  perhaps,  of  the  minis- 
ters of  this  denomination  of  Christians 
have  been  educated  at  colleges  and  theo- 
logical seminaries,  it  comprehends,  never- 
theless, a  body  of  men  who,  in  point  of 
talent,  learning,  and  eloquence,  as  well  as 
devoted  piety,  have  no  superiors  in  the 
country.  And  even  among  those  who  can 
make  no  pretensions  to  profound  learning, 
not  a  few  are  men  of  respectable  general 
attainments,  and  much  efficiency  in  their 
Master's  work. 

Notices  will  be  given  of  the  smaller  Bap- 
tist denominations  in  their  proper  place, 
and  they  will  afterward  be  grouped  to- 
gether, when  we  come  to  arrange  in  fam- 


Chap.  V.] 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH. 


232 


ilies  the  various  religious  bodies  constitu- 
ting the  great  "  household  of  faith"  in  the 
United  States. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH. 

In  speaking  of  the  Congregational  church- 
es, we  entered  into  a  full  analysis  of  their 
organization,  because  they  comprise  most 
of  the  great  features  of  all  the  churches 
founded  on  what  are  called  Independent 
principles,  forming  the  basis  of  the  church- 
es of  several  other  denominations,  partic- 
ularly the  Baptists.  For  a  like  reason,  in 
speaking  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  we 
shall  go  into  considerable  detail  in  speak- 
ing of  its  principles  and  church  organiza- 
tion, so  as  to  save  repetition  when  we 
come  to  notice  other  churches  having  the 
same  principles  and  essentially  the  same 
organization. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  is  so  called 
because  it  is  governed  by  presbyters,  and 
not  by  prelates.  The  name,  therefore,  ap- 
plies to  any  church  organized  and  govern- 
ed on  that  principle.  Usage,  however, 
has  confined  it  in  America  to  one  of  sev- 
eral churches,  who  agree  in  believing  that 
the  government  of  the  Church  belongs  to 
its  elders  or  presbyters.  The  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church,  the  German  Reformed, 
the  Scotch  Secession  churches,  are  as  truly 
Presbyterian  as  that  denomination  to  which 
the  name  is  now,  among  us,  almost  exclu- 
sively applied. 

Presbyterians  believe  that  the  Apostles, 
in  organizing  the  Church,  were  accustom- 
ed, in  every  city  or  place  where  a  congre- 
gation was  gathered,  to  appoint  a  number 
of  officers  for  the  instruction  and  spiritual 
government  of  the  people,  and  for  the  care 
of  the  sick  and  poor.  The  former  class  of 
these  officers  were  called  presbyters,  the 
latter  deacons.  Of  these  presbyters,  some 
laboured  in  word  and  doctrine,  others  in 
the  oversight  and  discipline  of  the  flock, 
according  to  their  gifts,  or  to  their  desig- 
nation when  ordained.  As  the  terms  bish- 
op and  presbyter  were  indiscriminately 
used  to  designate  the  spiritual  instructers 
and  governors  of  the  congregation,  in  eve- 
ry church  there  came  to  be  three  classes 
of  officers,  which  are  denominated  the 
bishops  or  pastors,  or  teaching  presbyters, 
the  ruling  presbyters,  and  the  deacons. 

The  Presbyterian  churches  with  us  are 
organized  on  this  plan.  Each  congrega- 
tion has  its  bishop  or  pastor,  its  ruling  el- 
ders, and  its  deacons,  except  in  cases 
where  the  duties  of  the  last-mentioned 
class  are  assumed  by  the  elders.  The 
duty  of  the  pastor  is  to  preach  the  word, 
to  administer  the  sacraments,  to  superin- 
tend the  religious  instruction  of  the  young. 


and  to  have  the  general  oversight  of  his 
flock  as  to  their  spiritual  concerns.  He  is 
always  chosen  by  the  people  over  whom 
he  is  to  exercise  his  office.  It  will  appear, 
however,  from  the  following  account  of 
the  method  pursued  in  the  selection  and 
installation  of  a  pastor,  that  the  choice  of 
the  people  is  subject  to  several  important 
limitations.  When  a  congregation  is  va- 
cant, the  people  assemble,  alter  due  no- 
tice, to  choose  a  pastor.  This  meeting 
must  be  presided  over  by  an  ordained  min- 
ister invited  for  that  purpose,  who  must 
endorse  the  minutes  of  their  proceedings, 
and  certify  their  regularity.  If  a  majority 
of  the  qualified  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion, i.  e.,  of  those  who  contribute  to  the 
support  of  the  minister,  agree  upon  a  can- 
didate, a  call  is  made  out  in  the  following 
terms,  viz. : 

"  The  congregation  of  A.  B.  being,  on 
sufficient  grounds,  well  satisfied  of  the 
ministerial  qualifications  of  you,  C.  D.,  and 
having  hopes,  from  our  past  experience  of 
your  labours,  that  your  ministrations  in  the 
Gospel  will  be  profitable  to  our  spiritual 
interests,  do  earnestly  call  and  desire  you 
to  undertake  the  pastoral  office  in  the  said 
congregation ;  promising  you,  in  the  dis- 
charge of  your  duty,  all  proper  supprt,  en- 
couragement, and  obedience  in  the  Lord. 
And  that  you  may  be  free  from  worldly 
cares  and  avocations,  we  hereby  promise 
and  oblige  ourselves  to  pay  to  you  the  sum 
of in  regular  quarterly  payments,  du- 
ring the  time  of  your  being  and  continuing 
the  pastor  of  this  church.  In  testimony 
whereof  we  have  respectively  subscribed 
our  names." 

This  call  is  taken  to  the  Presbytery  un- 
der whose  care  the  congregation  is  placed, 
and  the  Presbytery  decide  whether  it  shall 
be  presented  to  the  person  to  whom  it  is 
addressed.  If,  in  their  judgment,  there 
exists  any  sufficient  reason  for  withhold- 
ing it,  it  is  returned  to  the  people,  who 
must  then  proceed  to  a  new  election.  If 
the  person  called  belongs  to  the  same  Pres- 
bytery to  which  the  congregation  is  at- 
tached, or  is  a  licentiate  under  their  care, 
they  put  the  call  into  his  hands  and  wait 
for  his  answer  to  it.  But  if  he  belongs  to 
a  different  Presbytery,  they  give  the  con- 
gregation leave  to  prosecute  it  before  that 
body,  who  have  the  right  to  decide  wheth- 
er it  shall  be  presented  to  the  candidate  or 
not. 

It  thus  appears  that  no  man  can  be- 
come the  pastor  of  a  congregation  under 
the  care  of  a  Presbytery  whom  they  do 
not  deem  to  be  a  sound  and  competent 
minister  of  the  Gospel.  And  in  order  to 
enable  them  to  judge  intelligently  on  this 
point,  before  proceeding  to  his  ordination 
they  examine  him  "  as  to  his  acquaintance 
with  experimental  religion,  as  to  his  knowl- 
edge of  philosophy,  theology,  ecclesiasti- 


234 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


cal  history,  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  lan- 
guages, and  such  other  branches  of  learn- 
ing as  to  the  Presbytery  may  appear  requi- 
site, and  as  to  his  knowledge  of  the  con- 
stitution, the  rules,  and  discipline  of  the 
church."  Should  the  candidate  be  found 
deficient  in  any  of  these  particulars,  it  is 
the  right  and  duty  of  the  Presbytery  to  re- 
ject him.  But  if  they  are  satisfied  with 
his  ministerial  qualifications,  they  appoint 
a  time  for  his  ordination  in  the  presence 
of  the  people.  When  the  time  appointed 
has  arrived,  and  the  Presbytery  convened,  a 
member  appointed  for  the  purpose  preach- 
es a  sermon  suitable  for  the  occasion,  and 
then  proposes  to  the  candidate  the  follow- 
ing questions,  viz.  : 

"  Do  you  believe  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  to  be  the  Word 
of  God,  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and 
practice  ? 

"  Do  you  sincerely  receive  and  adopt  the 
Confession  of  Faith  of  this  Church  as  con- 
taining the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures  ? 

"  Do  you  approve  of  the  government 
and  discipline  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  these  United  States  ? 

"  Do  you  promise  subjection  to  your 
brethren  in  the  Lord? 

"  Have  you  been  induced,  as  far  as  you 
know  your  own  heart,  to  seek  the  office  of 
the  holy  ministry  from  love  to  God,  and  a 
sincere  desire  to  promote  his  glory  in  the 
Gospel  of  his  Son? 

"  Do  you  promise  to  be  zealous  and 
faithful  in  maintaining  the  truths  of  the 
Gospel,  and  the  purity  and  peace  of  the 
Church,  whatever  persecution  or  opposi- 
tion may  arise  unto  you  on  that  account  ? 

"  Do  you  engage  to  be  faithful  and  dili- 
gent in  the  exercise  of  all  private  and  per- 
sonal duties  which  become  you  as  a  Chris- 
tian and  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  as 
well  as  in  all  relative  duties,  and  the  pub- 
lic duties  of  your  office ;  endeavouring  to 
adorn  the  profession  of  the  Gospel  by  your 
conversation,  and  walking  with  exemplary 
piety  before  the  flock  over  which  God  has 
made  you  overseer  ? 

"  Are  you  now  willing  to  take  the 
charge  of  this  congregation,  agreeably  to 
your  declaration  at  accepting  their  call  ? 
And  do  you  promise  to  discharge  the  du- 
ties of  a  pastor  to  them  as  God  shall  give 
you  strength !" 

The  presiding  minister  then  puts  the 
following  questions  to  the  congregation  : 

"  Do  you,  the  people  of  this  congrega- 
tion, continue  to  profess  your  readiness  to 

receive ,  whom  you  have  called  to 

be  your  minister  ? 

"  Do  you  promise  to  receive  the  word 
of  truth  from  his  mouth  with  meekness 
and  love,  and  to  submit  to  him  in  the  due 
-vercise  of  discipline  ? 

"  Do  you  promise  to  encourage  him  in 


his  arduous  labours,  and  to  assist  his  en- 
deavours for  your  instruction  and  spiritual 
edification'! 

"And  do  you  engage  to  continue  to 
him,  while  he  is  your  pastor,  that  compe- 
tent worldly  maintenance  which  you  have 
promised,  and  whatever  else  you  may  see 
needful  for  the  honour  of  religion  and  his 
comfort  among  you'?" 

These  questions  being  answered  in  the 
affirmative,  the  Presbytery  proceed  to  or- 
dain the  candidate  with  prayer  and  the 
laying  on  of  hands. 

The  elders  are  regarded  as  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people,  and  are  chosen 
by  them  for  the  discipline  of  the  church 
in  connexion  with  the  pastor.  They  must 
be  male  members  of  the  church  in  full 
communion,  and,  when  elected,  are  requi- 
red to  profess  their  faith  in  the  Scriptures 
as  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and 
practice,  their  adoption  of  the  Westmin- 
ster Confession  as  containing  the  system 
of  doctrine,  and  their  approbation  of  the 
government  and  discipline  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church ;  and  the  members  of  the 
church  are  called  upon  publicly  to  ac- 
knowledge and  receive  them  as  ruling 
elders,  and  to  promise  to  yield  them  all 
that  honour,  encouragement,  and  obedience 
in  the  Lord,  to  which  their  office,  accord- 
ing to  the  Word  of  God  and  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  church,  entitles  them.  The 
pastor  and  elders  constitute  what  is  called 
the  Session,  which  is  the  governing  body 
in  each  congregation.  They  are  authorized 
to  inquire  into  the  knowledge  and  Chris- 
tian conduct  of  the  members  of  the  church  ; 
to  admit  to  the  sacraments  those  whom, 
upon  examination,  they  find  to  possess  the 
requisite  knowledge  and  piety ;  to  call  be- 
fore them  offenders,  being  members  of 
their  own  church ;  to  decide  cases  of  dis- 
cipline ;  and  to  suspend  or  excommunicate 
those  who  are  judged  deserving  of  such 
censure.  It  is  their  duty,  also,  to  keep  a 
register  of  marriages,  of  baptisms,  of  those 
admitted  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  of  the 
death  or  removal  of  church  members. 

All  the  proceedings  of  the  Session  are 
subject  to  the  review  of  the  Presbytery, 
and  may  be  brought  before  that  body  in 
several  different  ways.  The  Session  is 
required  to  keep  a  record  of  their  official 
acts,  and  this  record  is  laid  before  the 
Presbytery,  for  examination,  twice  every 
year.  Should  anything  appear  on  the  rec- 
ord which,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Presby- 
tery, is  irregular,  inexpedient,  or  unjust, 
they  have  authority  to  see  the  matter  rec- 
tified. Or  if  any  one  feels  himself  ag- 
grieved by  a  decision  of  the  Session,  he 
has  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  Presbytery, 
where  the  case  may  be  reviewed.  Or  if 
any  member  or  members  of  the  inferior 
court,  or  any  one  affected  by  their  decis- 
ion, consider  their  action  irregular  or  un- 


Chap.  V.] 


PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH. 


235 


just,  he  or  they  have  the  right  of  com- 
plaint, which  subjects  the  whole  matter  to 
a  revision  in  the  higher  judicatory. 

The  deacons  are  not  members  of  the 
Session,  and,  consequently,  have  no  part 
in  the  government  of  the  church.  It  is 
their  duty  to  take  charge  of  the  poor,  to 
receive  and  appropriate  the  moneys  col- 
lected for  the  support  or  relief  of  the  sick 
or  needy. 

A  Presbyterian  church,  or  congregation, 
has  thus  a  complete  organization  within 
itself,  but  it  is  not  an  independent  body. 
It  is  part  of  an  extended  whole,  living  un- 
der the  same  ecclesiastical  constitution, 
and,  therefore,  subject  to  the  inspection 
and  control  of  the  Presbytery,  whose  busi- 
ness it  is  to  see  that  the  standards  of  doc- 
trine and  rules  of  discipline  are  adhered 
to  by  all  the  separate  churches  under  its 
care. 

This  superior  body,  the  Presbytery,  con- 
sists of  all  the  pastors,  or  ordained  minis- 
ters, and  one  elder  from  each  Session, 
within  certain  geographical  limits.  There 
must  be  at  least  three  ministers  to  consti- 
tute a  Presbytery,  but  the  maximum  is  not 
fixed.  Hence  our  Presbyteries  vary  from 
three  to  sixty  or  eighty  members.  It  is 
the  bond  of  union  between  the  ministers 
and  churches  within  it  limits.  Among  its 
most  important  duties  is  the  examination 
and  ordination  of  candidates  for  the  holy 
ministry.  Every  such  candidate  is  requi- 
red to  place  himself  under  the  care  of  that 
Presbytery  within  whose  bounds  he  ordi- 
narily resides.  He  must  produce  satis- 
factory testimonials  of  his  good  moral 
character,  and  of  his  being  in  full  commu- 
nion with  the  church.  It  is  made  the  duty 
of  the  Presbytery  to  examine  him  as  to 
his  experimental  knowledge  of  religion, 
and  as  to  his  motives  in  seeking  the  sacred 
office.  And  it  is  recommended  that  the 
candidate  be  required  to  produce  a  diplo- 
ma of  the  degree  of  bachelor  or  master  of 
arts,  from  some  college  or  university,  or 
at  least  authentic  testimonials  of  his  hav- 
ing gone  through  a  regular  course  of  aca- 
demic instruction.  The  Presbytery  itself, 
however,  is  required  to  examine  him  as  to 
his  knowledge  of  the  Latin,  Greek,  and 
Hebrew  languages,  and  on  the  subjects 
embraced  in  the  usual  course  of  study  pur- 
sued in  our  colleges.  He  must  also  pre- 
sent a  Latin  exercise  on  some  point  in  the- 
ology ;  a  critical  exposition  of  a  passage 
of  Scripture,  as  a  test  of  his  ability  to  ex- 
pound the  original  text ;  a  lecture  or  homi- 
letic  exposition  of  some  portion  of  the 
Word  of  God ;  and  a  popular  sermon.  If 
these  exercises  and  examinations  are  pass- 
ed to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Presbytery, 
the  candidate  is  required  to  answer  affirm- 
atively the  following  questions,  viz.  : 

"  Do  you  believe  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  to  be  the  Word 


of  God,  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and 
practice  ? 

"  Do  you  sincerely  receive  and  adopt 
the  Confession  of  Faith  of  this  Church,  as 
containing  the  system  of  doctrine  taught 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures  1 

"  Do  you  promise  to  study  the  peace, 
purity,  and  unity  of  the  Church  ? 

"  Do  you  promise  to  submit  yourself,  in 
the  Lord,  to  the  government  of  this  Pres- 
bytery, or  of  any  other  Presbytery  in  the 
bounds  of  which  you  may  be  called  ?" 

The  Presbytery  then  proceed  to  his  li- 
censure in  the  following  words,  viz. :  "  In 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  by 
that  authority  which  he  has  given  to  his 
Church  for  its  edification,  we  do  license 
you  to  preach  the  Gospel  wherever  God, 
in  his  providence,  may  call  you,  and  for 
this  purpose,  may  the  blessing  of  God  rest 
upon  you,  and  the  Spirit  of  Christ  fill  your 
heart.     Amen." 

This  licensure  does  not  confer  the  min- 
isterial office,  or  give  authority  either  to 
administer  the  sacraments,  or  to  take  part 
in  the  government  of  the  Church.  It  is 
merely  a  declaration  that  the  recipient,  in 
the  judgment  of  the  Presbytery,  is  qualified 
to  preach  the  Gospel  and  to  become  a  pas- 
tor. It  is  from  this  class  of  probationers 
that  the  congregations  select  and  call  their 
ministers  ;  and  when  a  licentiate  receives 
a  call  to  a  particular  church,  he  is  renew- 
edly  examined  on  all  the  subjects  above 
specified  before  he  is  ordained. 

It  is  by  means  of  these  examinations, 
and  by  requiring  assent  to  the  Confession 
of  Faith,  that  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
America  has  endeavoured  to  secure  com- 
petent learning  and  orthodoxy  in  its  min- 
istry ;  and  it  is  a  historical  fact,  which 
ought  to  be  gratefully  acknowledged,  that 
since  the  organization  of  the  Church  in 
this  country,  a  century  and  a  half  ago,  the 
great  body  of  its  ministers  have  been  lib- 
erally-educated men  ;  and  it  is  also  a  fact 
that  no  man  who  has  avowedly  rejected 
the  Calvinistic  system  of  doctrine,  has 
been  allowed  to  retain  his  standing  as  a 
minister  of  that  Church.  Its  history  con- 
tains not  the  record  of  even  one  Arminian 
or  Pelagian,  much  less  Socinian,  as  an  ap- 
proved or  recognised  minister  in  its  con- 
nexion. Some  few  instances  have  occur- 
red of  the  avowal  of  such  sentiments,  but 
they  have  uniformly  been  followed  by  the 
ejection  from  the  ministry  of  those  who 
entertained  them.  And  more  recently, 
the  promulgation  by  a  part  of  its  ministers 
of  doctrines  supposed  to  be  at  variance 
with  its  standards,  though  those  doctrines 
were  not  considered  by  their  advocates  as 
involving  a  rejection  of  the  Calvinistic 
system,  was  one  of  the  principal  causes  of 
the  separation  of  the  body  into  two  dis- 
tinct organizations.  So  also  with  regard 
to  learning,  when  a  portion  of  the  Church 


236 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


in  the  western,  and  then  more  recently-set- 
tled parts  of  the  country,  insisted  on  intro- 
ducing into  the  ministry  men  who  had  not 
received  a  liberal  education,  they  were  re- 
quired to  separate  and  form  a  denomina- 
tion of  their  own.  From  their  peculiar 
circumstances,  such  separations  involve  no 
civil  penalties  or  forfeitures.  If  any  set  of 
men  think  that  the  interests  of  religion 
can  be  better  promoted  by  an  imperfectly 
educated  and  more  numerous  ministry, 
than  by  a  smaller  body  of  better-educated 
men,  nothing  prevents  them  from  acting  on 
their  convictions  and  organizing  on  their 
own  principles.  By  so  doing,  however, 
they  of  necessity  separate  from  a  church 
which  makes  a  liberal  education  a  requi- 
site for  admission  into  the  sacred  office. 
In  like  manner,  if  any  man  or  set  of  men 
renounce  the  doctrines  of  the  Westminster 
Confession,  they  are  at  perfect  liberty  to 
preach  what  they  believe  to  be  true,  but 
they  must  not  expect  to  remain  ministers 
of  a  church  in  which  that  Confession  is 
the  standard  of  doctrine.  External  union 
has,  indeed,  been  sacrificed  by  acting  on 
this  principle,  but  spiritual  fellowship  has 
been  rather  promoted  than  violated  there- 
by, as  neither  party,  in  such  cases,  have 
excommunicated  the  other.  And  there  is 
no  hardship  or  injustice  in  the  course  above 
indicated,  since  the  church  is  in  one  sense 
a  voluntary  society,  whose  terms  of  min- 
isterial communion  are  known  to  the 
world ;  and  those  who  disapprove  of  its  doc- 
trines need  not,  and  in  general  do  not,  seek 
admission  to  its  ministry.  There  are  other 
denominations  within  whose  pale  they  can 
minister  without  objection  or  difficulty. 

It  follows,  from  what  has  been  said,  that 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  Presbytery  to  exercise 
a  watch  and  care  over  its  own  members. 
Every  minister,  at  his  ordination,  promises 
subjection  to  his  brethren  in  the  Lord  ; 
that  is,  he  promises  to  recognise  the  au- 
thority of  the  Presbytery,  and  the  other 
ecclesiastical  bodies,  as  exercised  agree- 
ably to  the  constitution  of  the  Church,  and 
to  submit  to  their  decisions.  He  receives 
his  office  from  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery, 
and  it  is  in  the  power  of  that  body,  on  suf- 
ficient grounds,  and  after  a  fair  trial,  to 
suspend  or  depose  him.  It  is,  however, 
provided  that  no  charge  shall  be  received 
against  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  unless  on 
the  responsibility  of  some  competent  ac- 
cuser, or  on  the  ground  of  public  scandal. 
When  a  minister  is  accused,  either  of  er- 
ror in  doctrine  or  immorality  of  conduct, 
he  is  regularly  cited  to  answer  the  charge  ; 
he  is  informed  of  the  witnesses  who  are  to 
appear  against  him,  and  full  time  is  allow- 
ed for  the  preparation  of  his  defence.  In 
short,  all  the  formalities  which  are  the 
safeguards  of  justice  are  scrupulously  re- 
garded, so  as  to  secure  a  fair  trial  to  any 
accused  member. 


The  Presbytery,  then,  is  the  court  of  re- 
view and  control  over  all  the  Sessions  of 
the  several  churches  within  its  bounds.  It 
is  the  supervising  body,  bound  to  see  that 
the  pastors  are  faithful  in  the  discharge  of 
their  duty  ;  having  also  authority  to  exam- 
ine, license,  and  ordain  candidates  for  the 
ministry ;  to  instal  them  over  the  congre- 
gations to  which  they  may  be  called ;  to 
exercise  discipline  over  its  own  members  ; 
and,  in  general,  to  order  whatever  relates 
to  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  congrega- 
tions under  its  care. 

With  the  Presbytery  the  organization  of 
a  Presbyterian  church  is  complete.  So  long 
as  the  number  of  ministers  and  churches 
is  so  small  that  they  can  conveniently  meet 
at  the  same  time  and  place,  there  is  no 
need  of  any  superior  body.  The  formation 
of  Synods  and  a  General  Assembly  be- 
comes necessary  only  when  the  Church  is 
too  large  to  be  comprised  under  one  Pres- 
bytery. It  is  desirable  that  the  governing 
body  should  meet  at  least  twice  annually. 
This  cannot  be  done  when  the  members 
of  that  body  are  very  numerous,  and  scat- 
tered over  a  great  extent  of  country.  To 
remedy  this  inconvenience,  instead  of  one 
presbytery  embracing  all  the  ministers  and 
churches,  several  are  formed,  each  exer- 
cising its  functions  within  prescribed  lim- 
its, and  all  meeting  annually  as  a  Synod. 
A  Synod  is,  therefore,  nothing  but  a  larger 
Presbytery.  Agreeably  to  this  system,  it 
must  be  composed  of  at  least  three  Pres- 
byteries. All  the  ministers  within  its 
bounds,  and  one  elder  from  each  Session, 
have  a  right  to  act  as  members.  From 
1705  to  1716  there  was  but  one  Presbytery. 
The  number  of  ministers  and  churches  had, 
at  the  latter  date,  so  increased  that  three 
Presbyteries  were  formed,  which  contin- 
ued to  meet  as  a  Synod  until  1787,  when 
convenience  suggested  the  division  of  the 
body  into  four  Synods,  under  a  represent- 
ative assembly,  composed  of  delegates 
from  all  the  Presbyteries.  Under  the  pres- 
ent system,  the  Synod  is  a  body  that  inter- 
venes between  the  Presbytery  and  Gen- 
eral Assembly.  It  has  power  to  receive 
and  determine  all  appeals  regularly  brought 
up  from  the  Presbyteries  ;  to  decide  all 
references  made  to  them  ;  to  review  the 
records  of  Presbyteries,  and  to  approve  or 
censure  them ;  to  redress  whatever  has 
been  done  by  the  Presbyteries  contrary  to 
order;  to  take  effectual  care  that  Pres- 
byteries observe  the  constitution  of  the 
Church ;  to  erect  new  presbyteries,  and 
unite  or  divide  those  which  were  before 
erected ;  and,  generally,  to  take  such  order 
with  respect  to  the  Presbyteries,  Sessions, 
and  people  under  their  care,  as  may  be 
in  conformity  with  the  Word  of  God  and 
the  established  rules,  and  which  tend  to 
promote  the  edification  of  the  Church  ; 
and,  finally,  to  propose  to  the  General  As- 


Chap.  V.] 


PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH. 


237 


sembly,  for  its  adoption,  such  measures  as 
may  be  of  common  advantage  to  the  whole 
Church. 

The  General  Assembly  is  the  highest  ju- 
dicatory of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
the  bond  of  union  between  its  several  parts. 
It  is  composed  of  an  equal  delegation  of 
ministers  and  elders  from  each  presbytery. 
Every  presbytery  sends  at  least  one  min- 
ister and  one  elder ;  if  it  consists  of  more 
than  twenty-four  members,  it  sends  two 
ministers  and  two  elders,  and  so  on  in  like 
proportion. 

The  Assembly  has  power  to  determine 
all  appeals  and  references  regularly  brought 
before  it  from  inferior  judicatories  ;  to  re- 
view the  records  of  the  several  synods  ;  to 
give  its  advice  and  instructions  in  all  cases 
submitted  to  it ;  and  constitutes  the  bond 
of  union,  peace,  correspondence,  and  mu- 
tual confidence  among  all  the  churches  un- 
der its  care.  To  it  also  belongs  to  decide 
all  controversies  respecting  doctrines  and 
discipline ;  to  reprove,  warn,  or  bear  tes- 
timony against  error  in  doctrine  or  immo- 
rality in  practice  ;  to  erect  new  synods ; 
to  superintend  the  whole  church ;  to  cor- 
respond with  foreign  churches ;  to  sup- 
press schismatical  contentions  and  dispu- 
tations ;  and,  in  general,  to  recommend  and 
attempt  reformation  of  manners,  and  the 
promotion  of  charity,  truth,  and  holiness 
through  all  the  churches  under  its  care. 

So  long  as  all  the  ministers  of  the  church 
were  united  in  one  synod,  that  body  had  a 
right  to  make  rules  which  had  the  force  of 
constitutional  regulations  obligatory  on  all 
the  presbyteries.  This  was  reasonable  and 
safe  as  long  as  the  whole  church  met  in 
one  body,  as  its  rules  were  the  voluntarily 
imposed  conditions  of  membership.  But 
since  the  formation  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly, composed  not  of  all  the  ministers,  but 
of  a  comparatively  small  delegation  from 
each  presbytery,  this  power  no  longer  be- 
longs to  this  highest  judicatory.  The  As- 
sembly cannot  alter  the  constitution  of  the 
church.  Every  proposition,  involving  such 
change,  must  first  be  sent  down  to  the  pres- 
byteries, and  receive  the  sanction  of  a  ma- 
jority of  them,  before  it  becomes  obligatory 
on  the  churches. 

Having  given  this  brief  exhibition  of  the 
principles  of  church  government  adopted 
by  Presbyterians  in  the  United  States,  it 
is  necessary  to  advert  to  their  doctrinal 
standards.  The  Confession  of  Faith  and 
the  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms  prepa- 
red by  the  Assembly  of  Divines  at  West- 
minster were,  as  is  well  known,  adopted 
by  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  the  same 
symbols  have  from  the  beginning  constitu- 
ted the  creed  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  this  country.  The  formal  adopting  act 
was  passed  by  the  Synod  in  1729.  In  that 
act  we  find  the  following  language,  viz.: 
"  We  do  agree  that  all  the  ministers  of  this 


synod,  or  that  shall  hereafter  be  admitted 
into  this  synod,  shall  declare  their  agree- 
ment in,  and  approbation  of,  the  Confes- 
sion of  Fatih,  with  the  Larger  and  Shorter 
Catechisms  of  the  Assembly  of  Divines  at 
Westminster,  as  being,  in  all  necessary 
articles,  good  forms  of  sound  words  and 
systems  of  Christian  doctrine  ;  and  do  also 
adopt  the  said  Confession  and  Catechisms 
as  the  confession  of  our  faith."  On  the 
same  page  of  the  records  is  found  the  fol- 
lowing minute,  viz.:  "All  the  members  of 
the  Synod  now  present,  except  one  who 
declared  himself  not  prepared  (but  who 
at  a  subsequent  meeting  gave  in  his  adhe- 
sion), after  proposing  all  the  scruples  that 
any  of  them  had  to  make  against  any  of 
the  articles  or  expressions  in  the  Confes- 
sion of  Faith,  and  Larger  and  Shorter  Cat- 
echisms of  the  Assembly  of  Divines  at 
Westminster,  have  unanimously  agreed  in 
the  solution  of  those  scruples,  and  in  de- 
claring the  said  Confessions  and  Cate- 
chisms to  be  the  confession  of  their  faith  ; 
except  only  some  clauses  in  the  twenti- 
eth and  twenty-third  chapters,  concerning 
which  the  Synod  do  unanimously  declare 
that  they  do  not  receive  those  articles  in  any 
such  sense  as  to  suppose  the  civil  magis- 
trate hath  a  controlling  power  over  synods, 
with  respect  to  the  exercise  of  their  min- 
isterial authority,  or  power  to  persecute 
any  for  their  religion,  or  in  any  sense  con- 
trary to  the  Protestant  succession  to  the 
throne  of  Great  Britain.  The  Synod,  ob- 
serving unanimity,  peace,  and  unity  in  all 
their  consultations  and  deliberations  in  the 
affair  of  the  Confession,  did  unanimously 
agree  in  solemn  prayer  and  praise." 

It  appears  that  some  doubt  arose  wheth- 
er the  expression,  "  essential  and  necessa- 
ry articles"  in  the  above  acts,  was  to  be 
understood  of  articles  essential  to  the  sys- 
tem of  doctrine  contained  in  the  Confes- 
sion of  Faith,  or  of  articles  essential  to 
Christianity.  To  remove  this  ambiguity, 
the  Synod,  the  following  year,  unanimously 
adopted  the  following  minute,  viz.: "  Where- 
as some  persons  have  been  dissatisfied  with 
the  manner  of  wording  our  last  year's  agree- 
ment about  the  Confession,  supposing  some 
expressions  not  sufficiently  obligatory  upon 
intrants  ;  overtured  that  the  Synod  do  now 
declare  that  they  understand  those  clauses 
which  respect  the  admission  of  intrants,  in 
such  a  sense  as  to  oblige  them  to  receive 
and  adopt  the  Confession  and  Catechisms, 
at  their  admission,  in  the  same  manner 
and  as  fully  as  the  members  of  the  Synod 
who  were  then  present ;"  that  is,  they  were 
to  adopt  it  without  exception,  save  the 
clauses  relating  to  the  powers  of  civil 
magistrates  in  matters  of  religion. 

When  the  General  Assembly  was  formed 
in  1787,  the  Confession  of  Faith  and  Cat- 
echisms were  revised,  and  those  parts 
which  relate  to  the  power  of  the  magis- 


238 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


trates  modified,  and  ever  since  it  has  with- 
out alteration  been  the  standard  of  doctrine 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  every  min- 
ister, as  already  stated,  is  required  at  his 
ordination  to  declare  that  he  "  sincerely  re- 
ceives and  adopts  the  Confession  of  Faith 
of  this  Church  as  containing  the  system  of 
doctrines  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures." 

We  have  elsewhere  stated  how  church 
property  is  held  ;  how  churches  are  erect- 
ed ;  how  the  salaries  of  ministers  are  raised  ; 
and  how  feeble  churches  are  aided  by  home 
missionary  societies,  boards  of  missions, 
&c. 

We  shall  now  proceed  to  give  a  brief 
sketch  of  the  history  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  Slates.  The  first 
Presbytery,  consisting  of  seven  ministers, 
and  representing  about  the  same  number 
of  churches,  was  organized  in  Philadel- 
phia in  1705;  at  present,  the  number  of 
ministers  exceeds  2600,  and  that  of  the 
churches  more  than  3500.  This  extraor- 
dinary increase  can  only  be  explained  by 
a  reference  to  the  settlement  of  the  coun- 
try. The  New-England  States  were  set- 
tled by  English  Puritans,  many  of  whom, 
especially  those  who  arrived  about  the 
commencement  of  the  civil  war,  as  well 
as  those  who  came  after  the  Restoration, 
were  Presbyterians  ;  New- York  was  set- 
tled by  the  Dutch,  who  were  also  Presby- 
terians ;  but  these  classes  have  retained 
their  own  separate  ecclesiastical  organi- 
zation, though  both  have  contributed  large- 
ly to  the  increase  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  The  Germans,  also,  who  settled 
in  great  numbers  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the 
northern  portions  of  Virginia,  have  in  like 
manner  formed  extended  churches  of  their 
own ;  yet  they  also  have,  in  many  cases, 
contributed  to  swell  the  number  of  Amer- 
ican Presbyterians.  The  French  emigrants, 
who  came  to  this  country  towards  the  close 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  were  almost  all 
Protestants  and  Presbyterians.  These  are 
the  collateral  sources  whence  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  America  derived  the  ma- 
terials of  its  growth.  From  the  beginning 
of  the  last  century  to  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  there  was  a  constant  cur- 
rent of  emigration  of  Presbyterians  from 
Scotland,  and  still  more  from  the  north  of 
Ireland.  These  emigrants  settled  princi- 
pally in  New-Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  in  the 
central  portions  of  Virginia,  and  in  North 
and  South  Carolina.  Since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  present  century,  the  same  pro- 
cess has  been  going  on.  The  central  and 
western  portions  of  the  State  of  New- 
York,  forty  years  ago,  was  a  wilderness ; 
it  has  now  a  population  of  more  than 
1,000,000  of  people  of  European  descent. 
The  Western  States  in  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  then  in  the  almost  exclusive 
possession  of  the  Indians,  have  now  a  like 
population  of  more  than  6,000,000.     The 


progress  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  there- 
fore, although  rapid,  has  not  been  out  of 
proportion  to  the  progress  of  the  country. 
On  the  contrary,  the  widely-extended  de- 
nominations of  the  Methodists  and  Baptists 
are,  to  a  great  extent,  composed  of  per- 
sons whose  ancestors  belonged  to  Presby- 
terian churches. 

It  will  easily  be  believed  that  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  in  the  midst  of  a  popu- 
lation which  doubles  itself  every  twenty- 
four  years,  felt  that  her  first  and  most 
urgent  duty  was  to  supply  this  growing 
population  with  the  preaching  of  the  Gos- 
pel. It  has  been  a  missionary  church  from 
the  beginning.  Its  first  pastors,  though  set- 
tled over  particular  congregations,  spent 
much  of  their  time  in  travelling  and  preach- 
ing to  the  destitute  ;  and  as  soon  as  their 
numbers  began  to  increase,  they  adopted  a 
regular  system  of  missions.  The  Synod,  at 
its  annual  meetings,  appointed  missionaries 
to  go  to  the  destitute  portions  of  the  coun- 
try, and  sustained  them  by  the  contribu- 
tions of  the  churches.  Soon  after  the 
formation  of  the  General  Assembly,  that 
body  appointed  a  standing  committee  of 
missions,  whose  duty  it  was  to  collect  in- 
formation as  to  the  wants  of  the  church,  to 
appoint  missionaries,  to  designate  their 
field  of  labour,  to  make  provisions  for  their 
maintenance,  and  to  report  annually  to  the 
General  Assembly.  In  1816,  this  committee 
was  enlarged,  and  constituted  the  Board  of 
Missions,  and  has  ever  since  been  engaged 
in  the  benevolent  work  of  sending  the  Gos- 
pel to  the  destitute  parts  of  the  church. 
For  some  years  past  the  number  of  mis- 
sionaries sent  out  by  this  Board  has  ranged 
from  200  to  300,  and  its  income  from  20,000 
to  35,000  dollars,  as  has  been  shown  in 
another  part  of  this  work.* 

As  many  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  prefer  voluntary  societies  to  ec- 
clesiastical boards  for  conducting  mission- 
ary and  other  benevolent  operations ;  and 
as  they  wished  different  evangelical  de- 
nominations to  unite  in  this  work ;  as, 
moreover,  there  was  an  evident  necessity 
of  doing  more  than  had  yet  been  done  to 
meet  the  constantly  increasing  demands 
for  missionary  labour,  they  determined  to 
form  a  society  to  be  called  the  American 
Home  Missionary  Society,  already  spoken 
of  elsewhere.f  This  society  has  received 
the  support  of  full  one  half  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  of  the  whole  body  of  the 
Congregational  Churches  (one  of  the  most 
efficient  bodies  in  the  country),  and,  to 
some  extent,  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
churches.  It  has,  therefore,  been  exten- 
sively useful.  Its  income  has  varied  of 
late  years  from  60,000  to  100,000  dollars, 
and  its  missionaries  from  400  to  more  than 
800. 


*  Book  iv.,  chap.  viii.         t  Ibid.,  chap.  vii. 


Chap.  V.] 


PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH. 


23& 


It  is  in  this  way  that  the  Presbyterian 
Church  has  endeavoured,  in  some  meas- 
ure, to  keep  pace  with  the  demands  of  the 
country  for  ministerial  labour.  These  ex- 
ertions have  not,  indeed,  been  adequate  to 
the  necessity,  and  yet  the  fact  that,  fifty 
years  ago,  this  church  had  less  than  200 
ministers,  and  now  has  nearer  3000  than 
2000,  shows  that  it  has  not  been  entirely 
wanting  in  its  duty. 

It  is  obvious  that  this  great  demand  for 
ministerial  labour  must  lead  the  church  to 
look  anxiously  around  for  the  means  of 
obtaining  an  adequate  supply  of  educated 
men.  In  the  first  instance,  the  attention 
of  its  members  was  naturally  directed  to 
the  mother-country.  The  necessities  of 
the  numerous  settlements  were  frequently 
urged  on  the  Presbyteries  of  Scotland  and 
Ireland,  and  on  similar  bodies  in  England. 
From  these  sources  a  large  proportion  of 
our  early  ministers  were  obtained ;  indeed, 
as  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  all  the  minis- 
ters connected  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  from  1705  to  1716,  with  two  or 
three  exceptions,  were  from  Great  Britain 
or  Ireland.  The  older  provinces  of  New- 
England  subsequently  furnished  many  able 
and  faithful  men,  who  aided  efficiently  in 
building  up  the  Presbyterian  Church.  But 
the  supply  from  these  sources  was  precari- 
ous and  inadequate.  From  an  early  period, 
therefore,  measures  were  adopted  to  secure 
the  education  of  ministers  at  home.  About 
the  year  1717,  the  Reverend  William  Ten- 
nent,  who  had  been  a  presbyter  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  in  Ireland,  opened  a 
classical  academy  in  Pennsylvania,  which 
was  familiarly  known  as  the  "  Log  Col- 
lege," where  many  of  the  most  distin- 
guished of  the  early  native  ministers  re- 
ceived their  education.  .Similar  institu- 
tions were  soon  after  established  in  various 
other  places  ;  and  in  1738,  the  Synod,  in 
order  to  secure  a  properly-educated  minis: 
try,  passed  an  act  to  the  following  effect, 
viz  :  "  That  all  the  presbyteries  require  that 
every  candidate,  before  being  taken  on  trial, 
should  be  furnished  with  a  diploma  from 
some  European  or  New-England  college  ; 
or,  in  case  he  had  not  enjoyed  the  advan- 
tage of  a  college  education,  he  should  be 
examined  by  a  committee  of  the  Synod, 
who  should  give  him  a  certificate  of  com- 
petent scholarship  when  they  found  him  to 
merit  it." 

In  1739,  the  Synod  determined  to  take 
measures  to  establish  a  seminary  of  learn- 
ing, under  its  own  care ;  but  the  circum- 
stances of  the  country,  and  of  the  church 
itself,  prevented  anything  being  done  until 
1744.  In  that  year  it  was  agreed,  1.  That 
there  should  be  a  school  kept  open,  where 
all  persons  who  pleased  may  send  their 
children,  and  have  them  taught  gratis,  in 
the  languages,  philosophy,  and  divinity. 
2.  In  order  to  carry  on  this  design,  that ' 


every  congregation  under  the  care  of  the 
Synod  be  applied  to  for  yearly  contribu- 
tions. 3.  That  whatever  sum  of  money 
could  be  spared  from  what  was  necessary 
to  support  a  master  and  tutor,  should  be 
devoted  to  the  purchase  of  books.  This 
was  the  origin  of  what  is  now  the  college 
at  Newark,  in  the  State  of  Delaware. 

At  this  period  of  our  history  there  were 
two  synods,  the  old  Synod  of  Philadelphia, 
and  the  Synod  of  New- York,  which  was 
formed  in  1745.  The  former,  at  this  time, 
directed  their  efforts  to  the  support  of  the 
Newark  academy,  and  of  the  academy  in 
Philadelphia,  out  of  which  has  sprung  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania ;  the  latter 
raised  and  sustained  the  College  of  New- 
Jersey,  at  Princeton ;  and  after  the  union 
of  the  two  synods  in  1758,  the  united  body 
concentrated  their  efforts  in  the  support  of 
the  last-mentioned  institution.  Though 
the  college  at  Princeton  owes  its  origin  to 
the  Synod  of  New- York,  and  sprang  from 
the  desire  of  furnishing  a  supply  of  edu- 
cated men  for  the  ministry  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  it  has  always  been  open  to 
the  youth  of  all  denominations.  The  num- 
ber of  its  alumni  is  more  than  2500,  of 
whom  about  500  became  preachers  of  the 
Gospel. 

Since  the  establishment  of  the  college  at 
Princeton,  more  than  forty  similar  institu- 
tions have  been  formed  in  different  parts 
of  the  country,  which  are  more  or  less 
intimately  connected  with  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church;  that  is,  their  trustees,  offi- 
cers, and  patrons,  are  either  exclusively 
or  principally  Presbyterians.* 

For  a  long  time,  however,  after  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
there  was  no  public  provision  for  the  the- 
ological education  of  candidates  for  the 
sacred  office.  After  completing  their  aca- 
demical studies,  such  candidates  were  ac- 
customed to  place  themselves  under  the 
direction  of  some  experienced  pastor,  who 
superintended  their  studies,  and  assisted 
them  in  preparing  for  their  examinations 
before  the  Presbytery.  Sometimes  a  pas- 
tor whose  taste  or  acquirements  peculiarly 
fitted  him  for  the  task,  would,  have  a  class 
of  such  pupils  constantly  under  his  care. 
As  early,  however,  as  1760,  a  proposition 
was  introduced  into  the  Synod  for  the  ap- 
pointment and  support  of  a  regular  profes- 
sor of  theology ;  and  a  few  years  after- 
ward the  trustees  of  the  college  of  New- 
Jersey  having  appointed  such  a  professor, 
the  Synod  took  measures  to  aid  in  sustain- 
ing him. 

The  General  Assembly,  however,  in  1811, 
determined  to  establish  a  separate  institu- 
tion for  the  theological  education  of  candi- 
dates for  the  ministry  ;  and  in  1812  the  in- 


*  The  whole  number  under  the  influence  of  the 
Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists  is  forty-one. 


240 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


stitution  was  located  at  Princeton,  New- 
Jersey,  and  went  into  immediate  operation. 
This  seminary  is  under  the  immediate 
supervision  of  a  board  of  directors,  who 
meet  semi-annually  to  examine  the  stu- 
dents, and  superintend  its  affairs.  This 
board  is  appointed  by  the  General  Assem- 
bly, and  to  the  latter  body  also  it  belongs 
to  elect  the  professors,  determine  their 
duties  and  salaries.  Having  already  spo- 
ken of  this  seminary,  as  well  as  all  the 
others  which  are  under  the  control  of  the 
Presbyterians,  when  giving  an  account  of 
the  theological  seminaries  in  the  United 
States,*  we  say  no  more  respecting  it  in 
this  place. 

In  a  former  part  of  this  work,  when  de- 
scribing the  development  and  influence  of 
the  voluntary  principle  (Book  iv.),  we  gave 
an  account  of  the  American  Education  So- 
ciety, and  the  Board  of  Education  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church :  institutions  which  have  done  so 
much'  to  increase  the  number  of  the  minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel  in  this  denomination. 
We  spoke,  also,  of  the  Board  of  Publica- 
tion, which  the  Assembly  of  one  of  the 
great  divisions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
has  established,  and  the  good  which  it  is 
doing.  We  therefore  pass  over  these 
operations,  which  have  so  intimate  a  con- 
nexion with  the  history  of  this  church. 
We  also  say  nothing  at  present  respecting 
the  foreign  missions  of  this  church,  inas- 
much as  we  shall  have  occasion  to  speak 
of  these  hereafter. 

It  has  been  our  object  in  this  chapter  to 
give  our  readers,  in  the  first  place,  a  dis- 
tinct idea  of  the  organization  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  ;  of  the  manner  in  which 
its  several  congregations  are  formed  and 
governed;  what  provision  is  made  to  se- 
cure the  orthodoxy,  learning,  and  fidelity 
of  their  pastors  ;  and,  in  the  second  place, 
briefly  to  state  the  means  adopted  to  extend 
the  church,  and,  in  general,  to  promote  the 
cause  of  religion.  There  is  still  one  gen- 
eral subject  which  should  not  be  passed 
over :  it  is,  What  has  been  the  result  of 
this  organization,  and  of  these  means  1  or, 
What  has  been  the  character  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  the  United  States  1 
Has  it  been  a  pure,  enlightened,  laborious, 
and  harmonious  body  ?  Materials  for  an 
answer  to  this  question  may,  in  a  measure, 
be  found  in  the  preceding  pages  ;  we  shall 
therefore  say  but  little  in  reply  to  it. 

Purity  in  a  church  may  be  understood 
either  in  reference  to  orthodoxy,  or  adhe- 
rence to  the  truth  of  God  as  revealed  in 
His  Word  ;  or  in  reference  to  the  manner 
of  life  of  its  ministers  or  members.  In 
reference  to  the  former  of  these  views, 
we  think  it  may  safely  be  asserted  that  the 
Presbyterian  Church  has,  by  the  grace  of 


*  Book  iv.,  chapter  xviii. 


I  God,  been  preserved  pure  to  a  very  un- 
common degree.     The  correctness  of  this 
statement  is  to  be  found,  not  so  much  in 
the   early   adoption  of  the  Westminster 
Confession  of  Faith,  and  the  requisition  of 
an  assent  to  that  Confession  on  the  part 
of  all  candidates  for  ordination,  as  in  the 
fact  that  there  has  never  been  any  open 
avowal  of  Pelagian  or  Arminian  doctrines 
in  the  bosom  of  our  church.     Cases  have 
occurred  of  ministers  being  censured,  or 
suspended  from  office,  for  teaching  such 
doctrines,  but  no  case  has  occurred  of  a 
Presbyterian  minister  who  avowedly  re- 
jected the  Calvinistic  system,  and  yet  re- 
tained his  standing  in  the  church  as  one 
of  its  authorized  preachers.    Of  late  years, 
indeed,  there  has  been  much  discussion  on 
doctrinal  subjects,  and  many  sentiments 
have  been  advanced,  which  many  excellent 
men  considered  as  virtually,  if  not  formal- 
ly implying  the  rejection  of  the  Calvinistic 
doctrines  of  original  sin,  election,  and  effi- 
cacious grace.    With  regard  to  these  con- 
troversies, however,  there    are    two   re- 
marks to  be  made.     The  first  is,  that  the 
advocates  of  these  sentiments  strenuously 
denied  that  they  were  inconsistent  with 
the  doctrines  just  mentioned ;  and  the  sec- 
ond is,  that  the  opposition  made  to  the  ex- 
ercise of  discipline  on  account  of  these 
sentiments,  was  the  principal  cause  of  the 
division  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  into 
two  portions  of  nearly  equal  size.   It  there- 
fore remains  true,  as  stated  in  a  preceding 
page,  that  no  Presbyterian  minister  has 
avowed  himself  either  a  Pelagian  or  Ar- 
minian, and  yet  been  allowed  to  retain  his 
standing  as  one  of  the  accredited  teachers 
of  the  church.     This,  indeed,  may  be  con- 
sidered by  many  as  great  bigotry.    But  the 
very  thing  which  its  friends  glory  in  is 
the  fact  that  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
America,  having  a  Calvinistic  creed,  has 
been  faithful  in  adhering  to  it. 

As  to  the  other  application  of  the  word 
pure,  it  may  also  be  safely  asserted,  that 
although  painful  cases  of  immorality  in 
ministers  have  occurred,  yet  we  know  of 
no  case  in  which  it  has  been  overlooked  ; 
we  know  no  case  in  which  either  drunken- 
ness, licentiousness,  or  any  similar  offence, 
has  been  proved  against  any  minister,  or 
been  notoriously  true  with  regard  to  him, 
without  leading  to  his  suspension  or  depo- 
sition from  office.  If  such  instances  have 
ever  occurred,  they  have  been  exceedingly 
rare.  We  do  not  mention  this  as  anything 
peculiar  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  ;  the 
same  remark,  as  far  as  we  know,  might  be 
made,  with  equal  justice,  of  any  of  the 
evangelical  denominations  in  the  country. 
As  it  regards  the  private  members  of  the 
church,  since  much  depends  upon  the  fidel- 
ity of  the  several  Sessions,  we  can  only 
say  that,  according  to  the  rules  of  disci- 
pline, no  person  chargeable  with  immoral 


Chap.  V.] 


PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 


241 


conduct  can  be  properly  retained  in  com- 
munion with  the  church ;  and  that  public 
sentiment  is  in  accordance  with  these 
rules.  The  cases  are  certainly  rare  in 
which  any  such  offence  as  falsehood, 
drunkenness,  fornication,  or  adultery  are 
tolerated  in  any  church  member.  Disci- 
pline is  so  far  preserved  in  our  churches, 
that  it  would  be  a  matter  of  general  re- 
proach if  any  congregation  allowed  the 
name  of  any  man  of  known  immoral  char- 
acter to  remain  upon  its  list  of  communi- 
cants. 

In  asserting  the  claim  of  the  Presbyteri- 
an Church  in  America  to  the  character  of 
an  enlightened  body,  all  that  is  meant  is, 
that  she  has  successfully  endeavoured  to 
maintain  as  high  a  standard  of  literary 
qualifications  in  her  ministry  as  other 
Christian  denominations  in  the  United 
States,  or  as  the  circumstances  of  the 
country  rendered  'expedient  or  possible. 
From  the  beginning  she  insisted  on  the 
necessity  of  learning  in  those  who  intend- 
ed to  enter  the  sacred  office,  and  early  en- 
deavoured to  establish  institutions  for 
their  suitable  education.  Even  when  the 
demand  for  ministers  was  so  great  as  to 
present  a  strong  temptation  to  relax  her 
requisitions,  she  constantly  refused.  The 
proposition  was  more  than  once  introduced 
into  the  old  Synod,  that  in  view  of  the 
pressing  necessity  for  ministerial  labour, 
the  presbyteries  might  be  permitted  to  li- 
cense men  to  preach  the  Gospel  who  had 
not  received  a  liberal  education  ;  but  it 
was  uniformly  rejected.  It  has  already 
been  stated  that  the  constitution  of  the 
church  requires  that  every  candidate  should 
pass  repeated  examinations  before  he  is 
admitted  to  ordination  ;  that  he  must  give 
satisfactory  evidence  of  possessing  a  com- 
petent knowledge  of  the  Latin,  Greek,  and 
Hebrew  languages  ;  of  his  acquaintance 
with  the  subjects  usually  studied  in  our 
colleges  ;  and  he  must,  after  completing 
his  academical  studies,  spend  at  least  two 
years  in  the  study  of  theology  under  some 
approved  teacher.  These  requisitions  have 
been  enforced  with  a  good  degree  of  fidel- 
ity. For  a  long  time,  a  knowledge  of  He- 
brew was  not  generally  insisted  upon,  on 
account  of  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  com- 
petent teachers ;  but  since  the  establish- 
ment of  theological  seminaries,  a  knowl- 
edge of  that  language  has  become  with 
the  Presbyterian  ministers  (and  many  oth- 
ers also)  an  almost  uniform  attainment. 

In  answer  to  the  question,  Whether  the 
Presbyterian  Church  has  been  a  laborious 
and  active  body  of  men?  it  may  be  said 
that,  if  in  this  respect  she  has  fallen  behind 
some  of  her  sister  churches,  she  has  kept 
in  advance  of  others.  The  rapid  increase 
of  the  church  since  its  organization  in  1705; 
the  efforts  she  has  made  to  found  acade- 
mies, colleges,  and  theological  seminaries  ; 
Q 


the  labour  and  money  contributed  to  the 
support  of  foreign  and  domestic  missions, 
show  that,  although  she  has  come  far  short 
of  her  duty,  she  has  not  been  entirely  un- 
mindful of  her  high  vocation. 

With  regard  to  the  last  question  pro- 
posed, viz.,  Whether  the  Presbyterian 
Church  has  been  a  harmonious  body  1  the 
answer  may  not  appear  so  favourable. 
The  existence  of  parties  seems  to  be  an 
unavoidable  incident  of  freedom.  In  other 
words,  liberty  gives  occasion  for  the  man- 
ifestation of  that  diversity  of  opinion,  feel- 
ing, and  interest,  which  never  fails  to  ex- 
ist in  all  large  communities,  whether  civil 
or  religious.  The  expression  of  this  di- 
versity may  be  prevented  by  the  hand  of 
power,  or  concealed  from  the  force  of  coun- 
teracting motives ;  but  where  no  power 
exists  to  forbid  its  manifestation,  or  where 
no  interests  are  endangered  by  its  avowal, 
it  will  not  be  slow  in  making  its  existence 
known.  In  the  Romish  Church  all  expres- 
sion of  difference  of  opinion,  on  certain 
subjects,  is  forbidden  ;  in  all  others,  where 
there  is  liberty,  there  is  conflict.  In 
richly-endowed  and  established  churches 
there  is  so  much  to  be  sacrificed  by  the 
avowal  of  dissent,  that  conformity  must 
ever  be  expected  to  be  more  general  than 
sincere. 

Nothing  out  of  the  analogy  of  history, 
therefore,  has  happened  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  occasional  conflicts  through 
which  she  has  passed.  As  this  church  was 
composed  of  men  sincerely  attached  to 
the  doctrines  of  the  Reformed  Churches, 
it  was  not  disturbed  by  any  doctrinal  con- 
troversy for  more  than  100  years  after  its 
organization.  Before  the  middle  of  the 
last  century,  there  arose  a  great  religious 
excitement  both  in  Great  Britain  and  in 
America.  In  England  this  excitement 
was  produced  principally  by  the  instru- 
mentality of  Wesley ;  and  in  this  country 
by  that  of  Whitefield,  Edwards,  the  Ten- 
nents,  Blairs,  and  other  distinguished 
preachers  of  that  day.  In  Scotland,  it 
either  increased  or  occasioned  the  seces- 
sions from  the  national  church  which  still 
exist  in  that  country.  In  England  it  led 
to  the  formation  of  the  great  and  inde- 
pendent body  of  the  Methodists.  In  New- 
England  it  gave  rise  to  great  controversy, 
and  to  separations  from  the  established 
churches  ;  and  in  the  Presbyterian  Church 
it  caused  a  division  of  the  Synod  of  Phila- 
delphia, which  was  its  highest  ecclesiasti- 
cal body,  into  two  independent  bodies, 
which  continued  separate  from  each  other 
from  1741  to  1758.  To  any  one  who  ex- 
amines this  period  of  its  history,  it  will 
appear  that  it  was  not  difference  of  opinion 
as  to  the  nature  of  religion,  or  as  to  its 
doctrines,  nor  as  to  church  government, 
nor  as  to  the  necessity  of  learning  in  the 
ministry,  which  led  to  this  separation,  but 


242 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


the  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  revival 
then  in  progress,  and  to  the  disorders, 
mutual  criminations,  and  consequent  alien- 
ation of  feeling  which  are  so  apt  to  attend 
seasons  of  great  and  general  excitement. 
The  terms  of  union  adopted  by  the  two 
synods  in  1758  expressly  recognise  the 
harmony  of  the  two  bodies  on  all  the  points 
above  specified,*  and  declare  their  purpose 
to  bury  all  remembrance  of  their  differences 
respecting  the  revival. 

From  the  time  of  the  union  just  men- 
tioned, in  1758,  until  within  a  few  years, 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  America  was 
as  harmonious  and  united  a  body  of  min- 
isters and  members  as  could  be  found  in 
this  or  any  other  country.  The  causes  of 
the  recent  unhappy  division  are  numerous, 
many  of  them  of  long  standing  and  gradual 
operation ;  and  all  of  them  difficult  of  ap- 
preciation by  those  who  are  not  familiarly 
acquainted  with  the  history  of  that  church. 

It  has  already  been  stated,  that  before 
the  commencement  of  the  present  century, 
the  Presbyterian  Church  was  in  a  great 
measure  composed  of  those  European 
Presbyterians  and  their  decendants  who 
were  settled  in  the  Middle  and  Southern 
States.  Since  the  year  1800,  there  has 
been  going  on  a  constant  and  very  great 
emigration  from  the  New-England  States 
to  the  central  and  western  parts  of  New- 
York,  and  to  the  Northwestern  States  of 
the  Union.  These  emigrants  had,  in  gen- 
eral, been  accustomed  to  the  Congrega- 
tional form  of  church  government  preva- 
lent in  New-England.  As  they  met,  how- 
ever, in  their  new  locations  with  many 
Presbyterians,  and  as  their  ministers  gen- 
erally preferred  the  Presbyterian  form  of 
government,  they  united  with  them  in  the 
formation  of  churches  and  ecclesiastical 
judicatories.  In  1801,  the  General  As- 
sembly and  the  General  Association  of 
Connecticut  agreed  upon  what  was  called 
"  The  plan  of  union  between  Presbyterians 
and  Congregationalists  in  the  new  settle- 
ments." Under  this  plan,  which  purports 
to  be  a  temporary  expedient,  a  great  num- 
ber of  churches  and  presbyteries,  and  even 
several  synods,  were  formed,  composed 
partly  of  Presbyterians  and  partly  of  Con- 
gregationalists. Though  this  plan  seems 
to  have  operated  beneficially  for  a  number 
of  years,  yet,  as  it  was  extended  far  beyond 
its  original  intention,  as  it  gave  Congre- 
gationalists, who  had  never  adopted  the 
standards  of  doctrine  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  who  were  avowedly  opposed 
to  its  form  of  government,  as  much  influ- 
ence and  authority  in  the  government  of 
the  church  as  an  equal  number  of  Presby- 


*  There  was,  indeed,  some  difference  of  opinion 
on  the  subject  of  the  nature  of  the  evidence  of  a 
proper  call  to  the  ministry  which  the  presbyteries 
should  require ;  one  party  held  higher  views  on  this 
subject  than  the  other. 


terians,  it  naturally  gave  rise  to  dissatis- 
faction as  soon  as  the  facts  of  the  case 
came  to  be  generally  known,  and  as  soon 
as  questions  of  discipline  and  policy  arose, 
in  the  decision  of  which  the  influence  of 
these  Congregationalists  was  sensibly  felt. 

In  addition  to  this  source  of  uneasiness, 
was  that  which  arose  out  of  diversity  of 
opinions  in  points  of  doctrine.  Certain 
peculiarities  of  doctrine  had  become  prev- 
alent among  the  Calvinists  of  New-Eng- 
land, which  naturally  spread  into  those 
portions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  settled 
by  New-England  men.  These  peculiari- 
ties were  not  regarded,  on  either  side,  as 
sufficient  to  justify  any  interruption  of 
ministerial  communion,  or  to  call  for  the 
exercise  of  discipline,  but  they  were  suffi- 
cient to  give  rise  to  the  formation  of  two 
parties,  which  received  the  appellations  of 
Old  and  New  School.  Within  the  last  ten 
or  twelve  years,  however,  opinions  have 
been  advanced  by  some  of  the  New-Eng- 
land clergy,  which  all  the  Old  School,  and 
a  large  portion  of  the  New  School  party 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  considered  as- 
involving  a  virtual  denial  of  the  doctrines 
of  original  sin,  election,  and  efficacious 
grace,  and  which  were  regarded  as  incon- 
sistent with  ministerial  standing  in  the 
body.  Several  attempts  were  made  to 
subject  the  Presbyterian  advocates  of  these 
opinions  to  ecclesiastical  discipline.  These 
attempts  failed,  partly  on  account  of  de- 
ficiency of  proof,  partly  from  irregularity 
in  the  mode  of  proceeding,  and  partly 
from  other  causes. 

To  these  sources  of  uneasiness  was  ad- 
ded the  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  best 
mode  of  conducting  certain  benevolent 
operations.  The  Old  School,  as  a  party, 
were  in  favour  of  the  church,  in  her  eccle- 
siastical capacity,  by  means  of  Boards  of 
her  appointment  and  under  her  own  con- 
trol, conducting  the  work  of  domestic  and 
foreign  missions,  and  the  education  of  can- 
didates for  the  ministry.  The  other  party, 
as  generally  preferred  voluntary  societies, 
disconnected  with  church  courts,  and  em- 
bracing different  religious  denominations, 
for  these  purposes.  It  might  seem,  at  first 
view,  that  this  was  a  subject  on  which  the 
members  of  the  church  might  differ  with- 
out inconvenience  or  collision.  But  it  was 
soon  found  that  these  societies  or  boards 
must  indirectly  exert  a  great,  if  not  a  con- 
trolling influence  on  the  church.  The  men 
who  could  direct  the  education  of  candi- 
dates for  the  sacred  office,  and  the  location 
of  the  hundreds  of  domestic  missionaries, 
must,  sooner  or  later,  give  character  to  the 
church.  On  this  account,  this  question  was 
regarded  as  one  of  great  practical  impor- 
tance. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  differences 
and  alienations  arising  from  these  various 
sources,  that  the  General  Assembly  met 


Chap.  V.] 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH. 


243 


in  1837.  Both  parties  had  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  a  separation  was  desirable  ; 
but  though  they  agreed  as  to  the  terms  of 
the  separation,  they  could  not  agree  as  to 
the  mode  in  which  it  should  be  effected. 
The  General  Assembly,  therefore,  resolved 
to  put  an  end  to  the  existing  difficulties  in 
another  way.  It  first  abolished  the  plan 
of  union,  above  mentioned,  formed  in  1801 ; 
and  then  passed  several  acts,  the  purport 
and  effect  of  which  were  to  declare  that 
no  Congregational  church  should  hereaf- 
ter be  represented  in  any  Presbyterian  ju- 
dicatory ;  and  that  no  Presbytery  or  Syn- 
od, composed  partly  of  Presbyterians  and 
partly  of  Congregationalists,  should  here- 
after be  considered  as  a  constituent  por- 
tion of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  These 
acts  were  defended  on  the  ground  that 
they  were  nothing  more  than  the  legiti- 
mate exercise  of  the  executive  authority 
of  the  General  Assembly,  requiring  that 
the  constitution  of  the  church  should  be 
conformed  to  by  all  its  constituent  parts. 

Had  the  synods  and  other  judicatories 
affected  by  these  acts  seen  fit  to  separate 
from  the  Congregationalists,  with  whom 
they  had  been  united,  and  to  organize 
themselves  as  purely  Presbyterian  bodies, 
the  General  Assembly  would  have  been 
bound  by  its  own  acts  to  recognise  them 
as  constituent  parts  of  the  church.  But 
those  brethren  having  assembled  in  con- 
vention at  Auburn,  in  the  State  of  New- 
York,  unanimously  resolved  that  they 
would  consider  the  plan  of  union  as  still 
in  force,  its  abrogation  by  the  General  As- 
sembly to  the  contrary  notwithstanding ; 
and  that  they  would  not  separate  from 
their  Congregational  brethren.  Accord- 
ingly, in  1838,  the  delegates  from  the  Pres- 
byteries included  in  these  synods  attend- 
ed the  General  Assembly,  and  claimed  their 
seats  as  members.  As  this  was  not  im- 
mediately granted  (though  it  was  not  re- 
fused), they  rose,  nominated  a  moderator 
and  clerk,  and  being  joined  by  those  mem- 
bers who  sympathized  with  them,  they 
declared  themselves  the  true  General  As- 
sembly, and  withdrew  from  the  house. 

A  suit  was  immediately  brought  by  them 
before  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, to  decide  which  Assembly  was  to  be 
regarded  as  the  true  one,  or  which  had 
the  right  to  appoint  the  professors,  and 
administer  the  funds  belonging  to  the  the- 
ological seminaries  under  the  care  of  "  The 
General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America." 
The  decision  of  the  judge  and  jury  was  in 
their  favour  ;  but  when  the  cause  was  ta- 
ken before  the  court  in  bank,  that  is,  be- 
fore the  court  with  all  the  judges  present, 
that  decision  was  reversed,  and  the  way 
left  open  for  the  New  School  Assembly  to 
renew  the  suit  if  they  should  think  proper. 
There  the  matter  now  rests,  leaving  what 


is  called  the  Old  School  Assembly  in  pos- 
session of  the  succession,  and  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  seminaries.  It  may  be 
remarked  that  this  decision  has  given  to 
that  Assembly  very  little  more  than  what 
was  admitted  to  be  their  due  by  the  oppo- 
site party  ;  that  is,  in  the  terms  of  separa- 
tion, agreed  upon  by  the  two  parties  in 
1837,  but  which  were  not  acted  upon,  it  was 
admitted  that  the  seminaries  and  funds, 
having,  in  fact,  been  founded  and  chiefly 
sustained  by  them,  should  be  under  the 
control  of  the  Old  School  body  ;  and  these 
funds  constitute  almost  the  whole  sum 
held  in  trust  by  the  General  Assembly. 

For  the  preceding  account  I  am  indebted 
to  a  very  distinguished  and  excellent  minis- 
ter in  one  of  the  bodies  into  which  the 
Presbyterian  Church  was  divided  in  1S38. 

To  one  who  takes  no  part  in  the  ques- 
tion, and  looks  at  it  dispassionately,  certain 
positions,  I  conceive,  must  appear  mani- 
festly just.  In  the  first  place,  the  com- 
pact, between  the  General  Assembly  and 
the  General  Association  of  Connecticut  in 
1801,  though  made  with  the  best  inten- 
tions, was  decidedly  contrary  to  the  con- 
stitution of  the  former  body.  It  was  a 
measure  which  can  only  be  ascribed  to 
the  desire  of  its  authors  to  accomplish  a 
present  apparent  good,  Avithout  taking  suf- 
ficient time  or  pains  to  examine  all  its 
probable  bearings.  Its  immediate  result 
was  the  building  up  of  a  large  number  of 
churches  of  a  mixed  character,  and  with- 
out that  bench  of  ruling  elders  which  is 
essentia]  to  the  interior  organization  of  a 
Presbyterian  church.  But  granting  this, 
and  I  do  not  see  how  it  can  well  be  de- 
nied, the  measures  consequent  upon  the 
dissolution  of  this  "  Plan  of  Union,"  by 
the  Assembly  of  1837,  seem  to  have  been 
abrupt.  Time  should  have  been  allowed 
for  the  churches  affected  by  it  to  adopt 
the  Presbyterian  polity  in  its  whole  ex- 
tent, if  they  had  a  mind  to  do  so,  before 
having  recourse  to  so  severe  a  measure. 

It  is  obvious,  in  the  second  place,  that 
the  Presbyterian  Church  from  the  first,  or 
nearly  so,  was  composed  of  diverse  ele- 
ments, which  could  not  be  easily  assim- 
ilated. This  diversity  had  been  increas- 
ing every  year,  especially  within  the  last 
half  century.  Look  at  the  different  races 
that  from  time  to  time  have  entered  into  the 
composition  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
A  large  proportion  of  its  ministers,  on  the 
one  hand,  are  either  from  Presbyterian 
churches  in  Scotland  and  Ireland,  or  are 
descended  from  Scotch  and  Irish  Presbyte- 
rians, and  these  naturally  feel  much  at- 
tached to  the  Westminster  Confession  of 
Faith,  and  to  the  catechisms  and  form  of 
government  with  which  they  have  been  fa- 
miliar from  their  childhood.  Another  large 
proportion  of  its  ministers  are,  on  the  oth- 
er hand,  from  New-England,  where  they 


244 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


received  all  their  early  impressions  from 
the  Congregational  churches ;  so  that, how- 
ever much  they  may  have  respected  the 
Presbyterian  Church  on  entering  it,  and 
however  that  respect  may  have  increased 
since,  they  cannot,  from  the  nature  of 
things,  feel  as  much  attachment  to  all  the 
details  of  its  doctrines  and  government  as 
others  who,  if  I  may  so  speak,  were  born 
Presbyterians.  Hence  the  latter  have  been 
more  readily  disposed  to  be  satisfied  with 
a  general  conformity  with  its  doctrines  and 
government.  This  led  to  a  variation,  if  not 
in  doctrines,  at  least  in  statements  of  doc- 
trine, perfectly  tolerable  in  Congregation- 
al churches,  where  extended  creeds  are  un- 
known, and  to  less  strictness  in  ecclesias- 
tical administration  ;  both  of  which  were 
incompatible  with  the  precision  of  a  church 
whose  standards  are  so  full  on  every  point, 
and  with  a  discipline  the  rules  of  which 
are  laid  down  with  so  much  minuteness. 

In  the  third  place,  the  doctrinal  differ- 
ence lay  more  in  philosophy  than  in  any- 
thing else.  It  originated  in  the  attempt, 
not  at  all  improper  in  itself,  to  reply  to 
the  objections  which  the  enemies  of  Cal- 
vinism have  ever  made  to  its  distinctive 
features,  so  repugnant  to  the  natural  heart. 
In  these  explanations  of  certain  points, 
views  were  expressed  which  were  deemed 
to  be  at  variance  with  the  doctrines  of 
man's  depravity,  of  election,  efficacious 
grace,  &c,  as  they  had  usually  been  held. 

Nor  do  I  think  it  is  to  be  denied  that 
some  of  these  speculations  were  pushed 
too  far,  and  expressed  in  a  manner  calcu- 
lated to  excite  alarm.  There  was,  in 
some  cases,  a  needless  departure  from  the 
usual  theological  phraseology,  and  this  ex- 
cited concern  and  suspicion,  even  when  at 
bottom  there  was  no  real  diversity  of  doc- 
trine. On  the  other  hand,  a  proper  dispo- 
sition was  not  always  shown  to  estimate 
unessential  shades  of  opinion,  and  even  of 
doctrine,  at  their  just  value;  and  conse- 
quences, even  when  denied  on  one  side, 
were  too  strenuously  alleged  on  the  other. 
Thus  were  differences  in  some  cases  mag- 
nified, until  what  was  philosophical  in  the 
explanation  of  a  doctrine,  and  did  not 
change  the  doctrine  itself,  was  thought  sub- 
versive of  it,  and  fraught,  of  course,  with 
imminent  danger  to  the  cause  of  truth. 

In  the  fourth  place,  as  to  the  mode  of 
conducting  the  benevolent  undertakings  of 
the  church,  whether  by  boards  appointed 
by  the  General  Assembly  or  through  vol- 
untary societies  (and  this,  after  all,  was 
the  question  that  helped  most  to  produce 
the  division),  it  seems  clear  to  me  that 
the  brethren  and  churches  that  preferred 
the  former  of  these  methods  ought  at 
once  to  have  been  allowed  that  preference, 
and  that  it  was  a  mistake  to  shut  them  up 
to  the  support  of  what  they  did  not  think 
the  safest  or  most  scriptural  modes  of  pro- 


moting  the  extension  of  the   Messiah's 
kingdom  at  home  and  abroad. 

Faults,  in  short,  there  were  on  both  sides, 
and,  as  happens  so  often  in  such  cases, 
there  was  not  a  little  of  man,  in  a  matter  in 
which  nothing  should  have  been  allowed 
to  influence  a  single  decision  but  a  regard 
for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  interests  of 
his  Church. 

But  the  division  has  taken  place,  and 
whatever  of  strife  or  agitation  attended  it 
is  passing  away.  A  better  spirit  is  un- 
questionably prevailing,  and  these  two 
powerful  bodies  are  engaged  in  the  only 
rivalry  worthy  of  them — that  of  striving 
which  shall  do  most  for  the  cause  of  Christ 
throughout  the  world.  In  this  each  of 
them  is  now  free  to  adopt  the  method  it 
may  think  best. 

The  Old  School,  as  they  are  called,  have 
their  own  boards  of  missions,  domestic 
and  foreign,  of  education  and  of  publica- 
tion. The  New  School  combine  their  ef- 
forts with  the  Congregationalists  of  New- 
England,  and  some  other  and  smaller  de- 
nominations, in  supporting  the  American 
Home  Missionary  Society,  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, and  the  American  Education  Socie- 
ty. Both  zealously  support  the  American 
Bible,  Tract,  and  Seamen's  Societies,  and 
others  of  a  like  general  kind. 

In  fact,  the  unwieldy  bulk  to  which  the 
Presbyterian  Church  had  grown,  as  well 
as  the  coexistence  in  it  of  two  great  ele- 
ments, too  dissimilar  to  admit  of  harmoni- 
ous action,  had  long  made  it  evident  to 
many  that  it  must  be  divided ;  and  the  di- 
vision that  has  taken  place  is  about  as  for- 
tunate a  one  as  well  could  have  occurred. 
Although  it  must  be  referred,  in  a  consid- 
erable degree,  to  sectional,  doctrinal,  and 
economical  questions,  yet  none  of  these 
have  in  all  cases  determined  the  present 
position  of  the  parties  concerned.  Thus, 
in  the  New  School  Church  we  find  Scotch 
and  Irish  ministers,  and  the  descendants 
of  emigrants  from  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
while  New-England  men  may  be  found  in 
the  Old.  In  the  former  there  are  men 
who  hold  the  old  views  of  Calvinistic  doc- 
trine ;  in  the  latter,  there  are  some  who 
hold  the  New-England  modifications  of 
those  views.  Finally,  the  New  School  is 
not  without  adherents  who  prefer  ecclesi- 
astical boards  for  benevolent  operations, 
while  the  Old  School  has  some  who  re- 
main attached  to  voluntary  societies.  The 
division,  however,  coincides  more,  if  I  may 
use  the  expression,  with  the  natural  line 
of  demarcation,  in  the  last-named  particu- 
lar, than  in  the  others,  and  for  a  reason  al- 
ready mentioned. 

The  relative  proportions  of  the  two  bod- 
ies will  appear  from  the  following  state- 
ment. In  May  last  (1843),  the  Old  School 
had  under  its  care, 


Chap.  VI.] 


METHODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


245 


19  Synods,* 
105  Presbyteries, 
2,092  Churches, 
1,434  Ordained  Ministers, 
183  Licentiates, 
314  Candidates,! 
159,137  Communicants. 

At  the  same  date,  according  to  their 
minutes,  the  New  School  had  under  their 
care, 

19  Synods, 

101  Presbyteries, 

1,496  Churches, 

1.263  Ministers, 

120,645  Communicants. 

The  number  of  licentiates  and  candi- 
dates is  not  given,  but- probably  bears  the 
same  proportion  to  that  of  the  churches 
and  pastors  as  those  of  the  Old  School  do 
to  theirs. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  two  together, 
and  in  almost  all  respects  they  may  be 
considered  as  one  body,  have 

3,584  Churches, 
2,672  Ordained  Ministers, 
probably     900  Licentiates  and  Candidates, 
and  279,782  Communicants. 

Regarding  them  as  one  whole,  it  were 
difficult  to  find  in  any  part  of  Christendom 
a  branch  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  better 
educated,  or  more  distinguished  for  gen- 
eral learning,  zeal,  enterprise,  liberality, 
and  soundness  in  all  essential  doctrine. 
Their  ministers  present  a  body  of  2672 
men,  almost  without  exception  liberally 
educated,  who,  after  all  their  debates,  and 
final  separation  into  two,  are  more  thor- 
oughly sound  Calvinists  in  point  of  doc- 
trine than  any  equally  numerous  ministry 
to  be  found  in  any  other  country. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  Whether 
they  will  ever  unite  again  \  That  is  by  no 
means  improbable  ;  but  whether  they  do 
or  not  seems  to  me  of  little  consequence. 
In  their  separate  state  they  will  accom- 
plish more  than  if  united.  There  will  soon 
be  the  most  perfect  intercourse  between 
their  churches  and  pastors.  The  energies 
of  both  find  free  and  ample  scope,  which 
was  never  the  case  before  with  either,  but 
particularly  with  the  Old  School,  who  nev- 
er felt  at  ease,  or  assured  of  the  future. 
The  New  School  will  probably  ally  them- 
selves more  closely  than  ever  with  the  Con- 
gregationalists,  and  maintaining  a  some- 
what less  rigid  economy  than  the  Old 
School,  in  regard  to  the  organization  of 
churches  in  regions  abounding  with  New- 
England  Congregational  emigrants,  they 
cannot  but  increase  rapidly,  the  more  espe- 


*  In  the  above  statistical  view  the  foreign  mis- 
sionaries belonging  to  this  body  are  included.  If  we 
would  give  the  exact  number  of  Synods,  Presbyter- 
ies, &c,  of  this  Church  in  the  United  States,  we 
must  subtract  these.  There  would  then  remain  18 
Synods,  102  Presbyteries,  2088  churches,  and  1409 
ministers. 

t  That  is,  students  of  theology  who  have  not  yet 
been  licensed  to  preach. 


cially  as  New-England  will  act  on  the  Mid- 
dle, the  Southern,  and  still  more,  on  the 
Northwestern  States,  chiefly  through  them. 
In  conclusion,  let  me  add,  that  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  the  New  School,  in  its 
session  in  May,  1840,  proposed  to  the  pres- 
byteries under  its  care  certain  important 
changes  in  its  constitution,  which  have 
since  been  adopted.  One  is,  that  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  shall  be  held  triennially  in- 
stead of  annually.  Another  is,  that  all  ap- 
peals from  the  decisions  of  a  Church  Ses- 
sion shall  not,  in  the  case  of  lay-members, 
be  carried  beyond  the  Presbytery,  or  in  the 
case  of  ministers,  beyond  the  Synod.  By 
these  modifications  they  have  made  the 
business  of  their  General  Assembly  much 
more  simple  and  easy,  and  given  more 
time  to  that  body  to  deliberate  on  meas- 
ures for  the  promotion  of  the  best  interests 
of  the  Church. 

*» 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

This  large  and  influential  body  holds  the 
doctrinal  opinions  of  the  Wesleyan  Meth- 
odists of  England,  and  its  ecclesiastical 
economy  is,  in  all  important  points,  iden- 
tical with  theirs.  It  took  its  rise  in  1766, 
when  a  Mr.  Philip  Embury,  who  had  been 
a  local  preacher  in  some  of  Mr.  Wesley's 
societies  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  had 
come  over  to  America  with  a  few  other 
pious  persons  of  the  same  connexion,  be- 
gan to  hold  meetings  for  exhortation  and 
prayer  in  his  own  house  at  New- York. 
A  considerable  society  was  gradually  form- 
ed in  that  city,  which  at  that  time,  it  would 
appear,  could  reckon  on  but  a  small  num- 
ber, comparatively,  of  living  and  zealous 
Christians  among  its  inhabitants.  In  a  few 
months  it  was  found  necessary  to  fit  up  a 
large  hired  room  as  a  place  of  worship, 
and  the  congregation  was  farther  aug- 
mented by  the  preaching  of  a  Captain 
Webb  of  the  British  army,  Avho,  having 
been  converted  under  the  preaching  of  Mr. 
Wesley  in  England,  and  being  now  sta- 
tioned at  Albany,  paid  frequent  visits  to 
the  little  flock  at  New-York. 

It  was  not  long,  however,  before  similar 
meetings  began  to  be  held  in  several  pla- 
ces on  Long  Island,  in  Philadelphia,  and 
at  other  points.  In  1768  a  large  place  of 
worship  was  erected  in  New- York,  being 
the  first  Methodist  church  ever  built  in 
the  United  States.  Next  year,  Mr.  Wes- 
ley being  requested  to  send  over  two  of 
his  preachers,  Messrs.  Richard  Boardman 
and  Joseph  Pillmore  came  to  New- York, 
and  about  the  same  time,  Mr.  Robert 
Strawbridge,  another  local  preacher  from 
Ireland,  came  over  and  settled  in  Frederick 
county,  Maryland,  where  he  held  meetings 
at  his  own  house,  and  at  those  of  other 


246 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


pious  persons  in  the  neighbourhood.  This 
extension  of  the  Methodists  into  the  South 
was  farther  promoted  by  a  visit  from  Mr. 
Pillmore  into  Virginia  and  North  Caro- 
lina. 

Pressing  representations  of  the  need  of 
help  having  been  made  to  Mr.  Wesley,  Mr. 
Francis  Asbury  and  Mr.  Richard  Wright 
were  sent  over  from  England  in  1771,  and 
under  the  labours,  particularly  of  the  for- 
mer, the  work  went  on  increasing,  year 
after  year,  until  the  commencement  of  the 
Revolution.  That  event  greatly  retarded 
the  progress  of  Methodism  in  some  places, 
not  only  by  the  ever  untowardly  influence 
of  present  war  on  such  undertakings,  but 
also  by  the  suspicions  attached  by  the 
revolutionists  to  Mr.  Asbury,  and  several 
of  his  fellow-preachers,  as  being  native 
Englishmen,  who  had  been  too  short  a  pe- 
riod in  the  country  to  have  its  interests 
truly  at  heart. 

At  length,  with  peace  came  independ- 
ence, and  thus,  greatly  to  the  encourage- 
ment of  Mr.  Asbury  and  his  fellow-labour- 
ers, a  wide  and  effectual  door  for  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  Avas  opened  to 
them.  Hitherto  this  attempt  to  revive 
true  godliness  had  been  confined  entirely 
to  laymen  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and 
with  it  their  efforts  are  more  connected 
than  with  any  other,  inasmuch  as  none  of 
them  had  at  first  any  intention  of  separa- 
ting from  its  communion.  But  worthy 
ministers  of  that  church  being  hard  to  be 
found  in  some  places,  while  none  were  to 
be  had  at  all  in  others,  both  before  the 
Revolution  broke  out  and  during  its  prog- 
ress, Mr.  Wesley  was  urged  to  send  over 
ordained  ministers,  who  might  administer 
the  ordinances  to  his  followers.  To  this 
he  was  greatly  opposed  at  first,  but  when 
the  Revolution  was  over,  considering  that, 
from  the  change  of  circumstances,  he  might 
now  lawfully  do  what  he  had  refused  do- 
ing while  the  colonies  were  under  the  gov- 
ernment of  England,  he  sent  over,  as  su- 
perintendent of  the  Methodist  churches  in 
America,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Coke,  a  presbyter 
of  regular  standing  in  the  Established 
Church  of  England.  He  was  accompa- 
nied by  Mr.  Richard  Whatcoat  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Vasey,  whom  Mr.  Wesley,  assist- 
ed by  Dr.  Coke  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Creigh- 
ton,  had  ordained  presbyters  -or  priests, 
just  before  the  sailing  of  the  three  from 
Bristol  in  September,  1784.  These  breth- 
ren were  the  bearers  of  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Wesley  to  the  Methodist  preachers  and 
societies  in  America,  stating  his  reasons 
for  considering  himself  now  at  liberty  to 
accede  to  their  requests,  and  informing 
them  that  he  had  appointed  Dr.  Coke  and 
Mr.  Asbury  to  be  joint  superintendents  of 
all  the  societies  in  that  country  founded 
upon  his  rules,  and  Messrs.  Whatcoat  and 
Vasey  to  act  as  elders  among  them,  by 


baptizing    and   administering    the    Lord's 
Supper. 

On  the  arrival  of  these  delegates,  a  con- 
ference of  the  preachers  was  immediately 
convened  at  Baltimore.  It  was  opened  on 
the  25th  of  December,  1784,  and  was  at- 
tended by  sixty  out  of  the  eighty  preach- 
ers then  in  the  country.  One  of  its  first 
acts  was  the  unanimous  election  of  Dr. 
Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury  as  superintendents, 
thereby  confirming  Mr.  Wesley's  appoint- 
ment. Dr.  Coke  and  the  other  two  pres- 
byters then  ordained  Mr.  Asbury,  first  a 
deacon,  next  a  presbyter,  and,  finally,  a  su- 
perintendent. Thereupon  the  two  super- 
intendents, or  bishops,  as  they  soon  began 
to  be  called,  and  as  their  successors  are 
styled  to  this  day,  ordained  twelve  of  the 
preachers  then  present  to  the  office  of 
presbyters  or  elders. 

Thus  was  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  organized 
sixty  years  ago.  From  that  epoch  they 
formed  a  new  and  independent  religious 
denomination,  which  was  soon  vastly  to 
outnumber  that  from  which  they  had 
sprung.  At  that  "  their  day  of  small 
things,"  their  ministers  and  lay  preach- 
ers, including  Dr.  Coke  and  his  co-dele- 
gates from  England,  amounted  to  eighty- 
six,  and  the  members,  in  all,  to  14,986. 
But  small  as  was  this  beginning,  great  and 
glorious  has  been  their  increase  since. 

The  proceedings  of  that  conference  were 
highly  important.  Twenty-five  articles 
were  adopted  as  the  Confession  of  Faith 
for  the  infant  church.  We  will  give  first, 
the  titles  of  the  whole,  and  then  a  few  of 
them  at  large.  The  titles  are  as  follows  : 
Of  faith  in  the  Holy  Trinity  ;  of  the  Word, 
or  Son  of  God,  who  was  made  very  man  ; 
of  the  resurrection  of  Christ ;  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  of  the  sufficiency  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures for  salvation  ;  of  the  Old  Testament ; 
of  original  sin;  of  free-will;  of  the  justifica- 
tion of  man  ;  of  good  works  ;  of  works  of 
supererogation  ;  of  sin  after  justification  ; 
of  the  Church  ;  of  purgatory  ;  of  speaking 
in  the  congregation  in  such  a  tongue  as  the 
people  understand  ;  of  the  sacraments  ;  of 
Baptism  ;  of  the  Lord's  Supper ;  of  both 
kinds  ;*  of  the  one  oblation  of  Christ,  fin- 
ished upon  the  cross ;  of  the  marriage  of 
ministers ;  of  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of 
the  churches ;  of  the  rulers  of  the  United 
States  of  America ;  of  Christian  men's 
goods  ;  of  a  Christian  man's  oath. 

On  almost  all  these  subjects  the  arti- 
cles express  doctrines  held  by  every  en- 
lightened Protestant.  In  fact,  they  are 
a  selection  from  the  Thirty-nine  Articles 
of  the  Church  of  England,  with  some  ver- 
bal changes,  and  the  omission  of  some 
words  and  parts  of  sentences.  The  sev- 
e nt e enth   article  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 

*  Or  elements — bread  and  wine — both  to  be  ad- 
ministered to  the  people. 


Chap.  VI.] 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH. 


247 


land  (on  predestination  and  election)  is,  of 
course,  omitted,  the  doctrine  therein  taught 
not  being  held  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  America.  Nor  do  we  find  that 
of  the  certain  perseverance  of  saints,  for 
neither  do  they  hold  this.  But  on  all  the 
great  doctrines  essential  to  salvation,  no- 
thing can  be  more  clear,  or  more  consist- 
ent with  the  Word  of  God,  than  the  sense 
of  these  articles.  For  instance,  on  origi- 
nal sin — what  more  Scriptural  than  the 
seventh  article,  which  says,  "  Original  sin 
standeth  not  in  following  of  Adam  (as  the 
Pelagians  do  vainly  talk),  but  it  is  the  cor- 
ruption of  the  nature  of  every  man  ;  that 
is,  naturally  engendered  of  the  offspring  of 
Adam,  whereby  man  is  very  far  gone  from 
original  righteousness,  and  of  his  own  na- 
ture inclined  to  evil,  and  that  continually.1' 

On  the  subject  of  free-will,  it  is  said, 
"  That  the  condition  of  man  after  the  fall 
of  Adam  is  such,  that  he  cannot  turn  and 
prepare  himself  by  his  own  natural  strength 
and  works  to  faith,  and  calling  upon  God ; 
whereupon  we  have  no  power  to  do  good 
works,  pleasant  and  acceptable  to  God, 
without  the  grace  of  God  by  Christ  pre- 
venting us,  that  we  may  have  a  good  will, 
and  working  with  us  when  we  have  that 
good  will." 

So  in  respect  to  justification  by  faith, 
good  works,  works  of  supererogation,  the 
sacraments,  and  other  subjects,  the  same 
doctrines  are  held  as  by  the  Reformers  of 
blessed  memory. 

Besides  these  twenty-five  articles,  the 
General  Conference  have  adopted  a  sys- 
tem of  polity*  in  thirty-five  sections,  which 
treat  of  the  entire  economy  of  their  church, 
the  manner  of  life  becoming  its  ministers 
and  private  members,  the  proper  style  of 
preaching,  &c.  In  giving  directions  as  to 
the  manner  of  treating  the  doctrine  of  per- 
fection, the  twenty-second  section  runs  as 
follows :  "  Let  us  strongly  and  explicitly 
exhort  all  believers  to  go  on  to  perfection. 
That  we  may  all  speak  the  same  thing,  we 
ask,  once  for  all,  Shall  we  defend  this  per- 
fection, or  give  it  up?  We  all  agree  to 
defend  it,  meaning  thereby  (as  we  did  from 
the  beginning),  salvation  from  all  sin  by 
the  love  of  God  and  man  filling  the  heart. 
The  Papists  say,  '  This  cannot  be  attained 
till  we  have  been  refined  by  the  fire  of 
purgatory.'  Some  professors  say,  '  Nay, 
it  will  be  attained  as  soon  as  the  soul  and 
body  part.'  Others  say,  '  It  may  be  at- 
tained before  we  die  ;  a  moment  after  is 
too  late.'  Is  it  not  so  1  We  are  all  agreed 
we  may  be  saved  from  all  sin,  properly  so 
called,  before  death,  i.  e.,  sinful  tempers ; 
but  Ave  cannot  always  speak,  or  think,  or 
act  aright,  as  dwelling  in  houses  of  clay. 
The  substance,  then,  is  settled ;  but  as  to 
the  circumstances,  is  the  change  gradual  or 


*  These  rules,  originally  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, were  considerably  modified  in  America. 


instantaneous  1  It  is  both  the  one  and  the 
other.  '  But  should  we,  in  preaching,  in- 
sist both  on  one  and  the  other  V  Certainly 
we  should  insist  on  the  gradual  change ; 
and  that  earnestly  and  continually.  And 
are  there  not  reasons  why  we  should  insist 
on  the  instantaneous  change  1  If  there  be 
such  a  blessed  change  before  death,  should 
we  not  encourage  all  believers  to  expect 
it  1  And  the  rather,  because  constant  ex- 
perience shows,  the  more  earnestly  they 
expect  this,  the  more  swiftly  and  steadily 
does  the  gradual  work  of  God  go  on  in 
their  souls ;  the  more  careful  are  they  to 
grow  in  grace ;  the  more  zealous  of  good 
works  ;  and  the  more  punctual  in  their  at- 
tendance on  all  the  ordinances  of  God 
(whereas  just  the  contrary  effects  are  ob- 
served whenever  this  expectation  ceases). 
They  are  saved  by  hope — by  this  hope 
of  a  total  change,  with  a  gradually-increas- 
ing salvation.  Destroy  this  hope,  and  that 
salvation  stands  still,  or,  rather,  decreases 
daily.  Therefore,  whoever  will  advance 
the  gradual  change  in  believers,  should 
strongly  insist  on  the  instantaneous." 

For  a  more  thorough  acquaintance  with 
the  doctrines  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  I  may  refer  to  Mr.  Wesley's  four 
volumes  of  Sermons,  and  his  Notes  on  the 
New  Testament,  where  all  the  peculiar 
views  of  that  body  are  fully  exhibited,  and 
which  may  be  regarded  as  its  real  Confes- 
sion of  Faith.  Its  Discipline  comprehends 
the  "  Articles  of  Religion,"  the  "  General 
Rules"  relating  to  practice,  the  "  System 
of  Government,"  and  the  "  Formularies," 
all  of  which,  except  the  Articles  of  Reli- 
gion, may,  under  certain  circumstances 
and  restrictions,  be  modified  and  enlarged 
from  time  to  time  by  various  enactments 
of  the  General  Conference.  We  shall  at- 
tempt a  summary  of  it  from  the  very 
clear  and  succinct  statements  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Bangs,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States,"*  a  work  to  which,  in  preparing 
this  chapter,  we  have  been  greatly  indebt- 
ed on  other  points.  We  begin  with  the 
"  societies"  and  "  classes,"  which  are  the 
primary  bodies  of  believers  in  this  exten- 
sive, well-adjusted,  and  most  efficient  ec- 
clesiastical system. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  there  is  what  is 
called  the  society,  which  includes  all  the 
members  of  the  church  residing  in  any 
particular  place,  or  connected  with  it. 

2.  Every  society  comprises  one  or  more 
classes,  each  consisting  of  from  twelve  to 


*  Vol.  i.,  p.  245-250.  This  Work,  in  4  vols.,  by  the 
Rev.  Nathan  Bangs,  D.D.,  brings  the  history  of  the 
Methodist  Church  down  to  the  close  of  the  General 
Conference  held  in  1840.  It  is  an  invaluable  work, 
written  in  a  truly  Calm  and  Christian  spirit,  and  dis- 
plays a  sincere  desire  to  present  every  subject  which 
it  treats  in  an  impartial  manner.  It  contains  a  com- 
plete history  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  America 
from  the  first. 


248 


RELIGION   IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


twenty  or  more  individuals,  who  meet  once 
a  week  for  mutual  edification.  These 
classes  are  the  real  normal  schools,  if  we 
may  so  speak,  of  the  Methodist  Church. 

3.  The  minister,  under  whose  pastoral 
care  the  classes  in  a  society  are  placed, 
appoints  a  leader  to  each,  whose  duty  is  to 
see  every  member  of  his  class  once  a 
week,  to  inquire  how  their  souls  prosper, 
and  to  receive  what  they  are  willing  to  give 
for  the  support  of  the  church  and  the  poor. 

4.  Stewards  are  appointed  in  each  soci- 
ety by  the  Quarterly  Conference,  on  the 
nomination  of  the  ruling  preacher.  These 
have  charge  of  all  the  moneys  collected 
for  the  support  of  the  ministry,  the  poor, 
and  for  sacramental  occasions,  and  dis- 
burse it  as  the  Discipline  directs. 

5.  There  are  trustees,  who  have  charge  of 
the  church  property,  and  hold  it  in  trust  for 
the  use  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
These  are  elected  by  the  congregation  in 
those  states  where  the  laws  so  provide  ;  in 
other  places  they  are  appointed  as  the  Dis- 
cipline directs. 

6.  There  are,  in  most  societies,  exhorters, 
who  receive  their  license  from  the  preach- 
er in  charge ;  but  this  license  cannot  be 
renewed  except  by  a  vote  of  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  Conference ;  they  have  the  privi- 
lege of  holding  meetings  for  exhortation 
and  prayer. 

7.  A  preacher  is  one  who  holds  a  license 
to  preach,  but  may  not  administer  the  sac- 
raments. He  may  be  a  travelling  or  a 
local  preacher.  The  former  devotes  his 
whole  time  to  the  ministry,  and  is  support- 
ed by  those  among  whom  he  labours ;  the 
latter  generally  supports  himself  by  some 
secular  employment,  and  preaches  on  the 
Sabbath,  as  well  as  occasionally  at  other 
times,  but  without  temporal  emolument. 
Both  receive  a  license,  signed  by  a  presi- 
ding elder,  from  a  Quarterly  Meeting  Con- 
ference, after  being  recommended  each  by 
his  respective  class,  or  by  a  leader's  meet- 
ing. Thus  the  people,  in  those  nurseries 
of  the  Church — the  "  classes"  and  "  lead- 
ers' meetings" — have  the  initiative  in  bring- 
ing forward  those  who  are  to  preach  the 
Gospel.  After  this  license  from  a  Quar- 
terly Meeting  Conference,  they  may  be 
taken  into  the  travelling  service  by  an  An- 
nual Conference  ;  after  two  years  spent  in 
which,  and  pursuing  at  the  same  time  a 
prescribed  course  of  reading  and  study, 
they  may  be  ordained  as  deacons.  Then, 
after  two  years'  circuit  travelling  as  dea- 
cons, and  pursuing  a  farther  course  of 
reading  and  study,  they  may  be  ordained 
presbyters  or  elders.  Such  is  the  training 
for  the  ministry  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  it  is  much  more  efficient  than 
persons  not  well  acquainted  witli  it  would 
suppose. 

8.  A  deacon  holds  a  parchment  of  ordi- 
nation from  a  bishop,  and  besides  his  du- 


ties as  a  preacher,  he  is  authorized  to 
solemnize  marriages,  to  administer  Bap- 
tism, and  to  assist  the  elder  or  presbyter 
in  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

9.  An  elder,  in  addition  to  these  func- 
tions, is  authorized  to  administer  all  the 
ordinances  of  God's  house. 

10.  A  presiding  elder  has  the  charge  of 
several  circuits,  collectively  called  a  dis- 
trict. It  is  his  duty  to  visit  each  circuit 
once  a  quarter,  to  preach  and  administer 
the  ordinances,  to  convene  the  travelling 
and  local  preachers,  exhorters,  stewards, 
and  leaders  of  the  circuit  for  a  Quarterly 
Conference,  and  in  the  absence  of  a  bishop, 
to  receive,  try,  suspend,  or  expel  preach- 
ers, as  the  Discipline  directs.  He  is  ap- 
pointed to  his  charge  by  the  bishop,  who 
may,  for  the  time  being,  have  a  special 
oversight  of  the  Annual  Conference  in 
which  he  is  placed.  This  office  arose 
from  the  necessity  of  always  having  some 
one  to  administer  the  ordinances  through- 
out the  circuits,  for  it  often  happens  that 
the  travelling  preachers,  from  their  not 
having  received  ordination  as  elders,  can- 
not administer  the  Lord's  Supper ;  nor 
even  Baptism,  if  they  are  not  deacons. 

11.  A  bishop  is  elected  by  the  General 
Conference,  to  which  body  he  is  amenable 
for  his  official  and  moral  conduct.  It  is 
his  duty  to  travel  through  the  country,  to 
superintend  the  spiritual  and  temporal  af- 
fairs of  the  Church,  to  preside  in  the 
Annual  and  the  General  Conference,  to 
ordain  such  as  are  elected  by  an  Annual 
Conference  to  the  office  of  deacons  and 
elders,  and  to  appoint  the  preachers  to 
their  stations.  As  there  are  several  bish- 
ops, they  usually  divide  the  country  among 
them,  each  having  his  own  field,  and  all 
meeting  at  the  General  Conference.  The 
episcopacy  in  this  church  is,  however,  an 
office,  not  an  order. 

12.  A  leaders'1  meeting  is  composed  of  all 
the  class  leaders  in  any  one  circuit  or  sta- 
tion, under  the  presidency  of  the  preacher 
placed  in  charge  of  that  circuit  or  station. 
Here  the  weekly  class  collections  are  paid 
into  the  hands  of  the  stewards,  and  inquiry 
is  made  into  the  state  of  the  classes,  delin- 
quents reported,  and  inquiries  made  as  to 
the  sick  and  poor. 

13.  A  quarterly  meeting  conference  is  com- 
posed of  all  the  travelling  and  local  preach- 
ers, exhorters,  stewards,  and  leaders  be- 
longing to  any  particular  station  or  circuit, 
under  the  presidency  of  the  circuit  elder,  or, 
in  his  absence,  of  the  preacher  who  takes 
charge  in  his  place.  Here  local  preachers 
are  licensed,  the  licenses  of  exhorters  an- 
nually renewed,  and  preachers  recommend- 
ed to  an  Annual  Conference  to  be  received 
into  the  travelling  ministry  ;  appeals  are 
likewise  heard  from  any  dissatisfied  mem- 
ber against  the  decision  of  a  committee  of 
the   society  to  which  he  belongs.     This 


Chap.  VI.] 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


249 


body  performs,  therefore,  a  most  important 
part,  in  the  whole  system. 

14.  An  annual  conference  is  composed  of 
all  the  travelling  preachers,  deacons,  and 
elders  within  a  specified  district  of  coun- 
try. These  are  the  executive  and  judicial 
bodies,  acting  under  rules  prescribed  to 
them  by  the  General  Conference.  Here 
the  characters  and  conduct  of  all  the  trav- 
elling preachers  within  the  bounds  of  the 
conference  are  examined  yearly ;  appli- 
cants for  admission  into  the  travelling  min- 
istry, if  accounted  worthy,  are  received, 
continued  on  trial,  or  dropped,  as  the  case 
may  be ;  appeals  from  local  preachers, 
which  may  be  presented,  are  heard  and 
decided ;  and  persons  fit  for  ordination,  as 
deacons  or  elders,  are  elected.  An  annual 
conference  possesses  original  jurisdiction 
over  all  its  members,  and  may  therefore 
try,  acquit,  suspend,  expel,  or  locate  any 
of  them,  as  the  Discipline  in  such  cases 
provides. 

15.  The  General  Conference  assembles 
once  in  four  years,  and  is  composed  of  a 
certain  number  of  delegates,  elected  by 
the  annual  conferences.  It  has  the  pow- 
er to  revise  any  part  of  the  Discipline  not 
prohibited  by  restrictive  regulations ;  to 
elect  the  book  agents  and  editors,  and  the 
bishops  ;  to  hear  and  determine  appeals  of 
preachers  from  the  decision  of  annual  con- 
ferences ;  to  review  the  acts  of  those  con- 
ferences generally ;  to  examine  into  the 
general  administration  of  the  bishops  for 
the  four  preceding  years  ;  and  to  try,  cen- 
sure, acquit,  or  condemn  a  bishop  if  ac- 
cused. This  is  the  highest  judicatory  of 
the  church. 

16.  A  love-feast  is  a  meeting  of  the  mem- 
bers of  a  society,  held  occasionally,  in 
which  they  partake  of  a  simple  repast  of 
bread  and  water,  during  an  hour,  at  which 
such  as  are  disposed  relate  what  God  has 
done  for  their  souls.  These  meetings 
were  instituted  by  Mr.  Wesley,  as  a  sort 
of  resuscitation  of  the  Ayanat,  (Agapae)  of 
the  ancient  church.  Their  object  is  to 
make  the  members  better  acquainted  with 
each  other,  and  promote  brotherly  love  and 
mutual  edification. 

17.  The  salaries  of  the  ministers  are 
raised  by  various  collections  in  the  socie- 
ties, and  also  in  public  meetings.  Provis- 
ion is  made  for  aged  and  infirm  ministers 
who  have  continued  to  exercise  the  duties 
of  the  ministry  until  incapable  of  farther 
service.  Omitting  unnecessary  details,  I 
need  only  say  that  each  travelling  minister 
receives  at  present  100  dollars  a  year  for 
himself,  the  same  sum  for  his  wife,  if  he 
has  one,  sixteen  dollars  a  year  for  each 
child  under  seven  years  of  age,  and  twen- 
ty-four for  those  above  that  and  under  four- 
teen years.  Besides,  the  stewards  of  each 
circuit  and  station  are  directed  to  provide 
a  "  parsonage,"  or  house  of  residence,  for 


the  family  of  each  married  preacher  on 
their  circuit  or  station,  and  also  to  grant 
an  allowance  for  their  fuel  and  table  ex- 
penses, which  is  estimated  by  a  commit- 
tee appointed  by  the  Quarterly  Meeting 
Conference.  In  these  respects  there  is  no 
difference  between  the  preachers,  deacons, 
elders,  presiding  elders,  and  bishops — all 
receive  the  same  salaries ;  all  have  their 
travelling  expenses.  The  widows  of  all 
the  ministers  receive  100  dollars  each. 

The  above  is  the  provision  fixed  by  the 
General  Conference ;  but  we  believe  that 
in  many  circuits  the  collections,  &c,  do 
not  fully  meet  it. 

Such  is  an  outline  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  the  United  States,  and  it 
is  as  minute  as  a  work  like  this  could  ad- 
mit. Since  its  organization  in  1784,  though 
not  without  its  share  of  difficulties,  its  ca- 
reer, upon  the  whole,  has  been  remarkably 
prosperous,  and  God  has  enabled  it  to  over- 
come every  hinderance  with  wonderful  suc- 
cess. We  have  seen  the  numerical  amount 
of  its  ministers  and  members  sixty  years 
ago  ;  in  1843  it  was  as  follows: 

6  Bishops,  32  annual  conferences. 
3,988  Travelling  ministers,  who  devote  themselves  en- 
tirely to  the  ministry. 
7,730  Local  preachers,  assisting  the  regular  travelling 
ministers  with  frequent  preaching. 
1,068,525  Communicants. 

And  the  probable  proportion  of  the  com- 
munity under  the  influence  of  this  church's 
ministry,  that  is,  who  attend  its  preaching, 
as  stated  by  Bishop  Soule  before  the  Brit- 
ish Conference  in  August,1842,  is  5,000,000. 
Surely  we  may  well  exclaim,  "  What  hath 
God  wrought !"  It  covers  the  whole  land 
with  its  network  system  of  stations  and 
circuits,  and  carries  the  Gospel  into  thou- 
sands of  the  most  remote  as  well  as  the 
most  secluded  and  thinly-peopled  neigh- 
bourhoods. 

This  denomination  has  made  great  exer- 
tions to  increase  the  number  of  its  church 
edifices  within  the  last  few  years.  But  its 
itinerating  ministers  preach  in  thousands 
of  places  where  ho  such  buildings  are  yet 
erected,  or  at  least  none  belonging  to  that 
denomination.  In  these  cases  they  hold 
their  meetings  in  schoolhouses,  courthou- 
ses, and  private  houses. 

No  American  Christian  who  takes  a  com- 
prehensive view  of  the  progress  of  religion 
in  his  country,  and  considers  how  wonder- 
fully the  means  and  instrumentalities  em- 
ployed are  adapted  to  the  extent  and  the 
wants  of  that  country,  can  hesitate  for  a 
moment  to  bless  God  for  having,  in  his 
mercy,  provided  them  all.  Nor  will  he  fail 
to  recognise  in  the  Methodist  economy,  as, 
well  as  in  the  zeal,  the  devoted  piety,  and 
the  efficiency  of  its  ministry,  one  of  the 
most  powerful  elements  in  the  religious 
prosperity  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as 
one  of  the  firmest  pillars  of  their  civil  and 
political  institutions. 


250 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


We  have  already  spoken  of  the  Home 
Missions,  the  Tract,  Book,*  and  Sunday- 
school  operations  of  this  church.  In  an- 
other place  we  shall  have  occasion  to  say 
what  it  is  doing  in  the  cause*  of  Foreign 
Missions. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
long  reproached  with  neglecting  to  pro- 
mote learning  among  its  ministers,  and  it 
was  charged  even  with  having  no  wish 
that  its  ministry  should  he  learned.  There 
was,  apparently,  some  truth  in  this ;  for, 
though  its  influential  and  enlightened  mem- 
bers were  never  opposed  to  learning,  they 
had  a  well-founded  dread  of  a  learned  but 
unconverted  ministry.  Yet  they  attempted 
even,  at  an  early  period  of  their  Church's 
history,  to  found  seminaries  for  education. 
Among  these  there  was  a  college  in  Mary- 
land, which  flourished  from  1787  to  1795, 
when  the  building  was  burned  down.  A 
second  was  attempted  at  Baltimore ;  but 
there,  too,  the  college  building  was  burned, 
and  a  church  that  adjoined  it  shared  the 
same  fate.  These  calamities,  involving  a 
loss  of  about  90,000  dollars,  had  a  discour- 
aging effect  for  a  time  ;  but  for  some  years 
past  the  Episcopal  Methodists  have  shown 
a  noble  desire  to  promote  the  education  of 
young  men  for  the  ministry,  and  other 
walks  of  life  in  which  they  may  advance 
the  cause  of  Christ.  In  order  to  this,  they 
have  founded  no  fewer  than  twenty-one 
academic  institutions,  besides  eleven  col- 
leges, two  of  which  are  called  universities, 
and  these  fountains  of  knowledge  God  is 
blessing  by  shedding  upon  them  the  influ- 
ence of  his  grace. 

No  fewer  than  four  religious  newspapers 
are  published  under  the  auspices  of  the 
General  Conference,  and  four  more  under 
those  of  annual  conferences,  besides  oth- 
ers that  are  edited  and  owned  by  individu- 
als of  that  body.  These  journals  must 
have  a  vast  circulation  in  the  aggregate. 

Having  concluded  our  notices  of  the  five 
larger  evangelical  denominations,  we  shall 
now  proceed  with  the  smaller  in  the  same 
order,  and  thus  associate  them  with  the 
respective  families  of  churches  to  which 
they  more  properly  belong. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    MORAVIAN   CHURCH. 

The  United  Brethren,  or,  as  they  are 
more  familiarly  called,  the  Moravians, 
form  the  only  one  of  the  smaller  evangel- 
ical denominations  in  the  United  States 


*  The  "  Book  Concern"  of  this  church  is  estab- 
lished in  New- York,  and  is  carried  on  by  agents  and 
editors  appointed  by  the  General  Conference.  It  is 
conducted  with  great  energy. 


that  is  Episcopal,  in  the  usual  acceptation 
of  that  word.  They  claim  descent,  as  is 
well  known,  from  the  ancient  churches  of 
Moravia  and  Bulgaria,  founded  by  Metho- 
dus  and  Cyrillus,  two  Greek  monks.  Not- 
withstanding repeated  persecutions  from 
the  Roman  Cathohcs,  some  remains  of 
these  churches  survived  in  Bohemia  and 
Moravia  as  late  as  1722,  when  a  party  of 
them  fled  for  refuge  from  continued  vexa- 
tion in  Moravia  to  the  estates  of  Nicholas 
Lewis,  Count  of  Zinzendorf,  in  Upper  Lu- 
satia,  and  there  they  founded  Herrnhut. 
Their  protector,  some  years  after  that,  be- 
came one  of  their  bishops,  and  laboured 
most  zealously  for  more  than  twenty  years 
in  the  cause  of  God,  by  forming  societies 
of  the  United  Brethren.  While  on  a  visit 
to  America,  in  1741,  he  took  part  in  found- 
ing a  mission  among  the  Indians,  and 
greatly  contributed  to  the  establishment 
of  several  settlements  for  those  of  the 
Brethren  who  might  choose  to  emigrate 
thither.  Such  was  the  origin  of  the  pleas- 
ant villages  of  Bethlehem,  Nazareth,  and 
Litiz,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  Salem  in  North 
Carolina.  Moravian  families,  meanwhile, 
settled,  and  formed  societies  in  Philadel- 
phia, New- York,  and  several  other  places. 

The  peculiar  economy  of  the  United 
Brethren  is  too  widely  known  to  require 
any  notice  of  it  here.  Their  settlements 
in  America  are  the  same  abodes  of  order, 
provident  regard  for  the  morals  of  the 
young,  and  for  the  comfort  of  the  aged,  of 
cheerful  industry,  and  pleasant  social  life, 
enlivened  by  the  sweet  strains  of  music, 
and,  withal,  of  that  deep  interest  in  mis- 
sions, which  characterize  their  settlements 
in  the  Old  World.  It  maybe  said,  perhaps, 
that  too  much  worldly  prosperity  has  been 
to  them,  as  to  many  other  Christians,  a 
hinderance  to  their  piety. 

They  maintain  flourishing  boarding- 
schools  for  girls  at  Bethlehem,  Litiz,  and 
Salem,  and  one  for  boys  at  Nazareth, 
where,  also,  their  young  men  preparing  for 
the  ministry  commonly  pursue  their  stud- 
ies. 

The  Moravian  missions  among  the  Indi- 
ans within  the  boundaries  of  the  United 
States  are  mainly  supported,  as  well  as  di- 
rected, by  their  congregations  in  that  coun- 
try.* Their  doctrines  coincide,  in  the 
main,  with  those  of  the  Augsburg  Confes- 
sion. The  number  of  their  churches  and 
congregations  in  the  United  States  is  twen- 
ty-three :  of  their  ministers,  twenty-seven  : 
of  their  communicants,  about  3000 ;  and  the 
entire  population  under  their  instruction  is 
about  12,000  souls. 


*  An  interesting  historical  sketch  of  these  missions 
will  be  found  in  Mr.  J.  C.  Latrobe's  "  Rambles  in 
North  America." 


Chap.  VIII.] 


SMALLER    BAPTIST    DENOMINATIONS. 


251 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SMALLER    BAPTIST    DENOMINATIONS. 

There  are  a  few  Baptist  denominations 
in  the  United  States  not  usually  included 
with  the  Regular  baptists  noticed  in  Chap- 
ter IV.     They  are  as  follows  : 

1.  The  Seventh  Day  Baptists — who 
have  fifty-nine  churches,  forty-six  ordained 
ministers,  twenty-three  licentiates,  and 
6077  members.  The  population  under  their 
instruction  and  influence  is  reckoned  at 
about  35,000.  They  are  quite  evangelical 
in  the  doctrines  that  relate  to  the  way  of 
salvation,  and  are  in  good  repute  for  piety 
and  zeal.  They  differ  from  the  Regular 
Baptists  as  to  the  day  to  be  observed  as  the 
Christian  Sabbath,  maintaining,  in  opposi- 
tion to  these,  that  the  seventh  day  was  not 
only  the  Sabbath  originally  appointed  by 
the  Creator,  but  that  that  appointment  re- 
mains unrepealed. 

Their  churches  are  widely  scattered 
throughout  the  States.  There  are  four  in 
New-Jersey,*  twenty-nine  in  New- York, 
six  in  Ohio,  eight  in  Rhode  Island,  and  four 
in  Virginia,  and  eight  in  other  parts  of  the 
country.  They  observe  Saturday  with 
great  strictness  as  their  Sabbath,  have  Sun- 
day-schools, and  one  religious  newspaper. 
They  have  recently  formed  a  Tract  Soci- 
ety, a  Missionary  Society,  and  a  Society 
for  the  Conversion  of  the  Jews.  They  have 
four  Associations,  and  a  General  Confer- 
ence— all  meet  annually.  Altogether  they 
are  a  very  worthy  people. 

2.  Free-Will  Baptists.  This  body  dates 
in  America  from  1780,  when  its  first  church 
was  formed  in  New-Hamphsire.  In  doc- 
trine they  hold  a  general  atonement,  and 
reject  election  and  the  other  Calvinistic 
points.  On  the  subject  of  the  Trinity,  justi- 
fication by  faith  alone,  regeneration,  and 
sanctification,  they  are,  with  some  excep- 
tions, sound. 

Starting  with  the  wrong  principle  that, 
dispensing  with  written  creeds,  covenants, 
rules  of  discipline,  or  articles  of  organiza- 
tion, they  would  make  the  Bible  serve  for 
all  these,  they  were  soon  in  great  danger 
from  Arians  and  Socinians  creeping  in 
among  them.  But  of  late  years  they  have 
separated  from  the  Christ-ians  (a  heretical 
sect  we  have  yet  to  notice,  and  likewise 
opposed  to  creeds),  and  are,  consequently, 

*  In  New-Jersey,  and  I  doubt  not  in  other  States 
also,  there  are  special  laws  in  their  favour.  This  dis- 
position on  the  part  of  the  civil  power  in  the  United 
States  not  to  coerce  the  consciences  of  any  religious 
community,  however  small,  strikingly  contrasts  with 
the  legislation  of  France  in  a  like  case.  In  the  win- 
ter of  1840-1,  when  the  factory-children's-labour-bill 
was  before  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  it  was  asked 
whether  there  ought  not  to  be  a  clause  for  the  pro- 
tection of  Jewish  children  in  the  observance  of  their 
Sabbath.  "  No,"  said  the  committee  upon  the  bill, 
"  they  are  too  few  to  make  that  necessary."  To  this 
M.  Fould,  the  banker,  himself  a  Jew,  assented,  say- 
ing that  the  Jews  were  only  300,000  in  the  kingdom ! 


endeavouring  to  regain  a  sound  orthodox 
position.  Some  of  them  have  come  to  see 
that  creeds  are  unavoidable,  and  had  better 
be  definitely  expressed  in  writing  than  mere- 
ly understood.  They  have  accordingly  in- 
troduced creeds,  and,  in  some  instances, 
even  written  articles  in  the  form  of  a  con- 
stitution.    This  augurs  well. 

Their  church  government,  like  that  of 
all  the  Regular  Baptists,  is  vested  prima- 
rily in  the  churches,  or  assemblages  of  be- 
lievers convened  for  worship.  These  send 
delegates  to  quarterly  meetings,  the  quar- 
terly meetings  to  the  yearly  meetings,  and 
these,  again,  to  the  general  conference. 
The  office-bearers  in  their  churches  are  el- 
ders and  deacons.  The  former  are  ordain- 
ed jointly  by  the  church  to  which  they  be- 
long, and  by  the  quarterly  meeting  acting 
by  a  council.  Each  quarterly  and  yearly 
meeting  has  an  elders'  conference,  which, 
with  the  general  conference,  regulates  the 
affairs  of  the  ministry  as  far  as  the  Pres- 
bytery is  concerned.  Thus  they  depart 
from  the  principle  of  a  pure  Independency. 
Within  the  last  ten  years  they  have  entered 
on  the  work  of  sending  the  Gospel  to  the 
heathen,  and  there  can  be  no  better  sign 
than  this.  They  have  also  a  Home  Mis- 
sionary Society,  a  Tract  Society,  and  an 
Education  Society.  Many  of  their  church- 
es have  Sunday-schools  and  various  char- 
itable institutions.  A  religious  paper,  also, 
is  published  under  their  auspices  at  Dover, 
New-Hampshire. 

Until  a  few  years  ago,  these  Arminian 
Baptists  took  but  little  interest  in  the  edu- 
cation of  young  men  for  the  ministry  ;  but 
they  now  have  six  academies. 

They  have  this  year  (1844)  1165  church- 
es and  771  ordained  ministers,  250  licen- 
tiates and  61,372  communicants.* 

3.  Disciples  of  Christ,  or  Reformers, 
as  they  call  themselves,  or  Campbellites, 
as  they  are  most  commonly  called  by  oth- 
ers. It  is  with  much  hesitation  that,  by 
placing  these  in  this  Book,  I  rank  them 
among  evangelical  Christians.  I  do  so  be- 
cause their  creed,  taken  as  it  stands  in  writ- 
ten terms,  is  not  heterodox.  Not  only  do 
they  not  deny,  but  in  words  their  creed 
affirms  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  of  sal- 
vation by  the  merits  of  Christ,  and  the  ne- 
cessity of  the  regenerating  and  sanctifying 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Yet  I  un- 
derstand that  there  is  much  about  their 
preaching  that  seems  to  indicate  that  all 
that  they  consider  necessary  to  salvation 
is  little  if  any  thing  more  than  a  specula- 
tive, philosophical  faith,  in  connexion  with 
immersion  as  the  only  proper  mode  of  bap- 
tism ;  so  that  there  is  little,  after  all,  of  that 
"repentance  towards  God,"  and  "faith 
towards  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  which 
are  the  indispensable  terms  of  the  Gospel. 

*  The  Free- Will  Baptist  Register  for  1844. 


252 


RELIGION  IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


The  founder  of  this  sect  is  a  Mr.  Alex- 
ander Campbell,  a  Scotchman,  who,  togeth- 
er with  his  father,  left  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  1812,  and  became  Baptists. 
Soon  after  this  change  he  began  to  broach 
doctrines  that  can  hardly  be  called  new,  for 
the  Christ-ians,  now,  though  not  always,  a 
heretical  sect,  had  advanced  them  before 
his  time.  His  views  seem  to  be  substanti- 
ally as  follows :  "  All  sects  and  parties  of 
the  Christian  world  have  departed,  in  great- 
er or  less  degrees,  from  the  simplicity  of 
faith  and  manners  of  the  first  Christians." 
"This  defection"  Mr.  Campbell  and  his 
followers  "  attribute  to  the  great  varieties 
of  speculation,  and  metaphysical  dogma- 
tism of  countless  creeds,  formularies,  litur- 
gies, and  books  of  discipline,  adopted  and 
inculcated  as  bonds  of  union  and  platforms 
of  communion  in  all  the  parties  which 
have  sprung  from  the  Lutheran  Reforma- 
tion." All  this  has  led,  as  they  suppose, 
to  the  displacing  of  the  style  of  the  living 
oracles,  and  the  affixing  to  the  sacred  dic- 
tion ideas  wholly  unknown  to  the  Apostles. 

And  Avhat  does  Mr.  Campbell  propose  to 
do  ?  Simply  "  to  ascertain  from  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  according  to  commonly-receiv- 
ed and  well-established  rules  of  interpreta- 
tion, the  ideas  attached  to  the  leading 
terms  and  sentences  found  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  then  use  the  words  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  In  the  apostolic  acceptation  of 
them  !"  But  let  us  hear  him  farther :  "  By 
thus  expressing  the  ideas  communicated 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  the  terms  and  phrases 
learned  from  the  Apostles,  and  by  avoiding 
the  artificial  and  technical  language  of 
scholastic  theology,  they  propose  to  restore 
a  pure  speech  to  the  household  of  faith." 
And  in  this  way  they  expect  to  put  an  end 
to  all  divisions  and  disputes,  and  promote 
the  sanctification  of  the  faithful.  And  all 
this  is  proposed  by  those  who  reject  all 
creeds  for  churches  ;  excepting,  indeed, 
that  which  consists  in  making  the  Bible 
speak  theirs  !  However  plausible  it  may 
be  to  talk  in  this  way,  all  church  his- 
tory has  shown  that  there  is  no  more  cer- 
tain way  of  introducing  all  manner  of  her- 
esy than  by  dispensing  with  all  written 
creeds  and  formularies  of  doctrine,  and  al- 
lowing all  who  profess  to  believe  in  the  Bi- 
ble, though  attaching  any  meaning  to  it 
they  please,  to  become  members  of  the 
church.  For  a  while,  possibly,  this  scheme 
may  seem  to  work  well ;  but,  before  half 
a  century  has  passed,  all  manner  of  error 
will  be  found  to  have  entered  and  nestled 
in  the  house  of  God. 

"  Every  one  who  believes  what  the  Evan- 
gelists and  Apostles  have  testified  concern- 
ing Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  who  is  willing 
to  obey  him,  is  a  proper  subject  for  immer- 
sion." And  this  is  the  sum  and  substance 
of  what  Mr.  Campbell  says  respecting  the 
way  in  which  a  sinner  is  to  attain  salva- 


tion. This  is  all  well  enough  if  faith  be 
truly  explained,  and  the  sinner  really  does 
come  to  Christ  with  that  godly  sorrow  for 
sin  from  which  saving  faith  is  never  dis- 
severed. But  if  a  mere  general  belief  in 
what  the  Evangelists  and  Apostles  have 
said,  together  with  immersion,  be  all  that 
is  required,  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  that 
churches  may  soon  be  gathered  in  which 
there  will  be  but  little  true  religion. 

It  is  on  this  account  that  evangelical 
Christians  in  America,  Baptists  as  well  as 
Paedobaptists,  have  many  fears  about  Mr. 
Campbell  and  his  followers.  It  is  believed, 
however,  that,  as  yet,  there  are  not  a  few 
sincerely  pious  people  among  his  congre- 
gations, who  have  been  led  away  by  his 
plausible  representations  respecting  the 
evil  of  creeds.  Time  can  only  show  the 
issue.  Two  or  three  religious  papers  are 
published  by  ministers  of  this  denomina- 
tion, and  are  almost  entirely  devoted  to 
the  propagation  of  the  peculiar  tenets  of 
the  sect.  The  churches  in  its  connexion 
are  constituted  purely  on  Independent  prin- 
ciples. Its  statistics  are  not  well  ascer- 
tained. Mr.  Campbell  says  that  it  now 
embraces  from  150,000  to  200,000  persons. 
As  for  the  churches  and  ministers,  I  have 
never  seen  their  number  stated. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SMALLER  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCHES. THE 

CUMBERLAND  PRESBYTERIANS. 

The  origin  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rians was  as  follows :  In  the  extensive 
and,  in  some  respects,  wonderful  revival 
of  religion  that  took  place  in  Kentucky 
during  the  years  1801-1803,  the  call  for 
Presbyterian  ministers  was  far  beyond 
what  could  be  satisfied,  and  in  this  exigen- 
cy it  was  proposed  by  some  of  the  minis- 
ters that  pious  laymen  of  promising  abili- 
ties, and  who  seemed  to  have  a  talent  for 
public  speaking,  should  be  encouraged  to 
make  the  best  preparations  in  their  power 
for  the  ministry,  and  thereafter  be  licensed 
to  preach. 

This  suggestion  was  carried  into  effect. 
Several  such  persons  were  licensed  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Transylvania ;  and  a  new 
presbytery,  which  had  been  formed  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  State  in  1803,  and  was 
called  the  Cumberland  Presbytery,  admit- 
ted and  ordained  those  licentiates,  and 
took  on  trial  others  of  similar  characters 
and  attainments. 

These  proceedings  were  considered  dis- 
orderly by  the  Synod  of  Kentucky,  and  a 
commission  was  therefore  appointed  to 
examine  them,  and  to  inquire  what  were 
the  doctrines  held  by  persons  thus  admit- 
ted into  the  ministry,  in  a  way  so  foreign 


Chap.  X.] 


SMALLER    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCHES. 


253 


to  the  rules  and  practice  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church.  The  upshot  was,  that  the. 
course  pursued  by  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
bytery was  condemned,  and  this  sentence 
having  been  confirmed  by  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  whole  Presbyterian  Church, 
before  which  it  had  been  brought  by  ap- 
peal, the  censured  Presbytery  withdrew 
from  that  body,  and  constituted  itself  an 
independent  church  in  1810,  which  has 
ever  since  been  called  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  Church. 

Its  doctrines  occupy  a  sort  of  middle 
ground  between  Calvinism  and  Arminian- 
ism.  It  holds  that  the  atonement  was 
made  for  all  mankind ;  it  rejects  the  doc- 
trine of  eternal  reprobation ;  holds  a  mod- 
ified view  of  election ;  and  maintains  the 
perseverance  of  the  saints ;  but  on  the 
other  points  is  essentially  Calvinistic. 

In  its  ecclesiastical  polity  it  is  Presby- 
terian ;  the  Session,  Presbytery,  Synod, 
and  General  Assembly  are  all  constituted 
in  the  manner  described  at  length  in  our 
notice  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  It  dif- 
fers, however,  in  one  point,  from  all  other 
Presbyterian  churches,  by  having  adopted 
the  itinerating  system  of  the  Methodists. 
By  that  system  of  circuits  and  stations, 
its  ministers  have  been  able  to  reach  al- 
most all  parts  of  the  Valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, that  being  the  great  scene  of  their 
labours.  But  their  church  is  not  confined 
to  the  Western  States  and  Territories  of 
the  American  Union — it  reaches  into  Tex- 
as, where  it  has  a  number  of  churches. 
The  General  Assembly  has  under  its  su- 
perintendence twelve  synods,  forty-five 
presbyteries,  about  550  churches,  and 
the  same  number  of  ministers,  and  about 
70,000  communicants.  Several  religious 
newspapers  are  published  under  its  auspi- 
ces. For  the  education  of  its  youth,  it  has 
one  flourishing  college  at  Princeton,  in 
Kentucky,  and  has  lately  opened  another 
in  the  State  of  Ohio.  Among  its  preach- 
ers there  are  several  men  of  highly  re- 
spectable talents  and  acquirements. 


CHAPTER  X. 

SMALLER   PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCHES  :    REFORM- 
ED   DUTCH    CHURCH. 

We  have  elsewhere  stated  that  the  coun- 
try embracing  what  are  now  the  States  of 
New- York,  New-Jersey,  Delaware,  and 
Pennsylvania,  was  at  one  time  claimed  by 
the  Dutch  in  right  of  discovery.  A  trading 
post  was  established  by  them  in  1614,  at 
the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  city  of  New- 
York,  but  it  was  not  until  1624  that  any 
families  from  Holland  settled  there.  A 
few  years  after,  the  Rev.  Everardus  Bo- 
gardus  was  sent  over  to  preach  to  the 
colonists,  and  was  the  first  Dutch  pastor 


that  settled  in  America.*  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  John  and  Samuel  Megapolensis, 
the  latter  of  whom  was  one  of  the  com- 
missioners appointed  by  General  Stuyve- 
sant  to  settle  the  terms  on  which  the  colony 
was  surrendered  to  the  English  in  1664. 

The  colony  having  been  planted  and 
maintained  by  the  Dutch  West  India  Com- 
pany, to  it  the  colonists  applied  from  time 
to  time  for  ministers,  as  new  churches 
were  formed  or  the  older  ones  became 
vacant ;  and  the  seat  of  the  company  being 
at  Amsterdam,  the  directors  naturally  ap- 
plied to  the  Classis  of  that  city  to  choose 
and  ordain  the  persons  that  were  to  be 
sent  out.  Hence  that  Classis  and  the 
Synod  of  North  Holland,  with  which  it 
was  connected,  came,  by  the  tacit  consent 
of  the  other  classes  and  synods  of  the. 
Dutch  National  Church,  as  well  as  by  the 
submission  of  the  churches  in  the  colonies, 
to  have  an  influence  over  the  latter,  which, 
in  the  course  of  time,  proved  a  source  of 
no  little  trouble  to  the  parties  concerned.! 
To  such  an  extent  was  it  carried  that  the 
colonial  churches  were  not  thought  entitled 
to  take  a  single  step  towards  the  regula- 
tion of  their  own  affairs. 

How  far  the  West  India  Company  aided 
the  congregations  that  were  gradually 
formed  in  its  American  colonies  is  not 
now  known,  but  it  is  supposed  to  have 
done  something  for  their  support.  J  Some 
of  its  governors  were  decided  friends  and 
members  of  the  church,  and  certain  it  is 
that  those  congregations  in  New  Nether- 
lands were  considered  as  branches  of  the 
Established  Church  of  Holland. 

The  English  took  possession  of  the  col- 
ony in  1664,  and  guarantied  to  the  inhabi- 
tants all  their  religious  rights.  Nothing 
of  any  consequence  to  the  churches  took 
place  for  about  thirty  years,  for  there  being 
but  few  English  in  the  colony,  they  were 
attended  by  nearly  the  whole  population. 
But  in  1693,  on  Colonel  Samuel  Fletcher 
becoming  governor,  he  succeeded,  as  we 
have  elsewhere  noticed,  by  artifice  and 
perseverance,  in  having  the  Episcopal 
Church  established  in  the  city  of  New- 
York  and  four  of  the  principal  counties  of 
the  province  ;  so  that  from  that  time  all 
classes  were   taxed  for  the   support  of 


*  This  excellent  man  left  the  colony  to  return  to 
Holland  in  1647,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  lost 
at  sea  in  the  same  vessel  with  Governor  Kieft. 

t  The  Classis  of  Amsterdam  and  the  Synod  of 
North  Holland  retain  to  this  day  the  charge  of  the 
churches  in  the  colonies  in  the  East  Indies,  and  other 
parts  of  the  world,  belonging  to  the  kingdom  of  the 
Netherlands. 

%  It  would  seem  that  it  was  a  considerable  time 
before  any  church  edifice  of  respectable  appearance 
was  erected  in  New  Amsterdam,  as  New- York  was 
then  called';  for  De  Vries,  in  the  account  of  his  voy- 
age to  New  Netherlands,  relates  that  he  remarked  to 
Governor  Kieft  in  1641,  "  that  it  was  a  shame  that 
the  English  should  pass  there,  and  see  only  a  mean 
barn  in  which  we  performed  our  worship." 


254 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


Episcopacy,  though  its  partisans  formed 
but  a  small  minority  of  the  colonists. 

But  the  inconvenience  of  having  no  ec- 
clesiastical authority  in  America  higher 
than  a  Consistory  could  not  fail  to  be  felt 
by  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  and  ac- 
cordingly, in  1738,  some  of  its  ministers 
proposed  having  an  association  of  the 
clergy,  called  a  ccetus,  but  which  was  to 
have  no  power  either  to  ordain  pastors  or 
to  determine  ecclesiastical  disputes.  In- 
nocent as  well  as  inadequate  as  was  this 
measure,  the  concurrence  of  the  Classis  of 
Amsterdam  could  not  be  obtained  till  1746 
or  1747.  But  it  Avas  soon  found  that  no- 
thing short  of  having  a  regular  classis  of 
their  own  could  meet  the  wants  of  the 
churches.  Not  only  was  there  the  heavy 
expense  and  delay  attending  getting  minis- 
ters from  Holland,  or  sending  young  men 
thither  to  be  educated,  but,  worse  than  all, 
the  churches  had  no  power  of  choosing 
ministers  likely  to  suit  them.  Urged  by 
such  considerations,  the  coetus  resolved  in 
1754  to  propose  a  change  of  its  constitution 
to  that  of  a  regular  classis,  and  a  plan  to  that 
effect  was  transmitted  to  the  congregations 
for  their  approval.  But  the  project  was 
opposed  by  a  powerful  party,  mainly  form- 
ed of  those  who  had  been  sent  over  from 
Holland,  and  called  the  Conference.  Amid 
the  distraction  and  confusion  caused  by 
this  opposition  of  parties,  religion  made 
little  progress,  and  many  influential  fami- 
lies left  the  Dutch  Church,  and  joined  the 
Episcopal. 

All  difficulties  were  at  length  adjusted 
through  the  prudent  mediation  of  the  late 
Rev.  John  H.  Livingston,  D.D.,*  then  a 
young  man.  Having  gone  to  Holland  for 
the  prosecution  of  his  studies,  in  1760,  the 
Synod  of  Holland  and  Classis  of  Amster- 
dam were  led  by  his  representations  to  de- 
vise a  plan,  which,  after  Mr.  Livingston's 
return  to  America  in  1770,  was  submitted 
to  a  meeting  held  in  New- York  in  October, 
1771,  and  attended  by  nearly  all  the  minis- 
ters, and  by  lay  delegates  from  nearly  all 
the  congregations.  After  a  full  discussion, 
having  been  unanimously  adopted,  it  was 
carried  into  effect  the  following  year.  The 
whole  Church  was  divided  into  five  classes, 
three  in  the  Province  of  New-Jersey,  and 
two  in  that  of  New- York  ;  and  a  delega- 
tion of  two  ministers  and  two  elders  from 
each  classis  constituted  the  General  Synod, 
which  was  to  meet  once  a  year. 


*  Few  men  have  ever  lived  in  America  who  have 
been  more  useful  or  respected  than  Dr.  John  H.  Liv- 
ingston. For  many  years  he  was  a  pastor  in  New- 
York  city  ;  but  the  latter  part  of  his  life  was  spent  in 
New-Brunswick,  in  the  State  of  New-Jersey,  where 
he  was  professor  of  theology  in  the  seminary  of  the 
Reformed  Dutch  Church.  He  died  in  the  year  1825, 
revered  by  all  of  every  denomination  who  knew  him. 
He  has  left  an  abiding  impression  of  his  character 
upon  the  church  of  which  he  was  so  distinguished 
an  ornament. 


The  prosperity  of  the  Dutch  Church, 
particularly  in  the  city  of  New- York,  was 
retarded  by  another  cause,  namely,  the 
long-continued  opposition  to  preaching  in 
English.  The  Dutch  tongue  having  been 
gradually  disappearing  ever  since  the  con- 
quest of  the  colony  in  1664,  many  of  the 
youth  had  grown  up  almost  in  utter  igno- 
rance of  it,  and  had  gone  off  to  the  Epis- 
copal and  Presbyterian  churches,  especial- 
ly the  former,  for  the  latter  had  as  yet  but 
a  merely  tolerated  and  feeble  existence. 
At  length  the  Rev.  Dr.  Laidlie,  a  Scotch 
minister,  was  invited  from  Holland,  and 
commenced  preaching  in  English  in  1764, 
from  which  time  Dutch  fell  still  more  rap- 
idly into  disuse.  The  last  Dutch  sermon 
was  preached  in  the  collegiate  churches  in 
the  city  of  New- York  in  1804,  though  in 
some  of  the  churches  in  the  country  it  was 
used  some  years  longer.  But  it  is  now 
quite  abandoned  in  the  pulpit  throughout 
the  United  States. 

The  Revolutionary  war,  also,  proved  dis- 
astrous to  the  Dutch  Church,  particularly 
in  the  city  of  New- York.  One  of  the 
church-edifices  there  was  used  as  a  hospi- 
tal, another  as  a  cavalry  riding-school, 
during  the  occupation  of  the  place  by  a 
British  force  from  1776  to  1783.  But  with 
the  return  of  peace,  prosperity  returned  to 
this  as  well  as  other  evangelical  commu- 
nions, and  it  has  been  steadily  advancing 
ever  since.  In  all  the  States  it  had  only 
eighty-two  congregations  and  thirty  minis- 
ters in  1784  ;  but  the  former  have  now 
risen  to  267,  and  the  latter  to  259.  The 
communicants  are  29,322.* 

A  college  was  founded  by  the  Reformed 
Dutch  at  New-Brunswick,  in  New-Jersey, 
in  1770,  which,  after  various  vicissitudes, 
has  now  been  open  for  many  years,  and  is 
firmly  established  and  flourishing.  It  is 
called  Rutger's  College.  Connected  with 
it  there  is  a  theological  seminary,  with 
three  able  professors,  and  between  thirty 
and  forty  students. 

The  Dutch  Church  is  doing  much  for 
Sunday-schools,  home  missions,  and  the 
education  of  young  men  for  the  ministry. 
It  has  a  society,  also,  for  foreign  missions, 
auxiliary  to  the  American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners for  Foreign  Missions,  and  now 
maintaining  some  six  or  eight  missionaries 
with  their  wives  at  two  or  three  stations 
in  Borneo. 

The  church  is  at  present  organized  in  a 
general  synod,  two  particular  synods,  and 
nineteen  classes.  Its  standards  are  those 
of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Holland,  viz., 
the  Belgic  Confession,  the  Heidelberg  Cat- 
echism, the  Canons  of  the  Synod  of  Dort, 
&c.  Its  doctrines  are  in  all  respects  purely 
Calvinistic.     From  the  first  it  has  been 


*  The  number  of  families  reported  as  belonging  to 
this  denomination  in  1843  was  21,569  ;  and  the  num- 
ber of  individuals  under  its  instruction  was  96,302. 


Chap.  XL] 


SMALLER    PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCHES. 


255- 


favoured  with  an  able,  learned,  and  godly- 
ministry.  In  its  earlier  days  the  labours 
of  such  men  as  the  Rev.  Theodorus  J. 
Frelinghuysen,  Drs.  Laidlie  and  Westerlo, 
and  others  of  like  character,  were  greatly 
blessed.  In  our  own  times  many  of  its 
ministers  stand  in  the  first  rank  among  our 
distinguished  American  divines,  and  many 
of  its  congregations  have  enjoyed  very 
precious  religious  revivals.  For  the  edifi- 
cation of  the  people,  one  of  the  most  in- 
structive and  best-conducted  religious  pa- 
pers, called  the  Christian  Intelligencer,  is 
published  weekly  in  the  city  of  New- York. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

SMALLER  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCHES  :  THE  AS- 
SOCIATE CHURCH THE  ASSOCIATE  REFORMED 

CHURCH AND  THE  REFORMED  PRESBYTERI- 
AN CHURCH. 

These  are  often  called  the  "  Scottish 
Secession  churches."  They  were  origi- 
nally established  by  immigrants  from  Scot- 
land and  Ireland,  and  are  mainly  composed, 
to  this  day,  of  Scotch  and  Irish  immigrants 
and  their  descendants.  The  first  and  last 
of  the  three  were,  in  their  origin,  branches 
of  similar  churches  in  Scotland,  and  out  of 
an  unsuccessful  attempt  made  in  America 
to  unite  them  sprang  the  second. 

In  the  year  1733,  as  is  well  known,  the 
Rev.  Messrs.  Ebenezer  Erskine,  Alexan- 
der Moncrieff,  William  Wilson,  and  James 
Fisher,  by  a  protest  addressed  to  the  Com- 
mission of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  seceded  from  the  pre- 
vailing party  in  the  judicatories  of  that 
church.  The  ground  of  this  separation 
was  not  a  disagreement  with  the  doctrines, 
order,  or  discipline  of  that  church,  but  dis- 
satisfaction with  what  the  dissenters  con- 
sidered to  be  an  inadequate  maintenance 
of  those  doctrines,  and  enforcing  of  that 
order  and  discipline.  These  seceders,  join- 
ed afterward  by  many  others,  organized 
the  Associate*  Presbytery,  and  soon  became 
a  numerous  and  important  branch  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  in  Scotland. 

Seventeen  years  after  this  secession  a 
number  of  persons,  chiefly  Scotch  immi- 
grants, sent  a  petition  from  Pennsylvania 
to  the  Associate  (Antiburgherf)  Synod  in 
Scotland,  praying  that  ministers  might  be 
sent  from  that  body  to  break  unto  them 
the  bread  of  life.  Two  ministers  were  ac- 
cordingly sent  over  in  1753  or  1754,  with 
power  to  form  churches,  ordain  elders, 
and  constitute  a  presbytery.     The  labours 


*  They  took  this  name  from  the  circumstance  of 
their  congregations  not  lying  near  each  other,  and 
therefore  forming  an  association  of  churches  rather 
than  a  territorial  presbytery. 

t  The  Secession  became  divided  into  Burghers 
and  Antiburghers,  by  a  controversy  on  the  lawful- 
ness of  what  was  called  the  Burgess  oath. 


of  these  brethren  were  crowned  with  suc- 
cess ;  several  congregations  were  soon  or- 
ganized, and  a  presbytery  formed  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania  ;  and  as  oth- 
er ministers  were  sent  over  from  Scotland 
from  time  to  time,  there  were  about  eight 
or  ten  in  all  before  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Revolution.  But  in  1782,  the  presbytery 
was  reduced  to  the  original  number  of  two 
ministers,  in  consequence  of  one  or  two 
being  deposed,  and  others  joining  several 
ministers  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian 
Church,  or  Covenanters,  in  forming  the 
Associate  Reformed  Church. 

Notwithstanding  these  untoward  circum- 
stances, the  two  ministers,  with  the  congre- 
gations adhering  to  them,  persevered,  and 
their  numbers  being  speedily  recruited  from 
Scotland,  such,  at  last,  was  their  success 
in  training  young  men  among  themselves, 
that  in  1801  they  had  four  presbyteries, 
which  that  year,  by  a  delegation  from  their 
ranks,  formed  the  Associate  Synod  of 
North  America,  a  body  which  meets  an- 
nually. The  presbyteries  have  now  been 
quadrupled,  I  believe,  and  extend  over  the 
Middle,  Southern,  and  Western  States.  Ac- 
cording to  the  most  recent  statement  which 
I  have  seen,  this  denomination  has  more 
than  one  hundred  ministers,  upward  of 
two  hundred  churches,  most  of  which  are 
small,  and  about  15,000  communicants.  For 
a  long  time  the  energies  of  this  church, 
like  those  of  many  others,  were  directed  to 
the  building  up  of  churches  in  the  West 
and  South.  Of  late  years  it  has  turned  its 
attention  to  the  foreign  field,  and  has  sent 
two  missionaries  to  the  island  of  Trinidad. 

They  have  a  theological  school,  with  two 
able  professors  and  some  20  or  25  students, 
in  connexion  with  Jefferson  College,  situa- 
ted at  Canonsburg,  in  the  western  part  of 
Pennsylvania,  eighteen  miles  from  Pitts- 
burgh. For  their  organ  they  publish  a  val- 
uable monthly  journal  called  the  "  Reli- 
gious Monitor."  The  doctrines  of  the  As- 
sociate Church  are  thoroughly  Calvinistic  ; 
its  polity  completely  Presbyterian.  It  has 
enjoyed  the  labours  of  many  able  ministers. 

This  small  denomination,  like  some  oth- 
ers, have  been  at  strife  among  themselves, 
which  has  led  to  a  separation.  The  lar- 
ger party  ejected  the  smaller.  The  eject- 
ed ministers  are  fifteen  in  number,  and  the 
members  of  their  churches  are  estimated 
at  about  two  thousand.  It  is  not  known 
that  there  exists  any  difference  in  their 
doctrinal  views,  and  the  smaller  party  have 
retained  their  original  organization;  so  that 
there  are  now  two  Associate  Synods  of 
North  America,  as  well  as  two  General 
Assemblies  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  United  States  of  America. 
Associate  Reformed  Church. — This  body, 
as  we  have  seen,  owes  its  existence  to  an  ' 
attempt  made  in  1782  to  unite  in  one  body 
the  few  Associate  and  Reformed  Presbyte- 


256 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


rian  churches  then  to  be  found  in  the  Uni- 
ted States.  But  as  the  success  of  the  at- 
tempt was  only  partial,  the  coalition  being 
refused  by  certain  members  of  both  church- 
es, both  survive  to  this  day,  and  thus  a  proj- 
ect for  merging  two  denominations  in  one, 
resulted  in  the  creation  of  a  third. 

The  Associate  Reformed  Church  has 
rapidly  increased.  Starting  with  a  small 
number  of  ministers  and  churches  in  1782, 
it  has  now  no  fewer  than  20  presbyteries 
and  4  synods  ;  the  one  in  the  State  of  New- 
York  is  the  largest.  It  has  a  theological 
seminary  at  Newburgh  in  the  same  state, 
with  three  professors,  and  some  fifteen  or 
twenty  students.  The  Western  Synod  has 
a  seminary  at  Alleghany-town,  near  Pitts- 
burgh, with  one  professor  and  about  twenty 
students. 

The  doctrines  of  this  church  are  Cal- 
vinistic,  and  its  polity  Presbyterian ;  points 
on  which  it  hardly  at  all  differs  from  the  As- 
sociate and  Reformed  Presbyterian  synods. 
All  three  maintain  a  state  of  strict  isola- 
tion from  other  communions,  and  in  their 
church  psalmody  confine  themselves  ex- 
clusively to  Rouse's  version  of  the  Psalms 
of  the  Bible.  They  also  strenuously  con- 
tinue the  custom  of  having  fast  and  thanks- 
giving days  to  precede  and  follow  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper ;  and  in  the  administration  of  that 
ordinance,  the  communicants  sit  around  a 
table. 

The  churches  of  the  Associate  Reformed 
are  more  than  300,  their  ministers  165,  and 
their  communicants  20,000.  About  twenty 
years  ago,  part  of  this  communion  joined 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  but  the  greater 
part  preferred  maintaining  their  independ- 
ent position.  They  have  a  considerable 
number  of  able  ministers.  The  late  Dr. 
John  M.  Mason  was  for  the  greater  part  of 
his  life  one  of  their  most  distinguished 
members,  but  he  joined,  a  few  years  before 
his  death,  the  Presbyterian  Church.  The 
Christian  Magazine,  a  monthly  periodical, 
is  published  under  the  auspices  of  the  As- 
sociate Reformed. 

Each  synod  has  a  Domestic  Missionary 
Society,  the  object  of  which  is  to  aid  small 
congregations  and  plant  new  ones  in  des- 
titute places,  especially  in  the  Western 
frontier  states. 

In  regard  to  foreign  missions,  the  Asso- 
ciate Reformed  Church  acts  in  concert 
with  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  the  Gener- 
al Assembly,  and  contributes  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  missionaries  sent  out  by  that 
Board.  The  monthly  concert  of  prayer  is 
observed  in  their  churches  generally,  and 
collections  taken  at  each  meeting  to  aid 
the  cause  of  missions. 

Reformed  Presbyterian  Church. — Re- 
formed Presbyterians  (or,  as  they  are 
sometimes  called,  Covenanters)  are  the 
descendants  of  the  persecuted  Presbyteri- 


ans in  Scotland  who  refused  to  accede  to 
the  Erastian  settlement  of  religion  at  the 
Revolution  of  1688,  and  still  maintain  a 
practical  dissent  from  both  Church  and 
State  on  account  of  existing  evils. 

They  are  distinguished  from  other  Pres- 
byterians chiefly  by  their  rigid  adherence 
to  the  whole  doctrines  of  the  Westminster 
Confession  of  Faith,  Catechisms,  Larger 
and  Shorter ;  to  the  Scotch  Covenants — 
maintaining  that  the  obligations  of  the  "  Na- 
tional Covenant"  and  "  Solemn  League" 
extend  to  all  represented  in  the  taking  of 
them,  though  removed  to  this  or  any  other 
part  of  the  world,  in  so  far  as  these  cove- 
nants bind  to  duties  not  peculiar  to  the 
Church  in  the  British  Isles,  but  are  of  uni- 
versal application.  They  also  contend 
that  nations  enjoying  the  light  of  Divine 
revelation  are  bound  to  frame  their  gov- 
ernment according  to  it ;  and  where  the 
Bible  is  known  they  refuse  to  swear  alle- 
giance to  any  system  of  civil  government 
which  does  not  acknowledge  the  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ  as  King,  and  recognise  the  Bi- 
ble as  the  supreme  law  of  the  land. 

As  early  as  1752  some  Reformed  Pres- 
byterian congregations  had  been  formed  in 
North  America ;  but,  owing  to  the  defec- 
tion of  some  of  the  ministers,  the  distance 
of  the  congregations  from  each  other,  and 
the  troubles  connected  with  the  Revolu- 
tion, the  church  did  not  assume  a  regular 
organization  until,  in  1798,  the  Reformed 
Presbytery  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America  was  constituted,  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia. 

It  may  be  supposed  that  the  descendants 
of  the  followers  of  "  Cargill,  Renwick,  and 
Cameron,"  who  had  suffered  so  much  in 
the  cause  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and 
who  had  voluntarily  resigned  the  privilege 
of  citizenship  in  the  land  of  their  nativity, 
rather  than  acknowledge  the  corrupt  sys- 
tem established  at  the  Revolution  to  be 
God's  ordinance  of  civil  government,  would 
examine  carefully  the  Constitution  of  their 
adopted  country.  They  did  so,  and  found 
(as  they  believed)  evils  so  great  incorpo- 
rated in  that  instrument  as  rendered  it 
necessary  for  them  to  refuse  allegiance  to 
the  whole  system.  "  In  this  remarkable 
instrument,"  say  they,  "  there  is  contained 
no  acknowledgment  of  the  being  or  au- 
thority of  God.  There  is  no  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  Christian  religion,  or  profess- 
ed submission  to  the  kingdom  of  Messiah. 
It  gives  support  to  the  enemies  of  the  Re- 
deemer, and  admits  to  its  honours  and 
emoluments  Jews,  Mohammedans,  Deists, 
and  Atheists.  It  establishes  that  system  of 
robbery  by  which  men  are  held  in  slavery, 
despoiled  of  liberty,  property,  and  pro- 
tection. It  violates  the  principles  of  rep- 
resentation, by  bestowing  upon  the  domes- 
tic tyrant,  who  holds  hundreds  of  his  fel- 
low-creatures in  bondage,  an  influence  in 


Chap.  XII.] 


LUTHERAN    CHURCH. 


25* 


making  laws  for  freemen  proportioned  to 
the  number  of  his  own  slaves.  This  Con- 
stitution is,  notwithstanding  its  numerous 
excellences,  in  many  instances  inconsist- 
ent, oppressive,  and  impious."*  Their  op- 
position to  the  Constitution,  however,  has 
been  the  opposition  of  reason  and  piety. 
The  weapons  of  their  warfare  are  argu- 
ments and  prayers.  They  consider  them- 
selves bound  to  live  peaceably  with  men, 
to  advance  the  good  of  society,  conform 
to  its  order  in  everything  consistent  with 
righteousness,  and  submit  to  every  burden 
which  God,  in  his  providence,  calls  them  to 
■bear.  During  the  late  war  with  Great 
Britain,  no  portion  of  the  citizens  were 
more  forward  in  defence  of  the  country 
than  Reformed  Presbyterians. 

In  1807  they  published  a  doctrinal  Tes- 
timony, containing  a  brief  statement  of  the 
principles  which  they  hold,  and  a  testimo- 
ny against  opposing  errors,  with  special 
reference  to  the  evils  existing  in  the  na- 
tional Constitution,  and  the  constitutions 
of  the  churches  around  them.  They  con- 
tinued united  in  the  maintenance  of  this 
testimony,  neither  holding  communion 
with  other  churches,  nor  offices  in  the 
State,  nor  voting  at  elections  for  civil  of- 
ficers, nor  admitting  any  slaveholder  to 
their  communion  till  about  1830,  when, 
their  number  being  considerably  increased, 
several  ministers  began  to  entertain  opin- 
ions different  from  those  which  were  for- 
merly held  by  the  body  on  several  points 
relating  to  doctrine,  order,  and  discipline. 
These  men  were  led  to  modify  their  views 
on  the  subject  of  acknowledging  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  country,  and  avowing  alle- 
giance to  it.  This  introduced  what  has 
been  called  the  New  Light  controversy, 
which  has  since  agitated  all  departments 
of  the  Presbyterian  family,  and  resulted 
in  a  division  of  the  Synod,  and  the  organi- 
zation of  a  rival  synod  in  the  Reformed 
Presbyterian  Church,  which  still  maintains 
a  separate  existence.  At  present,  howev- 
er, they  are  endeavouring  to  form  a  union 
with  the  Associate  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  their  efforts  promise  success,  as  the 
articles  of  union  are  nearly  concluded. 

This  controversy  greatly  distressed  the 
church,  and  so  weakened  the  old  Synod 
that  she  has  not  been  able  to  establish  any 
foreign  mission.  The  members  of  the 
church  generally  retained  their  attach- 
ment to  the  subordinate  standards,  and,  in 
consequence,  many  congregations  were 
left  without  pastors.  The  Theological 
Seminary  for  a  time  suspended  its  opera- 
tions, so  that  labourers  for  a  foreign  field 
could  not  be  obtained  ;  but  home  missions, 
especially  in  the  West,  have  been  prose- 
cuted with  considerable  zeal.  A  more 
prosperous   season   has    returned.      The 


*  Historical  Testimony,  page  152. 
R 


Theological  Seminary  in  Alleghany  Town, 
Pennsylvania,  has  been  revived.  It  has 
two  professors,  Rev.  James  R.  Willson, 
D.D. ,  and  Rev.  Thomas  Sproull ;  four- 
teen students  were  in  attendance  last  ses- 
sion ;  a  considerable  library  for  the  Semi- 
nary has  been  collected,  and  the  Synod  pro- 
poses to  establish  a  mission  in  1844,  in  the 
West  Indies,  making  St.  Thomas  the  cen- 
tre of  operation.  There  are  thirty-three 
ministers,  five  licentiates,  fifty  organized 
congregations,  with  numerous  small  so- 
cieties, and  nearly  6000  communicants. 
With  this  Synod  the  Reformed  Presbyte- 
rian Synods  in  Scotland  and  Ireland  main- 
tain fraternal  intercourse. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  New  Synod  has 
now  twenty-four  ordained  ministers,  five 
licentiates,  eight  students  in  theology,  for- 
ty-four organized  churches,  and  4500  com- 
municants. It  has  five  presbyteries,  and 
sustains,  in  connexion  with  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  of  the  Old  School  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
two  missionaries  in  India.  Besides  sup- 
porting these  two  missionaries,  the  Board 
of  Missions  of  this  Synod  sustains  a  school 
containing  twenty-eight  children,  in  con- 
nexion with  their  Indian  mission.  They 
have  been  active,  also,  in  prosecuting  the 
work  of  domestic  missions,  and,  thus,  of 
building  up  churches  in  the  West  and  other 
parts  of  the  country.  The  receipts  of  their 
Board  of  Missions  average  about  $2800 
annually. 

The  entire  body  of  the  Reformed  Pres- 
byterians in  the  United  States  embraces, 
therefore,  fifty-seven  ordained  ministers, 
ten  licentiates,  about  twenty  students  of 
theology,  ninety-four  organized  congrega- 
tions, and  10,500  communicants. 

This  small  body  has  not  been  deficient 
in  men  distinguished  for  ministerial  gifts 
and  extensive  learning.  The  late  Alex- 
ander M'Leod,  D.D.,  ranked  in  his  day  with 
Mason,  Griffin,  Dwight,  and  other  giants 
of  the  land. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

SMALLER    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCHES  :    THE    LU- 
THERAN CHURCH. 

The  first  Lutherans  that  emigrated  to 
America  came  from  Holland,  and  settled 
at  New- York  about  the  year  1626,  that  is, 
two  years  after  the  regular  settlement  of 
New  Netherlands  by  the  Dutch.  But  they 
were  few  in  number,  and  as  long  as  the 
Dutch  held  the  country,  they  worshipped 
in  private  houses  only.  But  on  the  col- 
ony being  transferred  to  the  English,  in 
1664,  they  obtained  leave  to  open  a  place 
of  public  worship,  and  had  for  their  first 
minister  Jacob  Fabricius,  who  arrived  in 
1669. 


258 


RELIGION  IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


Next  among  the  Lutherans  came  the 
Swedish  colony  that  settled  on  the  Dela- 
ware in  1636.  It  flourished  for  a  while, 
but  receiving  no  new-comers  from  Swe- 
den, the  colonists  gradually  fell  into  the 
use  of  the  English  tongue,  and  as  there 
were  no  Lutheran  clergymen  who  could 
preach  in  English,  on  losing  their  Swedish 
pastors  they  went  to  the  English  Episco- 
pal Church  for  religious  teachers,  and  be- 
came ultimately  merged  in  that  denomi- 
nation. Nevertheless,  by  their  charter 
they  are  still  styled  Swedish  Lutheran 
churches.* 

The  third  Lutheran  emigration  to  the 
United  States  was  that  of  the  Germans. 
The  first  settlements  were  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, soon  after  the  grant  of  that  province 
to  William  Penn,  in  1680,  whence  they 
spread,  by  degrees,  not  only  through  Penn- 
sylvania, but  also  into  Maryland,  Virginia, 
the  interior  of  New- York,  and,  since  the 
Revolution,  over  the  Western  States.  Em- 
igration from  Germany  may  be  said  to  have 
fairly  commenced  on  a  large  scale  in  1710. 
Its  primary  cause  lay  in  the  persecution 
of  the  Protestants  in  the  Palatinate.  It 
has  continued  from  that  time  to  this  day, 
adding  tens  of  thousands  almost  every 
year  to  the  population  of  the  country.  The 
western,  northern,  and  southern  parts  of 
Germany,  and  the  German  parts  of  Swit- 
zerland, together  with  Alsace,  in  France, 
have,  from  first  to  last,  sent  immense  mul- 
titudes to  America  in  quest  of  homes. 

The  first  emigrants  brought  no  pastors 
with  them,  but  they  had  pious  schoolmas- 
ters who  held  meetings  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  read  the  Scriptures,  Arndt's  True 
Christianity,  and  other  religious  books. 
The  Swedish  ministers,  too,  of  those  early 
times  visited  the  small  scattered  groups  of 
faithful  souls,  and  administered  to  them 
the  ordinances  of  religion. 

Among  the  first  German  ministers  in 
America  were  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Bolzius 
and  Gronau,  who  laboured  in  a  colony 
from  Saltzburg,  in  the  south  of  Germany. 
These  emigrants  had  been  driven  from 
their  native  country  by  persecution,  and 
had  settled  in  Georgia.  Other  emigrants 
from  Germany  settled  about  the  same  time 
in  the  Carolinas,  where  a  considerable 
number  of  Lutheran  churches  are  to  be 
found  at  this  day.  In  1742,  the  Rev.  Hen- 
ry Melchior  Muhlenberg,  an  eminently 
learned,  zealous,  and  successful  minister, 
arrived,  and,  during  a  course  of  fifty  years, 
was  the  honoured  instrument  of  greatly 
promoting  religion  among  the  German  pop- 
ulation. He  was  one  of  the  founders,  in 
fact,  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  America, 
which,  by  repeated  arrivals  of  other  dis- 
tinguished men  from  Germany,  had  be- 
come  widely  extended  before   the   com- 


*  "  Annals  of  the  Swedes  on  the  Delaware,"  by 
the  Rev.  J.  C.  Clay,  p.  3,  4,  161,  &c. 


mencement  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  But 
it,  as  well  as  other  churches,  suffered  much 
from  that  war.  Many  of  the  German  col- 
onists took  up  arms  in  defence  of  their 
adopted  country.  The  early  wars  with 
the  Indians,  also,  proved  very  prejudicial 
to  the  Lutheran  churches  on  the  frontiers. 
The  rapid  progress  made  by  this  Church 
since  the  Revolution,  and  particularly  since 
the  constitution  of  its  General  Synod  in 
1820,  may  be  seen  from  the  following  suc- 
cinct summary,  taken  from  the  Lutheran 
Almanac  for  1843,  and  fully  to  be  relied  on. 

The  number  of  Ministers  and  Licentiates  is         423 

Congregations 1,371 

Communicants 146,303 

Besides  one  General  Synod,  there  are 
nineteen  District  Synods,  twelve  of  which 
are  united  with  the  General  Synod.  There 
are  four  theological  seminaries,  one  col- 
lege, and  four  classical  schools,  one  or- 
phan house,  an  education  society,  a  for- 
eign missionary  society,  and  a  book  es- 
tablishment. During  the  year  1841,  the 
Lutheran  ministry  received  an  accession 
of  fifty-eight  new  members  ;  9022  new 
members  were  added  to  the  churches  by 
confirmation,  and  9000  by  emigration  : — 
17,776  children  and  adults  were  baptized. 
Three  new  synods  were  formed  in  1841, 
seventy-six  new  churches  built,  and  eigh- 
ty-eight new  congregations  organized. 

These  results  do,  indeed,  call  for  heart- 
felt thanks  to  the  Giver  of  all  good.  I 
know  not  a  single  circumstance  more 
promising  in  regard  to  true  religion  in 
America,  than  its  rapid  progress  among 
the  vast  German  population  of  the  United 
States,  as  exhibited  in  the  Lutheran  and 
German  Reformed  Churches.  Wonderful, 
indeed,  has  been  the  change  during  the 
last  twenty  years. 

The  establishment  of  Pennsylvania  Col- 
lege, at  Gettysburg,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  General  Synod,  has  been  a  great  bless- 
ing.    This  college,  which  has  been  liber- 
ally assisted  by  the  Legislature  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  receives  $1000  a  year  from 
that  state,  has  a  president,  five  able  pro- 
fessors, and  about  150  students.    The  Gen- 
eral Synod's  theological  seminary,  which, 
also,  is  placed  at  Gettysburg,  has   three 
distinguished  professors,  and  usually  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty  students.     It  began 
in  1826,  with  one  professor,  the  Rev.  Sam- 
uel S.  Schmucker,  D.D.,  to  whom,  under 
God,  it  mainly  owes  its  existence;  since 
which  time   it  has    educated   upward    of 
150  young  men  for  the  ministry.     The  in- 
stitution is  most  pleasantly  situated,  and 
has  a  well-selected  library,  great  part  of 
which,  together  with  a  considerable  amount 
of  funds  for  the  founding  of  the  seminary, 
was  obtained  in  Germany  through  the  ef- 
forts of  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Kurtz,  D.D. 
The  Lutherans  have  three  other  theological 
schools,  one  at  Hartwick,  in  New- York, 


Ch-ap'.XII.] 


LUTHERAN   CHURCH. 


259 


another  at  Lexington,  in  South  Carolina, 
and  a  third  at  Columbus,  Ohio.  Sixty-one 
young  men  were  prosecuting  their  studies 
at  these  in  1841,  and  115  more  were  en- 
gaged in  preparatory  studies  at  academies 
and  colleges.  These  simple  facts  exhibit 
an  extraordinary  change  in  the  state  of  this 
church  from  what  it  was  twenty-five  years 
ago. 

Among  its  distinguished  men  we  may 
mention  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Bolzius,  Gronau, 
H.  M.  Muhlenburg,  Kunze,  Schmidt,  Kurtz, 
another  Muhlenburg,  Helmuth,  Melshei- 
mer,  Lochman,  Schseffer,  Shober,  Geissen- 
hainer,  Schmucker  (father  of  the  profes- 
sor), all  men  of  great  influence  in  their 
day.  Several  of  its  living  ministers,  also, 
are  men  of  acknowledged  talents,  learn- 
ing, piety,  and  usefulness.  Many  of  the 
earlier  ministers  were  educated  at  Franke's 
Institute  at  Halle,  which,  indeed,  may  be 
regarded  as  the  mother  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  throughout  a  large  part  of  the  Uni- 
ted States.* 

The  same  doctrines  are  held  as  in  the 
evangelical  Lutheran  churches  in  the  vari- 
ous countries  of  Europe,  with  some  differ- 
ences which  we  shall  presently  notice. 
They  comprehend  the  following  points : 
"  The  Trinity  of  persons  in  one  Godhead  ;" 
"  the  proper  and  eternal  divinity  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ;"  "the  universal  de- 
pravity .of  our  race ;"  "  the  vicarious  na- 
ture and  unlimited  extent  of  the  atone- 
ment ;"  "  that  men  are  justified  gratuitous- 
ly, for  Christ's  sake,  through  faith  ;"  "  the 
word  and  sacraments  means  of  grace ;" 
"  a  future  judgment,  and  the  award  of  eter- 
nal life  and  happiness  to  the  righteous,  and 
eternal  misery  to  the  wicked."  On  the  sub- 
ject of  election,  predestination,  &c,  they 
are  well  known  to  be  rather  Arminian  than 
Calvinistic. 

The  Lutheran  Church  in  America  has  a 
short  but  excellent  liturgy,  while  her  min- 
isters are  at  the  same  time  allowed  a  dis- 
cretionary power  with  regard  to  its  use. 
It  observes  a  few  of  the  chief  festivals, 
such  as  Christmas,  Good  Friday,  Easter 
Sunday,  Ascension  Day,  and  Whitsunday. 
Like  the  Episcopal  and  the  German  Re- 
formed churches,  it  administers  the  rite  of 
confirmation  to  baptized  persons  after  their 
arriving  at  years  of  discretion,  and  going 
through  a  course  of  catechetical  and  bibli- 
cal instruction. 

It  deserves  notice  that  the  Lutheran 
Church  in  the  United  States,  as  those 
who  are  intimately  acquainted  with  it  will 
acknowledge,  differs  from  what  it  once 
was,  and  from  some  of  its  sister  churches 
in  Europe,  in  regard  to  a  few  such  points 


*  Nor  have  the  churches  in  America  ceased  to 
feel  a  warm  interest  in  the  Alma  Mater  of  so  many 
of  their  pastors.  When  she  suffered  so  much  from 
the  French  in  1814,  collections  were  promptly  made 
t»y  them,  and  forwarded  to  the  amount  of  $2334. 


as  the  following :  First,  it  entirely  rejects  the 
authority  of  the  fathers  in  ecclesiastical  contro- 
versy. The  Reformers  relied  too  much 
upon  them.  Secondly,  it  no  longer  re- 
quires assent  to  the  doctrine  of  the  real  or 
bodily  presence  of  the  Saviour  in  the  Eucha- 
rist. In  other  words,  it  has  renounced  the 
doctrine  of  consubstantiation,  and  holds 
that  of  our  Lord's  spiritual  presence,  as 
understood  by  other  evangelical  Protest- 
ants. Again,  it  has  rejected  the  remnant  of 
private  confession  which  it  at  first  retained. 
Fourth,  it  has  abolished  the  remains  of  Pa- 
pal superstition  in  the  abjuration  of  evil 
spirits  at  baptism.  Fifth,  it  has  made  a 
more  systematic  adjustment  of  its  doc- 
trines. Sixth,  it  has  adopted  a  more  reg- 
ular and  a  stricter  system  of  church  disci- 
pline. This,  as  respects  individual  church- 
es, is  essentially  Presbyterian.  The  Syn- 
ods, in  their  organization  and  powers,  re- 
semble Presbyteries,  but  with  fewer  for- 
malities, and  their  decisions  are  couched 
more  in  the  form  of  recommendations ; 
while  the  General  Synod  is  altogether  ad- 
visory, and  resembles  the  General  Asso- 
ciations of  the  Congregational  churches 
of  New-England.  Conferences  of  sever- 
al neighbouring  ministers,  and  protracted 
meetings,  are  held,  with  preaching,  for  the 
benefit  of  their  congregations.  And,  lastly, 
its  ministers  are  no  longer  bound  to  all  the 
minute  points  of  an  extended  human  creed. 
All  that  is  required  of  them  is  a  belief  in 
the  Bible,  and  in  the  Augsburg  Confession 
as  a  substantially  correct  expression  of 
Bible  doctrines.  The  American  Lutheran 
Church  thinks  that  a  written  creed  should 
be  short,  comprehending,  like  that  of  the 
apostles,  which  was  for  a  long  time  the 
only  creed  in  the  primitive  churches,  the 
doctrines  necessary  to  salvation.  So  much 
for  its  doctrines,  order,  and  discipline.* 

I  have  only  to  add,  that  this  church 
takes  a  deep  and  increasing  interest  every 
year  in  the  religious  and  benevolent  un- 
dertakings of  our  times.  Sunday-schools 
and  Bible-classes  are  very  generally  to 
be  found  in  her  congregations.  She  has 
had  an  Education  Society,  with  numerous 
branches,  since  1835,  Avhich  has  assisted 
above  100  young  men  in  preparing  for  the 
ministry.  We  shall  speak  hereafter  of  her 
Foreign  Missionary  Society,  founded  in 
1837.  Finally,  two  valuable  religious  pa- 
pers, one  in  English,  and  the  other  in  Ger- 
man, extensively  diffuse  among  the  peo- 
ple intelligence  relating  to  the  progress  of 
the  Redeemer's  kingdom  on  the  earth. 


*  In  making  this  statement,  I  have  been  greatly 
indebted  to  Professor  Schmucker's  "  Portraiture  of 
Lutheranism,"  and  his  "Retrospect  of  Lutheranism 
in  the  United  States,"  both  published  at  the  request 
of  the  General  Synod  of  the  Church. 


. 


260 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


SMALLER  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCHES  :  THE  GER- 
MAN REFORMED  CHURCH. 

This  offshoot  from  the  Church,  hearing 
the  same  name  in  Germany,  is,  like  it, 
Presbyterian  in  its  government,  and  Cal- 
vinistic  in  its  doctrinal  standards. 

The  "  Reformed"  being  mingled  with 
the  Lutherans  in  the  early  German  emi- 
grations, societies  of  the  former  soon  ap- 
peared, particularly  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
spread,  ere  long,  to  the  south  and  west  of 
that  province.  These,  though  long  exist- 
ing apart,  were  at  last  united  in  174G,  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Schlatter,  who,  having  been 
sent  from  Europe  for  the  purpose,  suc- 
ceeded in  giving  a  better  organization  as 
well  as  more  union  to  their  churches. 
Their  increase  since  has  given  them  an 
important  place  among  American  Presby- 
terians. 

It  is  a  singular  fact,  that  the  first  mission- 
aries to  the  German  Reformed  in  Ameri- 
ca were  sent,  out  by  the  Classis  of  Am- 
sterdam and  the  Synod  of  North  Holland, 
through  which  channel  their  churches  con- 
tinued to  receive  their  ministerial  supplies, 
and  to  which  they  were  kept,  down  to  the 
year  1792,  in  the  same  subordination  as 
the  Dutch  churches  in  America  used  to 
be.  Mr.  Schlatter,  the  pioneer  in  this 
good  cause,  was  soon  followed  by  other 
men  sent  over  by  the  said  classis  and 
synod.* 

The  dependance  of  the  Reformed  Ger- 
man Church  in  the  United  States  on  the 
Dutch  Church  in  Europe  was  brought  to 
a  close  in  1792,  in  consequence  of  the  dif- 
ficulty of  maintaining  the  previous  rela- 
tions of  America  with  Holland  after  the 
conquest  of  the  latter  by  the  French.  An 
independent  constitution  was  according- 
ly adopted,  constituting  a  Synod,  consist- 
ing of  clerical  and  lay  delegates  ;  but  it 
was  not  until  1819  that  the  synod  was  di- 
vided into  classes  or  presbyteries,  and 
based  upon  a  representation  of  the  classes 
by  clerical  and  lay  delegates.  The  church 
being  now  left  to  its  own  resources,  the 
training  of  young  men  for  the  ministry 
was  for  many  years  intrusted  to  such  pas- 
tors as  were  willing  to  receive  students 
of  theology  into  their  families  ;  still  the 
want  of  proper  institutions  for  that  pur- 
pose was  deeply  felt.  At  length,  in  1824, 
the  synod  resolved  that  they  would  have 
a  theological  seminary,  and  this  resolution 
took  effect  the  following  year,  by  the  open- 
ing of  an  institution  at  Carlisle,  a  pleasant 
town  in  Central  Pennsylvania.  Dr.  Mayer 
was  appointed  the  first  professor,  and  con- 
tinued in  the  discharge  of  that  office  until 
1839,  when  his  resignation  was  tendered 


*  Among  these  were  Weiber,  Steiner,  Otterbein, 
Hendel,  Helfenstein,  Helfrich,  Gebbard,  Dallicker, 
Blumer,  Faber,  Becker,  and  Herman. 


and  accepted.  During  this  period  the  sem- 
inary was  removed  from  Carlisle  to  York, 
and  from  that  to  Mercersburg  in  the  same 
state,  about  fifty  miles  from  Carlisle,  and 
there  it  is  now  permanently  established. 
Marshall  College  was  opened  in  connex- 
ion with  it  in  1837,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rauch, 
who  had  been  president  of  the  preparatory 
department  of  the  seminary  at  York,  was 
chosen  president.  Under  that  distinguish- 
ed scholar  and  excellent  minister  it  soon 
enjoyed  an  enviable  reputation;  but  in  the 
spring  of  1840  the  church  was  called  to 
lament  his  premature  decease.  The  pres- 
ent theological  professor,  Dr.  Nevin,  is  a 
man  of  distinguished  abilities  and  deep  pi- 
ety. There  are  about  twenty-five  students 
of  theology,  and  the  academical  classes 
have  an  attendance  of  from  eighty  to  100 
youths. 

The  German  Reformed  Church  seems 
to  have  experienced  a  crisis  in  1841,  that 
year  having  been  appointed  to  be  celebra- 
ted as  a  centenary  jubilee  for  all  its  con- 
gregations. A  century  having  elapsed 
since  its  first  organization  in  America, 
such  an  acknowledgment  of  God's  mer- 
cies was  deemed  eminently  becoming;  and 
that  the  occasion  might  be  turned  to  the 
best  account,  it  was  resolved  that  an  ef- 
fort should  be  made  to  raise  sufficient  funds 
for  the  endowment  of  the  seminary  and 
college  at  Mercersburg.  The  result  must 
have  fully  realized  the  expectations  of 
the  church's  most  sanguine  friends,  for  at 
a  late  meeting  of  its  synod  upward  of 
80,000  dollars  were  ascertained  to  have 
been  subscribed,  and  to  a  large  amount 
actually  collected,  while  the  contributions 
of  more  than  half  of  the  congregations  had 
yet  to  be  reported.  Assurances  have  since 
been  received  that  more  than  100,000  dol- 
lars, the  amount  originally  specified,  will 
be  obtained. 

The  field  which  this  church  has  to  oc- 
cupy is  very  extensive.  Besides  the  large 
German  population  in  the  Atlantic  States, 
the  Great  West — the  Valley  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi— over  which  German  immigrants 
are  now  settling  in  vast  numbers,  cries 
to  this  and  to  the  Lutheran  Church  for 
help  ;  and  it  is  hoped  that  in  a  few  years  a 
host  of  labourers  from  both  will  be  raised 
up  for  the  harvest,  which  is  ripe  for  the 
sickle. 

The  German  Reformed  Synod  has  now 
in  its  connexion  about  180  ministers,  dis- 
tributed thus :  112  in  Pennsylvania;  thir- 
ty-seven in  Ohio  ;  three  in  Indiana  and 
Illinois  ;  ten  in  Maryland  ;  ten  in  Virginia 
and  North  Carolina ;  and  three  in  New- 
York.  It  is  supposed  to  have  about  600 
congregations,  and  from  75,000  to  100,000 
communicants.  It  may  be  said  with  truth 
that  its  congregations  are  rapidly  increas- 
ing in  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
from  present  indications,  wre  hail  the  period 


Chap.  XIV.] 


SMALLER   GERMAN   SECTS. 


261 


as  not  far  distant  when,  instead  of  being 
reckoned,  as  they  have  long  been,  among 
the  least  of  the  tribes  of  Israel,  they  will 
be  found  occupying  a  place  in  the  very 
van  of  the  sacramental  host  of  the  Lord. 
In  home  missionary,  educational,  and  for- 
eign missionary  efforts,  they  are  taking  a 
deeper  and  deeper  interest  every  year, 
uniting  with  the  Congregational  and  New 
School  Presbyterian  churches  in  support- 
ing the  American  Home  Missionary  Soci- 
ety, the  American  Education  Society,  and 
the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

SMALLER    GERMAN    SECTS. 

There  are  some  smaller  bodies  of  Ger- 
man Christians  in  the  United  States,  which 
may  be  classed,  though  not,  perhaps,  in 
all  cases  without  qualification,  among  the 
evangelical  denominations.  The  Moravi- 
ans might  have  been  placed  here,  but  we 
have  put  them  in  a  separate  chapter,  part- 
ly because  they  are  Episcopal,  partly  be- 
cause they  are  no  longer  purely  German 
either  in  blood  or  language. 

First,  then,  there  is  a  body  called  the 
"United  Brethren  in  Christ."  This  is  a 
Methodist  sect,  which  began  to  rise  as 
early  as  1770,  and  gradually  attained  an 
organization  in  the  year  1800.  The  found- 
ers of  it  were  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Otterbein, 
Boehm,  Geeting,  and  other  German  min- 
isters, who  had  once  belonged  to  the  Ger- 
man Reformed,  the  Mennonists,  and  the 
Lutherans.  Their  first  Annual  Conference 
was  held  in  the  year  1800.  From  that 
epoch  this  denomination  has  continued  to 
increase  among  the  Germans  and  German 
descendants  in  Pennsylvania,  Maryland, 
Virginia,  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  other  portions 
of  the  Union,  until  they  have  at  present 
one  General  Conference  (which  meets  once 
in  four  years),  nine  Annual  Conferences, 
four  bishops,  six  hundred  ministers,  of 
whom  250  are  itinerant,  and  350  are  lo- 
cal preachers.  The  number  of  places, 
churches,  schoolhouses,  private  houses, 
etc.,  where  they  preach,  is  supposed  to  ex- 
ceed two  thousand.  Many  of  their  congre- 
gations are  small.  The  number  of  their 
members  or  communicants  is  reported  to 
be  more  than  50,000. 

This  body,  which  is  in  all  essential 
points  the  same,  as  it  regards  doctrines 
and  modes  of  worship,  as  the  Episcopal 
Methodist  Church,  has  been  becoming 
more  thoroughly  organized  from  the  first. 
"Within  a  few  years  successful  efforts  have 
been  made  to  introduce  discipline  and  or- 
der into  their  churches,  and  to  require  from 
the  preachers  regular  and  accurate  reports 
of  the  number  of  communicants,  etc.  This 
looks  well,  and  shows  that  this  body  has 


attained  a  good  degree  of  organization  and 
efficiency. 

2.  The  "Evangelical  Association."  This 
denomination,  also  a  sect  of  German  Me- 
thodists, was  founded  in  the  year  1800. 
The  founder  was  the  Rev.  Jacob  Albright. 
His  associates  were  the  Rev.  John  Walker, 
George  Miller,  and  others.  With  regard 
to  doctrine  and  church  government,  there 
is  some  similarity  with  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  This  Association  has  at 
present  two  bishops  and  four  annual  con- 
ferences, viz.,  those  of  East  and  West 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  Illinois.  It  also 
has  churches  and  stations  in  Maryland, 
Virginia,  New- York,  Indiana,  Missouri,  and 
the  Territory  of  Iowa.  The  annual  con- 
ferences embrace  districts,  circuits,  sta- 
tions, and  missions.  There  is  a  General 
Conference,  which  meets  once  in  four 
years.  This  body  has  at  present  about. 
IIS  travelling,  and  nearly  200  local  minis- 
ters. The  number  of  places  of  public  wor- 
ship, including  churches,  schoolhouses, 
and  private  houses,  is  about  900 ;  and  the 
number  of  communicants  is  about  14,000. 

3.  The  Winebrennarians,  a  sect  of  Ger- 
man Baptists,  so  called  from  their  founder 
being  a  Mr.  Winebrenner,  a  pious  and 
zealous  German,  who  lives  at  Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania,  where  his  followers  are 
chiefly  found.  They  form  several  congre- 
gations, and  are  said  to  be  quite  evangeli- 
cal in  their  doctrines,  and,  as  a  body,  irre- 
proachable in  their  lives.  Their  minis- 
tersj  though  not  well  informed,  have  the 
reputation  of  being  devoted,  laborious,  and 
useful  men.  Winebrenner  seems  to  have 
commenced  his  labours  among  the  Ger- 
mans very  much  in  the  spirit  and  with  the 
aim  of  Hans  Houga  in  Norway. 

4.  The  Mennonists  have  some  churches, 
but  the  most  of  their  little  congregations 
meet  in  private  houses  ;  they  probably 
have  about  50  or  60  preachers,  and  perhaps 
some  200  small  congregations.*  They 
are  an  amiable,  and,  in  the  main,  evangeli- 
cal people,  yet  rendered  somewhat  luke- 
warm, it  is  to  be  feared,  by  their  worldly 
prosperity.  They  are,  for  the  most  part,  de- 
scended from  Mennonist  immigrants  from 
Holland  and  Germany.  Their  confession 
of  faith,  as  stated  by  one  of  their  minis- 
ters, Mr.  Gan,  of  Ryswick,  in  Holland,  ap- 
pears to  be  moderate  orthodoxy. t  They 
reject  infant  baptism,  but  though  their 
founder,  Simon  Menno,  maintained  that 
baptism  should  be  by  immersion,  they  do 
not  deem  it  indispensable.    On  the  contra- 


*  The  Mennonists  meet  for  their  worship  in  pri- 
vate houses  oftener  than  in  church  edifices.  Their 
congregations  are  very  small,  and  for  a  long  time 
scarcely  existed  out  of  Pennsylvania. 

t  I  fear  that  their  orthodoxy  is  less  unequivocal 
and  general  than  it  was  sixty  or  eighty  years  ago. 
They  are  opposed  to  the  use  of  the  words  Person 
and  Trinity,  when  speaking  of  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost. 


262 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


ry,  they  sprinkle,  or,  rather,  pour  water 
upon  the  head  of  the  candidate,  after  which 
follow  the  imposition  of  hands  and  prayer. 
They  have  no  order  of  preachers,  hut  eve- 
ry one  in  their  assembly  has  the  liberty  to 
speak,  to  expound  the  Scriptures,  to  sing, 
and  to  pray. 

The  Mennonists  of  Holland,  as  is  well 
known,  claim  to  be  descended  in  the  main 
from  those  Waldenses  who,  towards  the 
close  of  the  twelfth  century,  emigrated  in 
great  numbers  to  that  country.  If  this  be 
so,  then  the  Mennonists  in  America  have 
in  their  veins  the  blood  of  those  wonder- 
ful survivers  of  long  ages  of  persecution 
and  oppression. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SMALLER    METHODIST    DENOMINATIONS. 

Secessions  of  greater  or  less  magnitude 
have  detached  themselves  from  time  to 
time,  and  glided  off  like  avalanches  from 
the  Mount  Zion  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  not,  however,  so  as  to  dimin- 
ish its  grandeur,  or  change  its  physiogno- 
my ;  but  most  of  them  sooner  or  later 
melted  away  to  nothing. 

The  first  that  occurred  was  that  of  the 
Rev.  William  Hammet,  of  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  in  1785.  His  followers 
took  the  name  of  Primitive  Methodists. 
The  second  was  that  of  the  Rev.  James 
O'Kelly,  in  Virginia,  about  1792.  His  fol- 
lowers called  themselves  Republican  Meth- 
odists. This  was  by  far  the  more  serious 
of  the  two,  but  both  soon  and  forever  dis- 
appeared from  the  scene. 

In  the  year  1816,  about  1000  of  the  peo- 
ple of  colour  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  at  Philadelphia,  headed  by  a  Mr. 
Richard  Allen,  seceded  from  the  main 
body.  Allen  was  a  man  of  considerable 
talent,  who,  from  having  been  once  a  slave 
in  one  of  the  Southern  States,  besides  pro- 
curing his  freedom,  had  acquired  a  hand- 
some property,  and  becoming  a  preacher 
in  the  Methodist  connexion,  rose  to  be  or- 
dained an  elder.  After  his  secession  he 
was  ordained  a  bishop  at  the  first  General 
Conference  of  his  followers,  by  prayer  and 
the  imposition  of  hands  by  five  local  el- 
ders, of  whom  one  was  a  presbyter  in  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  What  the 
number  of  ministers  in  this  small  com- 
munion may  be  I  know  not.  Since  the 
death  of  Allen,  instead  of  a  bishop  it  has 
two  superintendents. 

Another  secession  of  coloured  members 
took  place  at  New-York  in  1819,  and  it  has 
now  several  congregations  of  people  of 
colour  in  New-Jersey,  Connecticut,  Rhode 
Island,  and  Massachusetts.  Three  years 
ago  they  had  twenty-one  circuits,  thirty- 
two  preachers,  and  2608  communicants. 
They  are  believed  to  have  adhered  to  the 


doctrines  and  polity  of  the  body  from 
which  they  seceded,  their  dissatisfaction 
with  which  arose  from  their  preachers  not 
being  admitted  into  the  itineracy,  and, 
consequently,  having  no  share  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  church,  nor  a  right,  to  re- 
ceive salaries,  being  only  local  preachers. 

There  were  one  or  two  other  secessions 
a  little  later,  one  of  which  was  headed  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Stillwell,  in  the  city  of  New- 
York,  by  which  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  lost  a  few  of  its  congregations,  but 
they  were  not  of  such  consequence  as  to 
call  for  special  notice.  But  it  sustained 
a  far  more  serious  loss  in  1828,  when  a 
considerable  number  of  preachers,  chiefly 
local,  and  of  lay  members,  withdrew  from 
it  at  Baltimore,  and  in  other  parts  of  the 
country.  As  this  secession  has  resulted 
in  the  formation  of  a  new  communion, 
which  promises  to  be  permanent,  it  calls 
for  farther  notice. 

In  what  was  said  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  the  reader  will  have  re- 
marked that  its  constitution  lodges  the  su- 
preme power,  legislative,  judicial,  and  ex- 
ecutive, in  the  itinerating  ministers.  They 
alone  compose  the  Yearly  and  General 
Conferences.  But,  to  two  classes  of  the 
members,  this  has  been  felt  to  be  oppres- 
sive. First,  to  the  local  preachers,  who, 
although  they  may  be  ordained  ministers, 
can  have  no  voice  in  the  government  of 
the  church.  Nay,  ministers  who  may  have 
been  for  years  in  the  itinerating  service, 
the  moment  that,  from  sickness,  duty  to 
their  families,  insufficient  support,  or  any 
other  cause,  they  leave  that  service,  have 
no  longer  any  voice  in  the  affairs  of  that 
church.  Next,  there  were  laymen  who 
thought  that  the  laity  ought  to  be  repre- 
sented in  the  church  courts  ;  that  is, 
should  be  admitted  to  the  Annual  and  Gen- 
eral Conferences. 

This  dissatisfaction  began  to  assume  a 
more  decided  character  about  the  year 
1820.  A  journal  having  been  established 
for  the  purpose  of  advocating  what  were 
called  "  equalrights,"  this  led  to  the  send- 
ing up  of  numerous  petitions  to  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  held  in  1824.  These  be- 
ing unfavourably  received,  much  excite- 
ment and  discussion  followed.  The  party 
that  wanted  reform  urged  their  demands 
with  more  eagerness,  and,  consequently, 
some  suspensions  from  church  privileges 
took  place  in  Baltimore  and  elsewhere. 
Such  was  the  state  of  matters  when  the 
General  Conference  met  in  1828  ;  failing 
in  obtaining  redress  from  which,  they  who 
thought  themselves  aggrieved  seceded,  and 
formed  a  new  body,  under  the  title  of  the 
Protestant  Methodist  Church  in  the 
United  States.  In  taking  this  step  they 
have  made  no  change  in  their  doctrines, 
nor  any  innovations  in  church  polity,  be- 
yond what  they  had  unsuccessfully  peti- 


Chap.  XVI.] 


FRIENDS,  OR   QUAKERS. 


263 


tioned  for — the  admission  of  lay  represent- 
atives and  of  the  local  preachers  to  the 
government  of  the  church.  They  have 
also  ceased  to  have  bishops,  all  ordination 
among  them  being  now  confined  to  the  im- 
position of  hands  by  presbyters.  Their 
General  Conference  meets  once  in  four 
years,  like  that  from  which  they  seceded. 

This  body  has  one  general  and  twenty- 
two  yearly  conferences,  1200  travelling 
and  local  preachers,  60,000  communicants, 
and  500  places  of  worship.  Its  General 
Conference  has  instituted  a  Board  of  Do- 
mestic and  Foreign  Missions,  as  also  a 
Book  Concern,  which  has  its  headquar- 
ters in  Baltimore.  There  are  four  reli- 
gious newspapers,  also,  published  under  its 
auspices.  Its  churches  are  to  be  found  in 
all  parts  of  the  country,  but  particularly 
in  the  Middle,  Northern,  and  Western 
States. 

Calvinistic  Methodists — a  small  Welsh 
communion,  consisting  of  twenty  churches 
and  as  many  pastors.  They  are  an  evan- 
gelical and  zealous  body,  and  as  it  is  only 
a  few  years  since  the  greater  part  of  them 
came  to  America,  they  still  use  the  Welsh 
language  in  their  public  worship  and  in 
their  families.  Though  found  in  several 
states,  they  are  most  numerous,  I  believe, 
in  New-York.* 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  FRIENDS,  OR  QUAKERS. 

This  religious  community  first  appeared 
in  England  towards  the  middle  of  the  sev- 
enteenth century,  and  had  an  early  share 
in  the  colonization  of  the  United  States. 
We  have  seen  that  its  reputed  founder  and 


*  The  number  of  national  churches  among  the 
Welsh  emigrants  and  their  descendants  in  the  Uni- 
ted States  is  far  greater  than  is  commonly  supposed. 
From  a  statement  which  has  been  kindly  famished 
me  while  this  work  has  been  going  through  the  press, 
by  the  Rev.  Jonathan  J.  Jones,  pastor  of  a  Welsh 
Presbyterian  church  in  the  city  of  New-York,  I 
learn  that  there  are,  besides  the  Calvinistic  Metho- 
dist churches  mentioned  above,  no  less  than  38  Con- 
gregational churches,  12  Baptist,  2  Presbyterian,  3 
Episcopal,  and  3  Wesleyan  Methodist.  The  statis- 
tics of  twenty  of  these  churches  show  about  2640 
communicants,  8050  members  of  congregations,  and 
from  630  to  1030  dollars  contributed  annually  to 
spread  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Calvinistic  Methodists  and  the  Pres- 
byterians, the  Welsh  churches  are  included  in  the 
estimate  which  is  made  of  the  denominations  whose 
name  they  bear.  For  instance,  the  Welsh  Baptists 
come  in  under  the  head  of  the  Regular  Baptists  ;  the 
Welsh  Congregationalists  are  included  in  the  state- 
ment which  I  have  made  respecting  the  Congrega- 
tional body.  Of  the  names  of  forty-one  of  the  pas- 
tors of  the  churches  mentioned  in  the  statement 
furnished  by  Mr.  Jones,  seven  are  Jones,  seven  are 
Williams,  three  are  Powells,  three  are  Evans ;  and 
among  the  others  we  find  those  of  Griffiths,  Roberts, 
Lewis,  Morris,  Edwards,  Richards,  Powell,  Davis, 
Morgan,  Owen,  Philips,  Jenkins,  and  others  which 
are  purely  Welsh. 


first  preacher,  George  Fox,  visited  several 
of  the  Southern  provinces,  and  announced 
his  message,  as  he  himself  relates,  to  a 
"  willing  people."  But  the  proselytes  to 
his  peaceful  doctrines,  especially  if  they 
attempted  to  propagate  them,  encountered 
violent  persecution  almost  everywhere,  and 
although  they  were  from  the  first  protected 
in  Rhode  Island,  and  did  at  length  obtain 
toleration  in  the  South,  they  never  made 
much  progress  until,  through  the  influence 
and  exertions  of  William  Penn,  they  ob- 
tained an  asylum,  first  in  New-Jersey,  and 
afterward  in  Pennsylvania,  towards  the 
close  of  that  century, 

They  are  now  supposed  to  have  about 
500  congregations  in  the  United  States,  and 
are  chiefly  settled  in  the  southeastern  part 
of  Pennsylvania,  in  New-Jersey,  New- 
York,  Rhode  Island,  Maryland,  and  Virgin- 
ia, though  some  may  be  found  in  all  the 
States.  In  Philadelphia  alone  they  have 
six  or  eight  large  congregations  or  "  meet- 
ings." 

It  is  far  from  easy  to  make  out  what 
were  the  doctrines  really  held  by  George 
Fox,  and  some  of  the  other  early  Friends, 
or  Quakers,  as  they  are  more  commonly 
called.  They  spoke  so  much  about  the 
"  light  within,"  and  the  "  Christ  in  the 
heart,"  and  so  little  about  the  proper  di- 
vinity of  Jesus  Christ,  the  inspiration  and 
divine  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  &c, 
that  good  men  of  that  day  much  doubted 
how  far  they  held  the  saving  truths  of  the 
Gospel.  But  the  subsequent  writings  of 
Penn,  Barclay,  and  others,  to  whom  may 
be  added  many  excellent  authors  of  the 
present  day,  make  it  certain  that  a  decided 
majority  of  well-informed  Friends  have 
been  sound  in  "  the  faith  that  saves." 

But  within  the  last  fifteen  years  a  deplo- 
rable schism  has  taken  place.  Doctrines 
of  the  most  dangerous  character,  imbody- 
ing,  in  fact,  a  kind  of  fanatical  deism,  hav- 
ing been  widely  disseminated  by  the  preach- 
ing and  writings  of  the  late  Elias  Hicks,  of 
Long  Island,  New- York,  who  was  one  of 
their  ministers,  they  separated  into  two 
quite  distinct  bodies,  each  maintaining  that 
it  held  the  doctrines  of  the  original  Qua- 
kers.* One  party  is  called  the  Orthodox, 
the  other  the  Hicksites,  from  the  name  of 
their  leader,  or,  rather,  founder.  Their  rel- 
ative numbers  are  not  exactly  known,  but 
the  Orthodox  are  supposed  to  be  fully  three 


*  The  highest  law  court  in  New-Jersey  decided  a 
few  years  ago,  in  a  suit  respecting  property  held  by 
one  of  the  "Quarterly  Meetings"  in  that  state,  that  the 
so-called  Orthodox  Quakers  are  the  true  successors 
of  the  founders  of  the  denomination  ;  in  other  words, 
hold  the  true  doctrines  of  the  people  called  Friends. 
This  decision  was  formed  after  a  long  and  very 
thorough  investigation  of  the  subject,  conducted  by 
a  master  in  chancery,  who  was  employed  during 
several  months  in  taking  the  testimony  of  distin- 
guished Friends  as  to  what  were  the  doctrines  of  the 
society. 


264 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book.  VI. 


fifths  of  the  whole,  or  to  have  300  congre- 
gations. 

The  peculiarities  of  the  Friends,  in  re- 
spect to  plainness  of  dress,  refusing  to  un- 
cover the  head  as  a  mark  of  respect  to 
their  fellow-men,  whatever  be  their  station, 
rank,  or  office,  the  use  of  the  singular  thou 
and  thee  instead  of  the  plural  you  in  all  ca- 
ses where  custom  has  sanctioned  the  su- 
perseding of  the  former  by  the  latter,  their 
refusing  to  take  an  oath,  and  to  bear  arms, 
are  too  well  known  to  require  remark. 

They  have  no  "  hireling  ministry,"  and 
think  it  wrong  to  educate  men  for  that  of- 
fice, maintaining  that  those  only  should  be 
suffered  to  preach  who  are  moved  from  time 
to  time  by  the  Spirit  to  deliver  a  message 
from  God.  All  remain  perfectly  silent  at 
their  meetings,  unless  some  one  feels  thus 
moved  to  speak  for  the  edification  of  those 
present,  or  to  pray.  In  almost  every  con- 
gregation there  are  members  who,  from 
being  often  moved  to  speak,  are  called 
"  preachers,"  and  they  may  be  of  either 
sex.  Some,  too,  think  that  the  Spirit 
moves  them  to  travel  about  for  the  purpose 
of  visiting  and  preaching.  But  these,  be- 
fore receiving  authority  to  proceed  on  such 
missions,  must  first  be  approved  by  the 
Monthly  and  Quarterly  Meetings  to  which 
they  belong.  Though  they  have  no  sala- 
ries, provision  is  made,  when  required,  for 
the  support  of  them  and  their  families  by 
presents  from  richer  Friends.  The  super- 
vision of  the  churches  is  vested  in  the 
monthly  meetings,  composed  of  all  the 
congregations  within  a  convenient  distance 
from  each  other  ;  the  Quarterly  Meetings, 
which  comprise  all  within  a  larger  circle  ; 
and  the  Yearly  Meetings,  including  all  with- 
in one  or  more  of  the  States,  and  of  which, 
we  believe,  there  are  eight. 

The  Friends  have  a  Tract  Society,  a 
Bible  Society,  and  some  Sunday-schools. 
They  have  made  some  attempts,  also,  but 

I.  Episcopal. 

Protestant  Episcopalians 

Moravians 


to  no  great  extent,  to  bring  the  Indian  tribes 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel. 

The  characteristic  traits  of  this  peace- 
loving  people  are  the  same  in  the  United 
States  as  in  England  and  elsewhere — fru- 
gality, simplicity  of  maimers,  strictness  of 
morals,  care  for  the  poor  of  their  society, 
and  abhorrence  of  oppression  in  every 
form.  This  may  be  emphatically  said  of 
the  Orthodox.  Of  the  Hicksites,  who,  in 
my  opinion,  have  departed  fundamentally 
from  the  Gospel,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  a  far 
less  favourable  account  will  yet  have  to  be 
given.  The  substantial  orthodoxy  of  Will- 
iam Penn,  and  many  others  of  the  same 
school,  has  produced  good  fruits,  which 
never  can  be  looked  for  from  the  delusions 
of  Elias  Hicks. 

So  far  from  rapidly  increasing  in  Amer- 
ica, I  rather  think  that,  the  Friends  are 
stationary,  if  'not  positively  declining,  in 
point  of  numbers.  The  too  frequent  neg- 
lect of  the  religious  education  of  their 
children,  together  with  the  rejection  of  the 
outward  administration  of  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper,  must  ever  prevent  them,  in 
my  opinion,  from  enjoying  great  or  con- 
tinued prosperity  as  a  church. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    SUMMARY. 

We  have  now  completed  our  notices  of 
the  various  evangelical  churches  or  denom- 
inations in  the  United  States  ;  and  to  assist 
the  reader  in  taking  a  general  view  of  the 
whole,  we  shall  place  them  before  his  eye 
at  once  in  a  tabular  form.  In  doing  this, 
we  shall  first  arrange  them  in  the  order  in 
which  we  have  already  passed  them  under 
our  review,  that  of  their  successive  ap- 
pearance in  America.  We  shall  then  re- 
arrange them  under  various  heads,  such  as 
Episcopal,  Congregational,  &c. 


Churches.        Ministers. 


1,200 
23 


1,176 

27 


Communicants. 

100,000 
3,000 


Total 1,223         1,203 

II.  Congregational. 

Orthodox  Churches 1,500        1,350 

III.  Baptist. 

Regular  Baptists 8,482 

Free-Will  Baptists 1,165 

Seventh  Day  Baptists 59 

Disciples  of  Christ,  or  Campbellites 

Wmebrennarians 

Total 9,706 

IV.  Presbyterian. 

Regular  Presbyterians— Old  and  New  Schools        .  3,584 

Cumberland  Presbyterians 550 

Dutch  Reformed  Church 267 

Associate  Synod 200 

Associate  Reformed 300 

Reformed  Presbyterians 94 

Lutherans 1,371 

German  Reformed .  600 

Total 


103,000 


Population.. 

800,000 

12,000 

812,000 


180,000    1,000,000 


4,036* 

637,477 

771 

61,372 

46 

6,077 

4,853 

704,926 

2,672 

279,782 

550 

75,000 

259 

29,322 

100 

15,000 

165 

26,000 

57 

10,500 

423 

146,303 

180 

100.000 

u 


000,000 


4,000,000 


(  4,500,000 


) 


6,966         4,406  681,897         4,500.000 

*  See  remarks  in  chapter  iv.  of  this  book  for  the  grounds  on  which  the  ordained  ministers  in  the  Regular  Baptist  com^ 
■union  are  estimated  a:  4036. 


Chap.  XVII.] 

V.  Methodist. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

Protestant  Methodists 
Welsh  Calvinistic  Methodists 
United  Brethren  in  Christ    . 

Evangelical  Association 


THE    SUMMARY. 


205 


Churches  or 
01  her  places 
of  worship. 


Total 30,029 


Mennonists    . 
Orthodox  Quakers 


Preachers.  Communicants.  Population*, 

25,109*   {7730L' M't    1.068,525    4,500,000 

.  2,000   J  700  I'M       60'000     300,000 

20      20  2,500      12,500 

OQ00   <  250  T.M. 

•  ~'UUU  \     350  L.  M. 

)     1 12  T.  M. 

\     200  L.  M. 

4,870  T.  M. 

980  L.  M. 


900 


50,000 
14,000 


200,000 
40,000 


By  uniting  the  Congregationalists  with 
the  Presbyterians,  which,  as  they  are  in  all 
important  respects  the  same,  is  perfectly 
proper,  we  reduce  the  evangelical  denomi- 
nations in  the  United  States  to  four  great 
families,  and,  thus  arranged,  they  present 
the  following  summary : 

Churches.  Ministers.  Commun.  Population. 

Episcopalians..     1,223        1,203  103,000  812,000 

Presbyterians  ..     8,466        5,756  861,897  5,500,000 

Baptists 9,706        4,853  704,926  4,000,000 

Methodists 30.029        4,870*  1,195,025  5.052,500 

Total  ....  49,424  16,632  2,864,848  15,364,000 

This  synopsis  suggests  a  few  observa- 
tions. 

1.  We  have  left  out  the  Campbellites, 
both  because  we  have  no  correct  informa- 
tion as  to  their  statistics,  and  because 
though  some  of  them  are,  no  doubt,  sound 
on  all  essential  points,  yet,  not  knowing 
how  many,  we  cannot  place  them  with  en- 
tire confidence  among  the  evangelical  de- 
nominations. Neither  have  we  included 
the  Mennonists,  the  German  United  Breth- 
ren, the  Winebrennarians,  the  Orthodox 
Friends,  nor  some  of  the  smaller  seces- 
sions from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Had  all  these  been  included,  the  number 
of  churches,  ministers,  and  members,  to- 
gether with  the  amount  of  the  general 
population  under  the  moral  influence  of 
the  churches  included  in  this  category, 
would  have  been  much  greater. 

2.  It  is  impossible  to  state  the  number 
of  churches  or  congregations,  properly  so 
called.  Those  of  the  Episcopalians,  Pres- 
byterians, and  Baptists,  taken  together, 
amount  to  19,395.  But  those  belonging  to 
the  different  Methodist  communions  it  is 
impossible  to  ascertain,  no  return  of  them 
having  been  made.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that,  of  the  places  of  worship  which  I  have 
given  on  President  Durban's  authority, 
more  than  10,000  are  churches  properly  so 
called.  This,  then,  would  make  the  entire 
number  of  the  churches  of  the  evangelical 
denominations, without  counting  the  Camp- 
bellites, Mennonists,  &c,  exceed  29,000  ; 
and  supposing  these  to  contain  upon  an 
average  500  people  each,  they  would  ac- 
commodate more  than  14,500,000  of  the 
18,500,000  of  inhabitants.  But  if  we  take 
in  all  the  places,  whether  churches  or  not, 


200 

300 


S  4,8 
\  8,9 


1,195,025        5,052,500' 


Travelling  ministers. 


at  which  the  Gospel  is  preached,  in  most 
cases  once  a  week  at  least,  and  in  others 
once  a  fortnight,  seldom  less  often,  these 
will  be  found  to  amount  to  49,424.  And 
even  to  these  there  ought  to  be  added  a 
part,  at  least,  of  the  Campbellite,  Mennon- 
ist,  and  Winebrennarian  places  of  worship, 
and  those  of  some  of  the  smaller  Methodist 
sects,  before  we  can  arrive  at  a  full  enu- 
meration of  all  the  churches  and  other 
places  in  which  salvation  by  a  crucified 
Saviour  is  proclaimed  to  sinners. 

3.  The  summary  gives  16,682  as  the 
number  of  ministers  who  devote  them- 
selves entirely  to  the  work.  Adding  the 
8980  Methodist  local  preachers,  we  have 
25,662  as  the  number  of  actual  preachers 
of  the  Gospel.  Even  this  is  exclusive  of 
those  of  the  omitted  denominations,  and  of 
the  licentiates  in  the  Baptist  and  Presby- 
terian churches,  who  cannot  well  be  esti- 
mated at  less  than  1300,  and  who  may 
fairly  be  set  against  the  deduction  to  be 
made  on  account  of  ordained  ministers 
employed  as  professors  and  missionaries. 
But  taking  the  above  16,682  as  the  number, 
all  things  considered,  of  ministers  that  are 
evangelical  on  all  the  saving  doctrines  of 
the  Gospel,  and  divide  the  population  of 
the  United  States,  which,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1844,  was  about  18,500,000,  by 
this  number,  the  result  will  be  one  such 
minister  for  less  than  1110  souls.  Nowr 
although  figures  cannot  express  moral  in- 
fluences, such  calculations  are  neverthe- 
less not  without  their  use.  A  country 
which  has  an  evangelical  preacher  on  an 
average  for  every  1110  souls,  may  be 
considered  as  pretty  well  supplied,  if  they 
be  well  distributed  and  faithful.  A  perfect 
distribution  is,  indeed,  altogether  impos- 
sible with  a  population  rapidly  diffusing  it- 
self over  immense,  half-cultivated  regions, 
yet  much  is  done  to  obviate  the  disadvan- 
tages of  such  a  state  of  things.     The  aid 


*  I  am  indebted  for  the  above  estimate  of  the 
probable  number  of  places,  including  churches, 
schoolhouses,  and  private  houses,  in  which  the, 
Methodist  itinerant  and  local  ministers  preach,  to  my 
friend  President  Durbin.  It  has  been  made  with 
much  care,  and,  I  doubt  not,  is  considerably  within 
the  truth.  President  Durbin  has  a  wide  and  accu- 
rate acquaintance  with  the  country,  as  well  as  with 
the  entire  economy  of  the  church  to  which  he  belongs. 

t  Travelling  ministers.  J  Local  ministers.. 


266 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


rendered  by  the  Methodist  local  preachers 
must  be  regarded  as  an  important  auxiliary 
to  the  more  regular  ministry.  The  gen- 
eral faithfulness  of  this  ministry  has  al- 
ready been  fully  discussed. 

4.  The  members  in  full  communion  with 
the  churches  enumerated  exceed  2,864,848 
in  number.  Now,  although  it  be  very  cer- 
tain that  all  these  do  not  live  up  to  their 
profession,  yet  as  they  belong  for  the  most 
part  to  churches  that  endeavour  to  main- 
tain discipline,  we  may  fairly  presume  that 
they  comprehend  at  least  as  large  a  pro- 
portion of  consistent  Christians  as  any 
equal  number  of  professors  in  other  parts 
of  Christendom. 

5.  The  last  column  of  the  summary  as- 
sumes 15,364,000  of  the  whole  population 
as  more  or  less  under  the  influence  of  the 
evangelical  denominations.  Accuracy  in 
such  a  calculation  is  hardly  to  be  expect- 
ed, but  I  have  taken  the  best  data  I  could 
find,  and  doubt  not  that  the  estimate  I  have 
made  is  not  much  wide  of  the  truth.  In- 
cluding all  the  denominations  that  claim  to 
be  evangelical,  this  estimate  would  exceed 
15,500,000. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

NUMBER    OF    EVANGELICAL   SECTS. 

Much  has  been  said  in  Europe  about  the 
multiplicity  of  sects  in  the  United  States, 
and  many  seem  of  opinion  that  the  reli- 
gious liberty  enjoyed  there  has  led  to  the  al- 
most indefinite  creation  of  different  reli- 
gious communions.  This  requires  a  little 
examination. 

No  doubt  absolute  religious  liberty  will 
ever  be  attended  with  a  considerable  sub- 
division of  the  religious  world  into  sects. 
Men  will  ever  differ  in  their  views  respect- 
ing doctrine  and  church  order,  and  it  is  to 
be  expected  that  such  differences  will  re- 
sult in  the  formation  of  distinct  ecclesias- 
tical communions.  In  the  absence  of  re- 
ligious liberty  matters  may  be  much  other- 
wise, but  how  far  for  the  better  a  little  con- 
sideration will  show.  People  in  that  case 
may  be  constrained  to  acquiesce,  ostensi- 
bly at  least,  in  one  certain  ecclesiastical 
organization,  and  in  certain  modes  of  faith 
and  worship  sanctioned  and  established  by 
law.  But  such  acquiescence,  it  is  well 
known,  instead  of  being  real  and  cordial,  is 
often  merely  external  and  constrained  ; 
and  if  so,  its  worthlessness  is  certain  and 
palpable. 

But  as  respects  the  evangelical  commu- 
nions in  the  United  States,  it  must  have 
struck  the  reader  that  this  multiplicity  has 
mainly  arisen,  not  so  much  from  the  abuse 
of  religious  liberty  by  the  indulgence  of  a 
capricious  and  sectarian  spirit,  as  from  the 
various  quarters  from  which  the  country 
has  been  colonized.    Coming  in  large  num- 


bers, and  sometimes  in  compact  bodies, 
from  different  parts  of  the  Old  World,  no- 
thing was  more  natural  than  the  desire  of 
establishing  for  themselves  and  their  pos- 
terity the  same  religious  formularies  and 
modes  of  worship,  church  government,  and 
discipline  which  they  had  cherished  in  the 
lands  that  had  given  them  birth,  and  perse- 
cution for  their  adherence  to  which  had  led, 
in  many  instances,  to  their  having  emigra- 
ted. Hence  we  find,  in  the  United  States, 
coimterparts  not  only  to  the  Episcopalian, 
Congregational,  Baptist,  and  Methodist 
churches  of  England,  and  to  the  Presbyte- 
rian churches  of  Scotland,  Ireland,  and 
Wales,  but  likewise  to  the  Dutch  and  Ger- 
man Reformed  churches,  the  German  Lu- 
theran Church,  the  Moravians,  Mennonists, 
&c.  Indeed,  there  is  scarcely  an  evangeli- 
cal communion  in  America  which  is  not  the 
mere  extension  by  immigration  of  a  simi- 
lar body  in  Europe.  The  exceptions  hard- 
ly can  be  reckoned  such,  for  they  consist  for 
the  most  part  of  separations  from  the  lar- 
ger bodies,  not  because  of  differences  with 
regard  to  essential  doctrines  and  forms  of 
church  government,  but  on  points  of  such 
inferior  consequence  that  they  can  scarce- 
ly be  regarded  as  new  sects  at  all. 

In  fact,  if  we  take  all  the  evangelical 
communions  that  have  fallen  under  review, 
and  contemplate  the  confessedly  funda- 
mental doctrines  maintained  by  each,  it  is 
surprising  to  observe  how  nearly  they  are 
agreed.  It  may,  we  believe,  be  demon- 
strated that  among  the  evangelical  com- 
munions in  the  United  States,  numerous 
as  they  are,  there  is  as  much  real  harmony 
of  doctrine,  if  not  of  church  economy,  as 
could  be  found  in  the  evangelical  churches 
of  the  first  three  centuries. 

Indeed,  as  we  before  remarked,  by  group- 
ing the  former  in  families,  according  to 
their  great  distinctive  features,  we  at  once 
reduce  them  to  four,  or  at  most  five.  Thus 
the  Presbyterians,  commonly  so  called,  of 
the  Old  and  New  Schools,  the  Congrega- 
tionalists,  the  Dutch  and  German  Reform- 
ed, the  Scotch  Secession  churches,*  and, 
we  may  add,  the  Lutherans  and  Cumber- 
land Presbyterians,  form  but  one  great 
Presbyterian  family,  composed  of  elder  and 
younger  members,  all  of  them  essentially 
Presbyterian  in  church  polity,  and  very 
nearly  coinciding,  at  bottom,  in  their  doc- 
trinal views.  Between  several  of  these 
communions  there  subsists  a  most  intimate 
fraternal  intercourse,  and  the  ministers  of 
one  find  no  difficulty  in  entering  the  service 
of  another  without  being  re-ordained. 

Again,  between  the  different  evangelical 
Baptist  sects  there  is  no  really  essential  or 


*  An  effort  is  now  making,  which  promises  to  be 
successful,  to  unite  all  the  Scottish  Secession  church- 
es in  one  body.  This  coalescence  of  churches  hold- 
ing similar  doctrines  and  maintaining  similar  orga- 
nizations may  be  expected  to  occur  often. 


Chap.  XIX.] 


ALLEGED    WANT   OF    HARMONY. 


267 


important  difference ;  and  the  same  may- 
be said  of  the  Methodists.  Indeed,  the 
evangelical  Christians  of  the  United  States 
exhibit  a  most  remarkable  coincidence  of 
views  on  all  important  points.  On  all  doc- 
trines necessaiy  to  salvation — the  sum  of 
which  is  "  repentance  towards  God,"  and 
"faith  towards  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ" — 
there  is  really  no  diversity  of  opinion  at  all. 
Of  this  I  may  now  give  a  most  decisive 
proof. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  the  American 
Sunday-school  Union.  Among  the  lay- 
men who  compose  its  Board  of  Directors, 
are  to  be  found  members  of  all  the  main 
branches  of  the  evangelical  Protestant 
Church  —  Episcopalians,  Congregational- 
ists,  Baptists,  Presbyterians,  Lutherans, 
Dutch  and  German  Reformed,  Methodists, 
Quakers,  and  Moravians.  It  publishes  a 
great  many  books  for  Sunday-school  libra- 
ries every  year,  none,  of  course,  being  ad- 
mitted the  contents  of  which  are  likely  to 
give  offence  to  any  member  of  the  Board, 
or  repugnant  to  the  peculiarities  of  any  of 
the  religious  bodies  represented  at  it.  In 
the  summer  of  1841  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hodge,  a 
professor  in  the  Princeton  theological  sem- 
inary, was  requested  by  its  committee  of 
publications  to  write  a  book  exhibiting  the 
great  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  as  held  by  all 
evangelical  Christians.  This  he  did  to  the 
entire  satisfaction,  not  only  of  the  Board, 
but  I  believe  I  may  say  of  all  evangelical 
Christians  throughout  the  land  that  have 
read  his  work.  It  is  appropriately  entitled 
"  The  Way  of  Life  ;"  the  subjects  are  the 
Scriptures;  sin;  justification;  faith;  repent- 
ance ;  profession  of  religion  ;  and  holy  liv- 
ing ;  under  which  several  heads  the  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  the  Gospel  are  present- 
ed in  an  able  and  yet  most  simple  and  famil- 
iar manner.  It  is  a  work,  in  short,  which 
none  can  read  without  surprise  and  delight 
at  observing  the  vast  extent  and  fulness  of 
the  system  of  Truth,  in  which  all  evangel- 
ical communions  are  agreed. 

These  communions,  as  they  exist  in  the 
United  States,  ought  to  be  viewed  as 
branches  of  one  great  body,  even  the  entire 
visible  Church  of  Christ  in  this  land. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  circumstan- 
ces out  of  which  they  arose,  they  are  but 
constituent  parts  of  one  great  whole — di- 
visions of  one  vast  army — though  each 
brigade,  and  even  each  regiment,  may  have 
its  own  banner,  and  its  own  part  of  the  field 
to  occupy.  And  although  to  the  inexperi- 
enced eye  such  an  army  as  it  moves  on- 
ward against  the  enemy  may  have  a  con- 
fused appearance,  the  different  divisions  of 
infantry  being  arranged  separately,  the  ar- 
tillery interspersed,  and  the  cavalry  some- 
times in  the  front,  sometimes  in  the  rear, 
and  sometimes  between  the  columns,  yet 
all  are  in  their  proper  places  ;  and  to  the 
mind  of  him  who  assigns  them  their  places, 


and  directs  their  movements,  all  is  syste- 
matic order  where  the  uninitiated  sees  no- 
thing but  confusion.  Momentary  collis- 
ions, it  is  true,  may  sometimes  happen — 
there  may  be  jostling  and  irritation  occa- 
sionally— yet  they  all  fulfil  their  appointed 
parts  and  discharge  their  appropriate  du- 
ties. So  is  it  with  the  "  sacramental  host 
of  God's  elect." 

No  doubt  this  multiplication  of  sects  is 
attended  with  serious  evils,  especially  in  the 
new  and  thinly-peopled  settlements.  It  oft- 
en renders  the  churches  small  and  feeble. 
But  this  is  an  evil  that  diminishes  with  the 
increase  of  the  population.  With  a  zealous 
and  capable  ministry  the  truth  gains  ground, 
the  people  are  gathered  into  churches,  con- 
gregations increase  in  numbers  and  consist- 
ency, and  though  weak  ones  are  occasion- 
ally dissolved,  the  persons  who  composed 
them  either  going  into  other  evangelical 
churches,  or  emigrating  to  other  parts  of 
the  country,  such  as  maintain  their  ground 
become  only  the  stronger ;  and  it  often  hap- 
pens, particularly  in  the  rural  districts,  that 
the  number  of  sects  diminishes  while  the 
population  increases. 

Great,  however,  as  may  be  the  disadvan- 
tages resulting  from  this  multiplicity  of 
different  communions,  were  they  all  re- 
duced to  one  or  two,  we  apprehend  still 
worse  evils  would  follow.  Diversity  on 
non-essential  points  among  the  churches 
and  ministers  of  a  neighbourhood  often 
gives  opportunity  to  those  who  reside  in  it 
to  attend  the  services  and  ministrations 
which  each  finds  most  edifying,  instead  of 
being  reduced  to  the  sad  alternative  of 
either  joining  in  forms  of  worship  which 
they  conscientiously  disapprove,  and  of 
listening  to  a  minister  whom  they  find  un- 
edifying,  or  of  abstaining  from  public  wor- 
ship altogether.  Rather  than  this,  it  is  sure- 
ly far  better  to  bear  the  expense  of  having 
two  or  three  churches  in  a  community,  for 
which,  looking  only  at  the  mere  amount 
of  population,  one  might  suffice. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

ALLEGED  WANT  OF  HARMONY  AMONG  THE  EVAN- 
GELICAL CHRISTIANS  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

It  has  been  often  and  widely  stated  in 
Europe,  on  the  authority  of  a  certain  class 
of  visitants  from  the  Old  World  who  have 
published  their  Travels,  Tours,  &c,  that 
there  is  much  unseemly  strife  among  our 
various  religious  denominations.  Here,  I 
hesitate  not  to  say,  there  has  been  much 
gross  misrepresentation.  No  doubt  our 
evangelical  churches  feel  the  influence  of 
mutual  emulation.  Placed  on  the  same 
great  field,  coming  into  contact  with  each 
other  at  many  points,  and  all  deeply  and 
conscientiously  attached  to  their  peculiar 


268 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VI. 


doctrines  and  ecclesiastical  economy,  they 
must  naturally  exercise,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  utmost  watchfulness  with  respect  to 
each  other,  and,  on  the  other,  employ  all 
the  legitimate  means  in  their  power  to  aug- 
ment their  own  numbers.  The  result  of 
such  mutual  provocation  to  good  works  is 
eminently  happy.  There  may,  indeed,  be 
temporary  cases  of  disagreeable  collision 
and  unbrotherly  jealousy,  but  ordinarily 
these  are  of  short  duration.  The  best  of 
men  are,  after  all,  but  men.  Hence  even 
a  devoted  Gospel  minister,  after  having 
long  had  some  particular  neighbourhood  all 
to  himself,  may  dread  the  opening  of  a  new 
place  of  worship  of  a  different  communion 
in  the  vicinity  of  his  own,  lest  some  of  his 
hearers  should  thereby  be  drawn  away ; 
and  such  an  apprehension  may,  for  a  time, 
excite  some  not  very  kind  feelings  in  his 
breast.  But  universal  experience  shows 
that  such  feelings  are  usually  groundless, 
and  soon  cease  to  be  indulged  by  any  but 
the  most  narrow-minded  persons. 

Sometimes,  too,  a  zealous,  and  in  most 
cases  vain  and  ignorant  preacher,  will  show 
himself  in  a  neighbourhood  where  the 
churches  all  belong  to  communions  differ- 
ent from  his,  and  there,  in  his  self-suffi- 
ciency, begin  to  denounce  and  attempt  to 
proselytize.  Such  men,  however,  soon 
create  disgust  rather  than  any  other  feel- 
ing ;  for  with  us  most  of  those  who  join 
this  or  that  church,  do  so  after  examination 
of  its  doctrines,  government,  and  discipline, 
and  when  once  satisfied  on  these  points, 
above  all,  after  finding  its  services  edify- 
ing, they  are  not  disposed  to  allow  them- 
selves to  be  disturbed  by  every  bigoted  and 
noisy  brawler  that  may  seek  to  gain  them 
over  to  his  creed  and  church,  which,  after 
all,  may  not  essentially  differ  from  their 
own. 

Notwithstanding  such  cases,  I  hesitate 
not  to  affirm  that,  taking  the  evangelical 
churches  in  the  mass,  their  intercourse,  in 
all  parts  of  the  country,  manifests  a  remark- 
able degree  of  mutual  respect  and  frater- 
nal affection.  While  earnest  in  maintain- 
ing, alike  from  the  pulpit  and  the  press, 
their  own  views  of  Truth  and  church  or- 
der, there  is  rarely  anything  like  denunci- 
ation and  unchurching  other  orthodox  com- 
munions, but  every  readiness,  on  the  con- 
trary, to  offer  help  when  needed.  Thus, 
among  all  but  the  Episcopalians,  whose 
peculiar  views  of  ordination  stand  in  the 
way,  there  is  a  frequent  exchanging  of 
pulpits.  I  have  known  the  pulpit  of  an  ex- 
cellent Baptist  minister  in  Philadelphia, 
when  he  was  laid  aside  by  ill  health,  to  be 
supplied  during  two  years  by  other  minis- 
ters, and  by  those  of  Paedobaptist  churches 
for  much  of  that  time.  During  more  than 
seven  years  the  author  of  this  work  was 
engaged  in  benevolent  efforts  in  America, 
which  led  him  repeatedly  to  visit   every 


State  in  the  American  Confederacy,  and' 
while  on  this  mission  he  preached  in  the 
pulpits  of  no  less  than  ten  evangelical  com- 
munions, including  all  the  leading  ones. 

This  brotherly  feeling  widely  prevails 
among  the  laity  also.  In  all  parts  of  the 
country  they  scruple  not,  when  there  is  no 
service  in  their  own  places  of  worship,  to 
attend  others,  though  of  another  commu- 
nion; and,  indeed,  in  our  cities  and  large 
towns,  not  a  few  Christians  regularly  at- 
tend the  lectures  of  pastors  not  of  their  own 
communion,  when  these  fall  on  different 
evenings  from  those  of  their  own  pastors. 
Not  only  so,  but  as  there  is  no  bar  to  in- 
tercommunion, except  in  the  case  of  the 
Baptists,  whose  views  respecting  baptism 
in  all  but  a  few  instances  prevent  it,  and 
in  that  of  the  small  Scottish  Covenanting 
churches,  the  members  of  one  evangelical 
communion  often  join  with  those  of  anoth- 
er in  receiving  the  Lord's  Supper  in  the 
same  church.  In  this  respect,  a  very  cath- 
olic spirit  happily  prevails.  The  answer  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Johnes.  pastor  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  in  Morristown,  New-Jer- 
sey, to  General  Washington,  who,  on  one 
occasion  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
desired  to  receive  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  with  Mr  Johnes's  congrega- 
tion, but  stated  that  he  was  an  Episco- 
palian, is  just  what  a  thousand  ministers 
of  the  Gospel  would  make  in  like  circum- 
stances :  "  Sir,  it  is  not  a  Presbyterian  or 
an  Episcopalian  table,  but  the  Lord's  table, 
and  you  as  well  as  every  other  Christian 
are  welcome  to  it." 

Numerous  occasions,  moreover,  bring  all 
evangelical  Christians  together.  The  Bi- 
ble, Temperance,  Colonization,  Sunday- 
school,  and  Tract  Societies,  not  to  men- 
tion such  as  are  formed  from  time  to  time 
for  particular  and  perhaps  local  objects, 
Sabbath  Observance,  Education,  and  the 
like,  all  bring  Christians  of  different  de- 
nominations into  better  acquaintance  with 
each  other,  and  tend  to  promote  mutual 
respect  and  affection. 

Within  the  last  few  years  Professor 
Schmucker,  already  mentioned,  has  pro- 
posed a  plan  of  union  for  all  the  evangel- 
ical Protestant  churches,  which  has  met 
with  much  favour,  so  that  a  society  has  been 
formed  for  promoting  it.  Dr.  Schmucker, 
who,  I  may  remark,  is  much  beloved  among 
Christians  of  all  denominations,  as  well  as 
extensively  known  by  his  writings,  does  not 
propose  any  amalgamation  or  fusion  of  the 
churches,  but  the  adoption  merely  of  cer- 
tain fixed  principles,  upon  which  all  the 
evangelical  churches  shall  acknowledge 
the  ecclesiastical  acts  of  each  other,  and 
maintain  a  fraternal  intercommunion. 

Another  proposal  of  like  tendency  will, 
I  trust,  ere  long,  be  carried  into  effect.  It 
is  that  there  should  be  a  yearly  meeting  of 
the  friends  of  foreign  missions,  held  in  one 


Chap.  I.] 


UNEVANGELICAL   CHURCHES. 


269 


or  other  of  the  principal  cities,  for  receiv- 
ing summary  statements  from  each  of  the 
missionary  societies  of  its  operations  and 
success.  Such  a  meeting,  if  well  conduct- 
ed, might  do  much  substantial  good,  both 
by  diffusing  important  information  as  to 
the  progress  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and 
also  by  promoting  brotherly  love  among 
Christians  of  different  churches. 

Taking  all  the  professed  Christians, 
amounting,  it  has  been  seen,  to  more  than 
2,500,000,  in  our  evangelical  churches,  I 
hesitate  not  to  say  that  far  more  mutual 
respect  and  brotherly  love  prevail  among 
them  than  would  were  they  all  coerced 
into  one  denomination.  The  world  has  al- 
ready seen  what  sort  of  union  and  brother- 
hood can  be  produced  by  all  being  brought 
into  one  immense  Church,  that  admits  of 
no  deviation  from  the  decrees  of  its  coun- 
cils and  conclaves.  There  may,  indeed,  be 
external  agreement,  yet  beneath  this  appa- 
rent unanimity  there  may  be  internal  di- 
visions and  heartburnings  in  abundance. 
There  may  be  union  against  all  who  dare 
to  impugn  her  dogmas,  but  who  can  tell 
the  almost  infernal  hatred  with  which  her 
Religious  Orders  have  been  found  to  re- 
gard each  other'?  Compared  with  this,  all 
the  temporary  attritions,  together  with  all 
the  controversies  and  exacerbations  of  feel- 
ing that  accompany  them,  that  take  place 
in  our  evangelical  Protestant  denomina- 
tions, are  as  nothing. 

Common  civility,  on  the  contrary,  con- 
curs with  Christian  charity  to  make  the  en- 
lightened members  of  one  denomination 
respect  and  esteem  those  of  another,  and 
to  appreciate  the  beautiful  sentiment  re- 
cently attributed  by  the  chancellor  of  the 
exchequer,  in  the  British  Parliament,  to  the 
late  Mr.  Wilberforce  :  "  I  experience,1'  said 
that  distinguished  philanthropist,  "  a  feel- 
ing of  triumph  when  I  can  get  the  better  of 
these  little  distinctions  which  keep  Chris- 
tians asunder.  I  would  not  that  any  one 
should  sacrifice  his  principles  ;  but,  exerci- 
sing the  Protestant  right  of  private  judg- 


ment, leave  each  to  his  own  conclusions. 
It  is  delightful  to  see  that  in  this  way  men 
of  different  sects  can  unite  together  for  the 
prosecution  of  their  projects  for  the  ame- 
lioration of  human  society.  When  I  thus 
unite  with  persons  of  a  different  persua- 
sion from  myself,  it  affords  me  an  aug- 
mented degree  of  pleasure ;  I  rise  into  a 
higher  nature,  into  a  purer  air  ;  I  feel  that 
fetters  which  before  bound  me  are  dissolv- 
ed, and  I  delight  in  that  blessed  liberty  of 
love  which  carries  all  other  blessings  with 
it." 

Still,  the  question  remains,  Whence  have 
foreigners,  while  visiting  the  United  States, 
received  the  impression,  which,  by  being 
promulgated  in  their  writings,  has  led  me 
to  write  this  chapter.  The  answer  is  easy. 
While  such  is  the  prevailing  respect  and 
regard  for  each  other  among  the  members 
of  our  evangelical  churches,  they  all  unite 
in  opposing,  on  the  one  hand,  the  errors 
of  Rome,  and,  on  the  other,  the  heresy 
that  denies  the  proper  divinity  and  atone- 
ment of  Christ,  together  with  those  other 
aberrations  from  the  true  Gospel  which 
that  heresy  involves.  Now,  it  is  this  re- 
fusal to  hold  fellowship  with  errors  of  vital 
moment,  it  is  this  earnest  contending  for 
saving  truth,  that  leads  tourists  in  the 
United  States,  whom  chance  or  choice  has 
thrown  into  the  society  of  persons  opposed 
in  their  religious  tenets  to  the  evangeli- 
cal churches,  to  charge  us  with  uncharita- 
bleness.     Hinc  ilia  lachryma. 

We  deny  not  that  in  some  of  the  divis- 
ions of  Churches  that  have  taken  place 
in  the  United  States,  men  have  at  times 
permitted  themselves  to  speak  and  write 
with  an  acrimony  unbecoming  the  Gos- 
pel, and,  by  so  doing,  may  have  made  an 
unfavourable  impression  on  foreigners. 
But  such  cases  have  been  local  and  ex- 
ceptional rather  than  general  and  ordina- 
ry, and  never  could  justify  any  sweeping 
charge  against  the  evangelical  denomina- 
tions as  a  body. 


BOOK    VII. 

UNEVANGELICAL  DENOMINATIONS  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY    REMARKS. 

Having  thus  reviewed,  as  far  as  the 
compass  of  our  work  will  permit,  the  Evan- 
gelical Churches  or  Denominations  in  the 
United  States  of  America,  we  come  now 
to  speak  of  those  that  are  considered  as 
unevangelical  by  Orthodox  Protestants ; 
and  under  this  head  we  shall,  for  conve- 
nience' sake,  range  all  those  sects  that 


either  renounce,  or  fail  faithfully  to  exhib 
it,  the  fundamental  and  saving  truths  of 
the  Gospel.  Here,  however,  let  us  not 
be  misunderstood.  When  we  put  Roman 
Catholics  in  the  same  category  with  Uni- 
tarians, we  would  not  for  a  moment  be 
supposed  as  placing  them  on  the  same  foot- 
ing. The  former,  doubtless,  as  a  Church, 
hold  those  doctrines  on  which  true  believ- 
ers in  all  ages  have  placed  their  hopes  for 
eternal  life,  yet  these  have  been  so  buried 


270 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VIL 


amid  the  rubbish  of  multiplied  human  tra- 
ditions and  inventions,  as  to  remain  hid 
from  the  great  mass  of  the  people.  Still, 
as  in  their  doctrinal  formularies  they  have 
not  denied  "  the  Lord  that  bought  them," 
however  much  they  may  have  multiplied 
other  "  saviours,"  they  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  those  who  have  openly  re- 
jected that  "  sure  foundation  which  is  laid 
in  Zion."  While,  therefore,  we  must  de- 
plore "  their  holding  the  truth  in  unrigh- 
teousness," and  instead  of  presenting 
through  their  numerous  priesthood  the 
simple  and  fundamental  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel,  their  supplanting  these,  in  a  great 
measure,  by  introducing  "  another  Gos- 
pel," we  would  not  say  that  an  enlight- 
ened mind  may  not  find  in  their  church 
the  way  of  life,  obstructed  though  it  be  by 
innumerable  obstacles. 

Neither  would  we  be  thought  to  put  the 
Unitarians  on  the  same  footing  with  the 
Universalists.  The  moral  influence  of  the 
preaching  of  the  former,  and  their  standing 
in  society,  make  them  far  more  valuable 
than  the  latter  as  a  component  part  of  the 
general  population.  Nor  would  we  put 
the  Jews,  or  even  the  more  serious  part 
of  the  Universalists,  on  the  same  level 
with  "  Socialists,"  "  Shakers,"  and  "  Mor- 
mons." 

All  that  we  mean  by  putting  these  vari- 
ous bodies  in  one  category  is,  that  they 
can  none  of  them  be  associated  with  the 
evangelical  Protestant  Churches  —  with 
churches  whose  religion  is  the  Bible,  the 
whole  Bible,  and  nothing  but  the  Bible — 
nor,  indeed,  do  we  suppose  that,  however 
much  they  may  dislike  being  all  reviewed 
in  one  and  the  same  section  of  this  work, 
they  would  any  of  them  choose  to  be  as- 
sociated with  the  evangelical  Protestant 
communions,  or  challenge  for  themselves 
that  appellation. 

The  doctrines  and  economy  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholics  being  Avell  known  almost 
everywhere,  a  very  general  account  of 
that  Church  may  suffice,  though  it  is  by 
far  the  most  important  of  all  the  bodies 
that  are  to  be  noticed  in  this  section  of 
our  work.  As  the  appearance,  and  the 
spread  of  Unitarianism  in  "  the  land  of  the 
Pilgrims,"  on  the  other  hand,  has  been  mat- 
ter of  much  surprise  and  curiosity  in  Eu- 
rope, as  full  an  account  of  its  rise,  prog- 
ress, and  present  prospects  in  the  United 
States  will  be  given  as  our  plan  will  per- 
mit. Of  the  other  bodies  that  find  a  place 
here,  we  shall  take  such  a  notice,  at  least, 
as  will  enable  the  reader  to  form  a  correct 
idea  of  their  true  character  and  present 
condition. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 

Maryland,  we  have  seen,  was  original- 
ly a  Roman  Catholic  colony,  founded  on 
most  liberal  principles,  under  the  auspi- 
ces and  through  the  exertions  of  Lord  Bal- 
timore. And  although  Protestant  Episco- 
pacy was  established  in  the  colony  under 
the  reign  of  William  and  Mary,  the  laws 
of  England  against  Roman  Catholics  be- 
ing at  the  same  time  rigorously  enforced, 
they  continued,  nevertheless,  to  form  the 
most  numerous  and  influential  body  in  the 
province  down  to  the  American  Revolu- 
tion. Even  to  this  day,  though  now  but 
a  small  minority  of  the  entire  population, 
not  exceeding,  in  fact,  80,000,  and  inferior 
in  point  of  numbers  both  to  the  Protestant 
Episcopalians  and  Methodists,  they  have 
much  influence,  and  are  perhaps  the  wealth- 
iest communion  in  the  state. 

Except  in  Pennsylvania  and  Rhode  Isl- 
and, I  am  not  aware  that  the  Roman  Cath- 
olics anywhere  enjoyed  their  fair  share  of 
political  rights  at  the  commencement  of 
the  war  of  the  Revolution,  but  now,  I  be- 
lieve, they  are  everywhere  upon  the  same 
footing  with  others,  and  enjoy  all  the  po- 
litical privileges  that  our  Constitution  af- 
fords.* 


*  I  have  often  heard  Roman  Catholics  in  Europe 
reproach  the  Protestants  of  the  United  States  with 
intolerance ;  and  in  proof  of  this,  they  have  chiefly 
urged  the  burning  by  the  populace  of  a  convent  at 
Charlestown,  near  Boston,  in  1834.  That,  indeed, 
is  the  only  case,  I  believe,  which  even  they  them- 
selves can  possibly  urge  as  amounting  to  persecution  ; 
and  as,  in  the  notoriety  that  it.  has  obtained,  it  has 
been  sadly  misrepresented,  especially  by  the  late 
Bishop  England,  in  his  letters  to  the  Propaganda 
Society,  I  need  make  no  apology  for  taking  some 
notice  of  it. 

The  convent  in  question,  which  was  one  of  Ursu- 
line  Sisters,  and  was  founded  in  1820,  was  rather  a 
boarding-school  for  girls  than  anything  else.  The 
number  of  nuns  varied  from  eight  to  ten,  and  that  of 
the  pupils  from  twenty  to  sixty.  The  buildings,  fur- 
niture, and  grounds  were  ample  and  valuable.  The 
occasion  of  its  being  destroyed  was  as  follows  :  One 
of  the  nuns,  a  Miss  Harrison,  who  taught  music, 
while  suffering  from  temporary  derangement  caused 
by  excitement,  left  the  establishment  for  a  short 
time.  Hence  a  report  that  she  had  been  ill  treated, 
which  soon  spread  through  the  adjacent  borough  ol 
Charlestown,  and  then  through  Boston,  which  is 
within  two  miles'  distance.  Strong  suspicions  having 
been  entertained  for  several  years,  on  what  founda- 
tion I  know  not,  of  highly  improper  conduct  on  the 
part  of  some  of  the  nuns,  Miss  Harrison's  case  in- 
flamed the  minds  of  the  populace,  and  led  to  a  riot 
on  the  night  of  August  11th,  1834,  ending  in  the  en- 
tire destruction  of  the  convent  with  all  its  furniture, 
the  actors  being  for  the  most  part  young  men  and 
boys  from  Charlestown  and  Boston.  This  outrage 
was  condemned  in  the  strongest  terms  by  all  respect- 
able people,  and  an  able  report  was  published  a  few 
days  afterward,  and  subscribed  by  thirty-seven  Bos- 
ton Protestants,  all  of  the  highest  moral  respectabil- 
ity, in  which  the  reputation  of  the  convent  was  de- 
cidedly, and  I  dare  say  justly,  vindicated.  Some  of 
the  rioters  were  identified  and  punished,  and  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  public  demanded  that  the 


Chap.  II.] 


ROMAN  CATHOLIC   CHURCH. 


271 


The  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  in  1803, 
and  of  Florida  in  1821,  very  considerably 
increased  the  Roman  Catholic  population 
of  the  country.  To  this  must  be  added  an 
immense  immigration  from  Europe,  main- 
ly from  Ireland  and  Germany,  during  the 
last  sixty,  still  more  during  the  last  twen- 
ty-five years.  At  the  beginning  of  1844 
they  were  estimated,  by  well-informed 
Roman  Catholics,  at  1,300,000  souls  in  all. 
Their  increase  has  been  rapid  since  the 
Revolution,  partly  owing  to  the  above- 
mentioned  territorial  acquisitions,  partly 
to  conversions,  but  most  of  all  to  immigra- 
tion. According  to  the  Metropolitan  Cath- 
olic Almanac  for  1844,  published  at  Balti- 
more, there  were  at  that  time  in  the  United 
States, 

21  Diocesses. 
1  Apostolic  Vicariate. 

1  Archbishop,  17  bishops  in  service,  and  8  bish- 
ops elect. 
634  Priests,  of  whom  520  are  employed  in  the  min- 
istry, and  114  as  professors  of  colleges,  &c. 
611  Churches,  and  66  building. 
461  Other  stations  for  preaching,  where  churches 
had  yet  to  be  built.     In  all,  1072  places  for 
preaching. 
19  Ecclesiastical  Seminaries. 
261  Clerical  students. 
16  Literary  institutions  for  young  men,  whereof 

12  or  13  are  incorporated  colleges. 
45  Female  religious  institutions  (convents). 
48  Female  academies. 

The  Roman  Catholics  have  seven  week- 
ly papers,  of  which  one  appears  in  Ger- 
man, and  three  monthly,  and  one  annual 
periodical. 

It  is  clear,  from  all  this,  that  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  has  gained  a  firm  and  ex- 
tensive footing  in  the  United  States.  The 
building  of  fifty  church  edifices  in  one  year 
is  a  large  increase  for  a  denomination  be- 
lieved to  influence,  more  or  less  directly, 
1,300,000  of  the  country's  inhabitants.  For 
such  objects  large  sums  are  received  from 
the  Propaganda  Society  in  France,  and 
the  Leopold  Society  in  Austria.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  nearly  6135,000  were  received 
in  1842  from  these  two  sources.* 


State  of  Massachusetts  should  indemnify  the  Roman 
Catholics  for  the  loss  they  had  sustained.  I  regret 
that,  from  various  causes,  no  indemnification  has  to 
this  day  been  made,  mainly,  I  believe,  because  it  was 
insisted  that  the  state  should  rebuild  the  convent — 
a  demand  opposed  by  many  who  would  grant  a  full 
pecuniary  compensation,  but  have  no  idea  that  the 
state,  as  such,  should  give  any  apparent  sanction  to 
an  establishment  of  that  kind. 

It  ought  to  be  known,  however,  that  the  convent  at 
Charlestown  was  not  destroyed  because  it  was  a 
Roman  Catholic  institution.  Indeed,  I  am  satisfied, 
from  what  I  heard  at  Boston  a  few  weeks  after  its 
destruction,  that  had  it  been  a  Protestant  one  it 
would,  under  the  same  circumstances,  have  shared 
the  same  fate.  This  forms  no  justification  of  the 
barbarous  act,  nor  even  a  palliation  of  it ;  but  it  does 
show  that  it  was  not  owing  to  hostility  to  its  occu- 
pants because  they  were  Roman  Catholics. 

*  If  the  Roman  Catholics  in  the  United  States 
receive  aid  from  their  brethren  in  Europe,  they  also 


The  assertion  has  often  been  made  by 
the  opponents  of  the  Roman  Catholics  in 
the  United  States,  that  they  never  can  be 
safe  citizens  of  a  republic,  and  that  the 
predominance  of  their  church  would  in- 
volve the  overthrow  of  our  political  Con- 
stitution. Such  an  opinion  must  rest,  I 
should  think,  on  the  presumed  hatred  of 
the  priests  to  republican  institutions,  and 
the  impossibility  of  counteracting  the  in- 
fluence they  possess  over  their  people. 
However  this  may  be,  many  valuable  citi- 
zens and  stern  patriots  in  this  country 
have  belonged  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  and  it  remains  to  be  seen  how  far 
it  is  possible  for  the  Roman  Catholic  priests 
to  obtain  or  exercise  the  same  influence 
over  their  followers  here  that  they  pos- 
sess hi  some  European  countries.  One 
thing  is  certain  :  the  Protestant  population, 
and  the  clergy  in  particular,  are  not  likely 
to  be  indifferent  to  their  movements.  The 
last  few  years  have  witnessed  a  great  deal 
of  discussion  in  the  United  States  on  the 
doctrines  and  influence  of  Romanism,  and 
much  distinguished  talent  and  deep  re- 
search have  been  exhibited  in  the  course 
of  it.*  Neither  has  this  discussion  been 
confined  to  any  particular  denomination  of 
evangelical  Protestants,  but  has  extended 
almost  to  every  pulpit  in  every  branch  of 
that  body.  Never  was  there  so  general  a 
determination  to  give  publicity  to  the  opin- 
ions they  entertain  of  the  character  and 
tendency  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  ; 
nor  have  its  friends  and  abettors  been  si- 
lent under  these  attacks. 

Much  curiosity  is  felt  in  Europe  as  to 
how  far  the  increase  of  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics in  the  United  States  arises  from  pros- 
elytism.  No  doubt  it  may  partly  be  as- 
cribed to  that,  but  much  more  to  the  im- 
migration of  Roman  Catholics,  and  of  per- 
sons of  Roman  Catholic  origin  from  Eu- 
rope. As  for  proselytism,  the  Protestants 
probably  gain  as  much  as  the  Roman  Cath- 
olics from  that  source. f 

The  Roman  Catholics  of  the  United 
States  have  done  much  for  the  establish- 
ment of  schools  and  other  institutions  of 
learning ;  and  among  their  priests  and 
higher  clergy  there  is  a  considerable  num- 


sometimes  give  aid  to  their  friends  in  the  Old  World. 
For  instance,  large  sums  have  lately  been  raised  in 
our  chief  cities  to  aid  in  building  a  magnificent  ca- 
thedral at  Ardah,  in  the  centre  of  Ireland. 

*  Among  the  ablest  writers  on  this  subject  may 
be  reckoned  the  Rev.  Drs.  Brownlee  and  R.  J.  Breck- 
inridge, and  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Boardman  and  Berg. 
To  these  may  be  added  the  late  Rev.  Drs.  John 
Breckinridge  and  Nevins,  men  of  distinguished  piety 
and  learning,  and  whose  memory  is  precious  to  many 
of  the  churches  in  America.  Among  the  Roman 
Catholics,  the  late  Bishop  England  and  Bishop 
Hughes  have  been  the  most  able  disputants. 

t  Captain  Marryat,  in  his  work  on  the  United 
States,  asserts  that  the  Roman  Catholics  are  in- 
creasing rapidly  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  other 


272 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  VII. 


ber  of  men  of  distinguished  talents  and 
extensive  erudition. 

A  considerable  proportion  of  the  sums 
received  from  Europe  is  laid  out  in  build- 
ing churches  and  cathedrals,  several  of 
which  are  costly  and  splendid  edifices. 
That  at  Baltimore  cost  $300,000  ;  those  of 
Cincinnati  and  St.  Louis  cost  much  less, 
yet  are  large  and  showy  buildings. 

A  visiter  from  Europe  would,  on  enter- 
ing the  Roman  Catholic  churches  of  the 
United  States,  be  struck  with  the  few  pic- 
tures and  other  such  ornaments  that  they 
exhibit.  This  may  arise  from  time  and 
money  being  required  for  such  things.  The 
priests,  too,  dress  like  other  citizens  when 
not  engaged  in  their  official  duties.  Nor 
will  it  escape  a  stranger  from  any  part  of 
Roman  Catholic  Europe,  that  processions 
and  religious  services  in  the  streets  are 
hardly  ever  seen  in  the  United  States. 

By  the  rapid  multiplication  of  their 
priests  in  the  United  States  the  Roman 
Catholics  have,  no  doubt,  checked  those 
conversions  from  their  church  to  Protest- 
antism which  were  frequent  in  former 
times.  Bishop  England,  in  one  of  his  let- 
ters to  the  Propaganda,  stated,  a  few  years 
ago,  that  "  the  Church"  had  lost  no  fewer 
than  50,000  of  her  legitimate  children  in 
his  diocess  by  such  conversions,  for  want 
of  shepherds  to  look  after  them. 

But  whatever  may  be  the  fact  in  regard 
to  the  increase  of  the  Roman  Catholics  in 
the  United  States,  or  whatever  may  be  the 
zeal  and  activity  of  the  Protestants  to  pre- 
vent that  increase,  there  is  no  well-inform- 
ed American  who  does  not  rejoice  in  the 
perfect  religious  liberty  which  exists  for 
all ;  nor  is  there  wanting  a  good  degree  of 
kindness  and  social  intercourse  among 
men  of  all  religious  opinions  ;  while  as  to 
the  government,  it  fulfils  the  declaration  of 
the  Carthaginian  queen  : 

"  Tros  Tyriusque  mihi  nullo  discrimine  agetur." 


parts  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  states  it 
as  his  opinion  that  theirs  will,  at  no  distant  day, 
be  the  predominant  religion  in  all  that  region.  But 
his  mere  opinion,  unsupported  by  authentic  statistical 
documents,  is  really  of  very  little  worth  in  such  mat- 
ters. The  gallant  captain  is  at  home  on  the  seas,  but 
when  he  attempts  to  describe  the  moral  and  religious 
state  of  the  American  Confederation,  he  is  evidently 
in  a  world  of  which  he  knows  little  or  nothing.  A 
man  who  could  allow  himself  to  be  hoaxed  as  he  was 
when  in  this  country — an  author  who  could  believe, 
and  gravely  relate,  that  the  excessive  modesty  of 
the  young  ladies  there  leads  them  to  put  pantaloons 
on  the  legs  of  their  pianos — is  hardly  fit  for  the  task 
of  carefully  collecting  and  comparing  facts,  and  de- 
ducing from  them  fair  conclusions. 


CHAPTER  III. 

UNITARIANISM. 


To  understand  the  history  of  Unitarian- 
ism  in  New-England,  the  reader  must  have 
a  clear  idea  of  the  leading  ecclesiastical 
usages  of  the  Puritans,  and  of  the  principles 
on  which  they  were  founded. 

The  Puritans  held  that  all  men  are  by 
nature  destitute  of  true  piety;  that  they 
naturally  grow  up  in  the  practice  of  sin  ; 
and  that  no  one  becomes  religious  except 
by  a  change  in  his  habits  of  thought,  feel- 
ing, and  conduct,  which  they  ascribed  to 
the  special  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as 
its  supernatural  cause.  They  believed  that 
the  truly  pious  are  ordinarily  conscious  of 
this  change  in  the  action  of  their  own 
minds  when  it  takes  place,  and  are  able  to 
describe  it,  though  they  may  not  then  know 
that  the  change  of  which  they  are  con- 
scious is  regeneration.  In  some  cases, 
they  admitted,  the  man  is  not  aware  of  any 
change  at  the  time  of  his  conversion  ;  yet 
he  will  be  conscious  of  exercises  after- 
ward, such  as  no  unregenerate  man  ever 
has,  and  he  can  describe  them.  Some 
may  be  regenerated  in  infancy,  which  it  is 
lawful  for  us  to  hope  is  the  case  with  all 
who  die  before  they  are  old  enough  to 
profit  by  the  external  means  of  grace.  If 
any  of  them  live  to  maturity  they  will  not 
be  able  to  remember  the  time  of  their 
change,  but  they  will  be  conscious  of  sen- 
sible love  to  God  and  holiness,  penitence 
for  sin  and  other  pious  exercises,  and  can 
give  an  account  of  them.  They  believed, 
therefore,  that  every  converted  person 
who  has  arrived  at  the  age  of  discretion, 
has  a  religious  "  experience"  which  he  can 
tell,  and  by  hearing  which  other  pious  per- 
sons may  judge  of  his  piety.  The  evi- 
dence thus  afforded,  however,  was  to  be 
compared  with  his  conduct  in  all  the  rela- 
tions of  life,  and  if  this  also  was  "  such  as 
becometh  saints,"  he  was  to  be  accounted 
a  pious  man. 

A  church  they  held  to  be  "  a  company 
of  faithful  persons,"  that  is,  persons  who 
have  saving  faith,  regenerate  persons, 
agreeing  and  consenting  "  to*  meet  con- 
stantly together  in  one  congregation  for 
the  public  worship  of  God  and  their  mutual 
edification  ;  which  real  agreement  and 
consent  they  do  express  by  their  constant 
practice  in  coming  together  for  the  wor- 
ship of  God,  and  by  their  religious  subjec- 
tion," that  is,  by  subjecting  themselves 
voluntarily,  from  religious  motives,  "  to 
the  ordinances  of  God  therein."* 

To  become  a  member  of  a  church,  ac- 
cording to  these  principles,  a  person  must 
voluntarily  apply  for  admission.  But  if  the 
admission  were  open  to  all  applicants,  bad 
men  would  come  in,  who  neither  knew 
their  duty,  nor  were  willing  to  perform  it. 

*  Cambridge  Platform,  1648,  chap,  iv.,  sec.  4. 


Chap.  III.] 


UNITARIANISM. 


273 


With  such  members,  Congregationalism 
would  not  be  a  safe  system  of  church  gov- 
ernment. The  applicant  must,  therefore, 
furnish  evidence  of  his  fitness  for  member- 
ship. He  must  give  an  account  of  his  re- 
ligious experience.  This  being  satisfac- 
tory, he  must  be  "  propounded ;"  that  is, 
his  application  for  membership  must  be 
announced  from  the  pulpit,  and  his  admis- 
sion must  be  deferred  for  a  given  time,  that 
all  the  members  might  have  opportunity  to 
acquaint  themselves  with  his  life  and  con- 
versation. These  being  found  such  as  the 
Gospel  requires,  he  was  allowed  to  become 
a  member,  by  publicly  entering  into  cove- 
nant with  the  Church  and  with  God. 

It  must  be  particularly  observed,  that 
the  burden  of  proof  rested  on  the  applicant. 
Every  man,  the  Puritans  held,  is  born  in 
sin  ;  and  if  no  evidence  of  a  change  ap- 
pears, the  presumption  is,  that  he  is  still 
in  his  sins.  They  regarded  and  treated 
all  in  whom  no  evidence  of  regeneration 
appeared  as  unregenerated ;  as  persons 
who  must  yet  be  converted  or  finally 
perish. 

Throughout  Christendom,  in  that  age, 
neither  Jews,  Turks,  pagans,  infidels,  nor 
excommunicated  persons  could  enjoy  the 
full  privileges  of  citizenship.  These  priv- 
leges  belonged  only  to  persons  who  were 
in  communion  with  the  churches  estab- 
lished by  law.  The  same  rule  was  adopted 
in  New-England.  None  but  members  of 
the  churches  could  hold  offices  or  vote  at 
elections.  Here,  however,  it  operated  as 
it  did  nowhere  else.  As  the  churches 
contained  only  those  who  were,  in  the 
judgment  of  charity,  regenerate  persons, 
a  large  portion  of  the  people,  among  whom 
were  many  persons  of  intelligence,  of  good 
moral  character,  and  orthodox  in  their 
creed,  were  excluded  from  valuable  civil 
privileges. 

The  principles  on  which  this  system  was 
founded  the  Puritans  brought  with  them 
from  England  ;  but  the  system  was  first 
brought  to  maturity  here  ;  and  New-Eng- 
land Congregationalists,  when  on  visits  to 
their  fatherland,  did  much  towards  giving 
its  form  and  character  to  the  Congrega- 
tionalism that  afterward  prevailed  there. 
The  system  appears  to  have  been  adopted 
in  1648,  with  a  good  degree  of  unanimity ; 
but  as  the  number  of  unconverted  adults 
increased,  both  by  immigration  and  by  the 
growing  up  of  children  without  piety,  there 
was  an  increasing  dissatisfaction  with  it. 
By  the  year  1662,  such  a  change  of  opin- 
ions had  been  wrought  that  what  was  called 
the  "  half-way  covenant"  was  introduced, 
by  a  recommendation  of  a  general  Synod. 
According  to  this  new  system,  persons 
baptized  in  infancy  were  to  be  considered 
members  of  the  church  to  which  their 
parents  belonged  ;  though  they  were  not  to 
be  admitted  to  the  Lord's  table  without 
S 


evidence  of  regeneration.  Such  persons, 
on  arriving  at  maturity,  "  understanding 
the  doctrine  of  faith,  and  publicly  profess- 
ing their  assent  thereto,  not  scandalous  in 
life,  and  solemnly  owning  the  covenant 
before  the  church,  wherein  they  give  up 
themselves  and  their  children  to  the  Lord, 
and  subject  themselves  to  the  government 
of  Christ  in  the  church,"  had  a  right  to 
Baptism  for  their  children.  This  was  an 
important  change.  It  relieved  the  appli- 
cant for  church  membership  from  the  ne- 
cessity of  furnishing  evidence  of  his  piety, 
and  obliged  the  church,  if  it  would  exclude 
him,  to  prove  that  he  was  heretical  in  his 
opinions  or  scandalous  in  his  life.  This 
change  was  strenuously  opposed ;  and  as 
the  synod  had  only  advisory  power,  and 
many  churches  disapproved  its  decisions, 
it  never  became  universal. 

One  step  more  remained  to  be  taken.  In 
1704,  "  the  venerable  Stoddard,"  of  North- 
ampton, avowed  his  belief  that  unregener- 
ate  persons  ought  to  partake  of  the  Lord's 
Supper ;  and  in  1707  he  published  a  ser- 
mon in  defence  of  that  doctrine.  He  main- 
tained that  the  Lord's  Supper  is  a  means 
of  regeneration,  and  that  unrenewed  men, 
regarding  themselves,  and  being  regarded 
by  the  church  as  such,  ought  to  partake  of 
it  as  a  means  of  procuring  that  desirable 
change  in  their  own  hearts.  One  of  his 
arguments  was,  that  it  is  impossible  to  dis- 
tinguish the  regenerate  from  the  unregen- 
erate,  so  as  to  admit  the  former  and  ex- 
clude the  latter.  After  some  controversy, 
this  doctrine  gained  an  extensive  preva- 
lence among  the  churches  which  had 
adopted  the  "  half-way  covenant"  system. 
Among  these  churches,  the  principles  and 
rules  of  admission  were  now  completely 
reversed.  The  church  was  now  obliged 
to  convict  the  applicant  of  a  scandalous 
life,  or  of  heresy,  or  admit  him  to  full  com- 
munion :  and  one  reason  for  it  was,  the 
supposed  impossibility  of  judging  whether 
he  was  regenerate  or  not. 

Stoddard  was  a  decided  Calvinist ;  but 
his  system  fostered  the  growth  of  Armini- 
anism.  It  taught  the  impenitent  that  they 
had  something  to  do  before  repentance,  as 
a  means  of  obtaining  saving  grace.  The 
unregenerate  communicant  supposed  him- 
self to  be  obediently  walking  in  the  way 
which  God  had  appointed  for  such  persons 
as  himself.  He  could  not,  therefore,  feel 
much  to  blame  for  being  what  he  was,  or 
much  afraid  that  God  would  remove  him 
from  the  world  without  first  preparing  him 
for  heaven.  This,  combined  with  the  be- 
lief that  the  regenerate  could  not  be  distin- 
guished from  the  unregenerate  by  their 
Christian  experience,  was  enough  to  throw 
the  conscience  into  a  profound  sleep. 

The  labours  of  the  great  Edwards,  and 
the  "  revival  of  1740,"  as  it  is  usually 
called,  form  the  next  turning-point  in  this 


2T4 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VIII 


feistory.  Edwards  was  the  grandson  of 
"  the  venerable  Stoddard,"  and  his  succes- 
sor at  Northampton.  In  consequence  of 
the  manifest  increase  of  Anninianism,  and 
the  consequent  habit  of  relying  on  works 
done  in  impenitence  as  a  means  of  prepa- 
ring for  heaven,  Edwards  commenced  his 
course  of  sermons  on  justification  by  faith. 
These  discourses,  and  others  on  kindred 
topics,  were  the  means  of  a  very  powerful 
revival,  which  became  fully  developed  at 
Northampton  early  in  1735,  and  spread 
into  many  other  towns  in  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut.  The  converts  in  this 
revival  were  generally  able  to  give  a  clear 
account  of  the  exercises  of  their  own 
minds  in  their  awakening,  their  conviction 
of  sin,  their  submission  to  God,  and  ac- 
ceptance of  Christ  as  their  all-sufficient 
Saviour.  So  many  undeniable  instances, 
in  which  the  regenerate  could  be  distin- 
guished from  the  unregenerate  by  the  his- 
tory of  their  religious  exercises,  gave  a 
serious  shock  to  the  doctrine  that  making 
such  a  distinction  is  impossible.  It  taught 
ministers  to  hope  and  labour  for  conver- 
sions of  which  evidence  could  be  found.  It 
made  those  who  had  no  evidence  of  their 
own  conversion  afraid  that  they  were  still 
unregenerate.  By  special  request,  Ed- 
wards prepared  a  narrative  of  these  "  Sur- 
prising Conversions,"  which  was  printed 
in  London,  with  an  introduction  by  the 
Rev.  Drs.  Watts  and  Guise.  It  was  soon 
reprinted  in  Boston,  and  was  extensively 
read,  and  exerted  a  powerful  influence  on 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 

From  this  time  there  continued  to  be 
similar  revivals,  on  a  smaller  scale,  in  va- 
rious parts  of  New-England.  In  1739,  and 
the  beginning  of  1740,  they  were  evidently 
increasing.  The  celebrated  Whitfield,  who 
was  ordained  in  1736,  had  already  exci- 
ted much  attention  in  England,  and  was 
preaching  with  great  success  in  the  South- 
ern American  colonies.  To  help  forward 
this  good  work,  he  was  invited  to  Boston, 
where  he  arrived  in  October,  1740.  The 
exciting  point  of  his  doctrine  was  the  ne- 
cessity of  a  sensible  change  of  heart  in 
order  to  preparation  for  heaven.  Like  the 
old  Puritans,  and  like  Edwards,  he  held 
that  every  man  is  born  in  sin,  and  unless 
some  evidence  appears  to  the  contrary, 
is  to  be  esteemed  an  heir  of  perdition. 
The  believers  of  this  doctrine  had  always 
been  numerous  and  powerful  both  among 
the  clergy  and  in  the  churches  of  New- 
England  ;  and  by  those  who  were  not  its 
believers,  it  was  rather  neglected  than  op- 
posed. It  was  now  brought  home  to  men's 
hearts  as  they  had  never  known  it  to  be 
before.  All  have  heard  of  the  eloquence 
of  Whitfield  ;  and  that  of  Edwards,  though 
in  a  different  style,  was  at  least  equally 
effective,  and  more  sure  to  leave  perma- 
nent results.     These  men  had  powerful 


allies  in  several  of  the  pastors  in  Boston 
and  other  parts  of  New-England,  and 
especially  in  the  Tennents,  and  their  fel- 
low-labourers in  New-Jersey  and  Penn- 
sylvania. 

These  men  assumed  as  an  established 
truth,  and  proclaimed  with  all  possible  dis- 
tinctness and  earnestness,  the  doctrine  that 
regeneration  is  a  change  accompanied  with 
evidence  by  which  it  may  be  proved,  and 
that  all  in  whom  no  such  evidence  is  found 
are  unregenerate,  and  in  the  broad  road  to 
perdition.  They  preached  to  them,  accord- 
ingly, not  as  Christians  who  needed  in- 
struction, but  as  impenitent,  enemies  of 
God  and  righteousness,  who  must  be  con- 
verted or  perish  forever.  Multitudes  were 
awakened,  convinced,  converted ;  and  in  a 
few  years,  tens  of  thousands  were  added 
to  the  churches  ;  and  other  multitudes  who 
were  already  in  the  churches,  were  in  like 
manner  awakened  and  brought  to  repent- 
ance. 

Such  an  attack  on  men's  hopes  of  heaven 
could  not  fail  to  provoke  resistance.  As 
has  been  shown  already,  the  habit  had  been 
formed  of  hoping  favourably  concerning 
all  who  were  not  proved  guilty  of  heresy 
or  immorality,  and  of  admitting  all  such  to 
the  communion  of  the  churches,  for  this 
reason,  among  others,  that  perhaps  they 
were  regenerate.  The  promoters  of  the 
revival  made  unsparing  war  upon  all  such 
hopes,  and  pronounced  all  who  had  nothing 
else  to  rest  upon,  heirs  of  perdition.  This 
their  opponents  called  "  censoriousness  ;" 
and  those  who  practised  it  were  denounced 
as  uncharitable,  as  usurpers  of  God's  pre- 
rogative of  judging  the  heart,  as  fanatics 
who  delighted  to  throw  orderly,  quiet  Chris- 
tians into  needless  alarm.  Such  was  the 
usual  language  of  that  part  of  the  clergy 
who  leaned  strongly  towards  Anninianism, 
of  their  followers,  and  of  many  others. 
Some  zealous  promoters  of  the  revival 
were  guilty  of  great  errors,  and  really  de- 
served these  reproaches ;  and  its  adversa- 
ries were  not  slow  in  seizing  the  advan- 
tage thus  brought  within  their  reach.  They 
convinced  many  that  the  revival  was  made 
up  of  uncharitableness  and  fanaticism,  and 
thus  succeeded  in  setting  limits  to  its  prog- 
ress. 

In  a  few  years  after  the  commencement 
of  this  revival,  Edwards  became  so  fully 
convinced  that  the  prevailing  system  of  ad- 
mission to  the  communion,  introduced  by 
his  grandfather  and  predecessor,  was  wrong, 
that  he  could  no  longer  practise  it.  He 
published  his  "  Treatise  on  the  Qualifica- 
tions for  Full  Communion,"  in  which  he 
maintained  that  none  ought  to  be  admitted 
without  such  a  declaration  concerning  the 
exercises  of  their  own  minds  as,  if  true, 
would  imply  that  they  were  regenerate  per- 
sons. This  change  of  opinion  led  to  his  dis- 
mission in  1750.   His  doctrine  on  this  point,. 


Chap.  III.] 


UNITARIANI  SM. 


275 


however,  even  then,  had  many  advocates. 
It  spread  rapidly  among  the  friends  of  the 
revival,  and  is  now  held  by  all  the  Congre- 
gational churches  of  New-England  that 
have  not  become  Unitarian.  Where  the 
system  of  Stoddard  and  the  half-way  cov- 
enant have  not  been  abolished  by  a  formal 
vote,  they  have  fallen  into  disuse,  for  none 
think  it  right  to  practise  according  to  them. 
The  ancient  doctrine  of  the  Puritans  has 
been  restored,  and  evidence  of  piety  is  re- 
quired of  those  who  would  become  mem- 
bers of  the  Church. 

The  principal  faults  charged  upon  the 
promoters  of  the  revival  by  its  opponents 
were  censoriousnessand  undue  excitement. 
They  laboured  to  exclude  both  from  their 
own  parishes,  and,  as  far  as  they  could, 
from  the  country.  To  a  considerable  ex- 
tent they  were  successful.  The}'  produced 
a  profound  calm  on  the  subject  of  religion 
among  all  who  were  governed  by  their  in- 
fluence— a  calm  which  amounted  to  indif- 
ference. And  as  to  censoriousness,  they 
adhered  to  the  practice  of  admitting  men 
to  the  communion  of  the  church  without 
evidence  of  their  piety.  Their  doctrine 
was,  that  every  man's  piety  is  to  be  taken 
for  granted,  unless  some  scandalous  error 
of  doctrine  or  practice  proves  him  destitute 
of  it.  The  most  important  characteristic — 
the  fundamental  element — of  New-England 
Unitarianism  was  now  fully  developed.  A 
party  was  formed,  the  members  of  which 
condemned  and  avoided  all  solicitude  con- 
cerning their  own  spiritual  condition  or 
that  of  others. 

"When  this  state  of  mind  had  been  pro- 
duced and  confirmed,  the  remainder  of  the 
process  was  natural  and  easy.  As  in  this 
party  there  was  to  be  no  strong  feeling  with 
respect  to  religion,  except  a  strong  unwill- 
ingness to  be  disturbed  by  the  "  censori- 
ousness" of  others,  there  could,  of  course, 
be  no  vigorous  opposition  to  a  change  in 
doctrines,  no  vigilance  against  error.  A 
system  of  doctrines,  too,  was  wanted,  con- 
taining nothing  to  alarm  the  fears  or  dis- 
turb the  repose  of  the  members  of  the  par- 
ty. The  doctrines  of  man's  apostacy  from 
God,  and  dependance  on  mere  grace  for 
salvation,  of  the  necessity  of  an  atonement 
by  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  of  re- 
generation by  the  special  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  were  felt  to  be  alarming  doc- 
trines. They  were  the  doctrines  by  which 
Edwards  and  others  had  filled  their  hear- 
ers with  anxiety,  and  produced  excitement. 
They  were  therefore  laid  aside  ;  but  silent- 
ly and  without  controversy,  for  controver- 
sy might  have  produced  feeling.  Men  were 
suffered  to  forget  that  the  Son  and  the  Spir- 
it have  anything  important  to  do  in  the 
work  of  man's  salvation ;  and  then  it  be- 
came easy  to  overlook  their  existence.  In 
this  way  the  Unitarian  party  was  formed, 
and  furnished  with  all  its  essential  attri- 


butes long  before  Unitarian  doctrines  were 
openly  avowed,  and  probably  long  before 
they  were  distinctly  embraced  in  theory, 
except  by  a  very  small  number. 

Unitarianism  being  introduced  in  this 
manner,  it  is  evident  that  no  distinct  ac- 
count of  the  successive  steps  of  its  progress 
can  be  given.  The  revivalists  of  1740  as- 
serted that  "  Socinianism"  was  even  then 
in  the  land.  This  assertion  was  then  re- 
pelled as  a  slander ;  but  Unitarians  now 
admit  and  assert  that  several  leading  op- 
ponents of  the  revival  were  Unitarians  at 
that  time,  or  soon  after.  The  prevalence 
of  Unitarianism,  however,  was  not  then 
extensive.  The  greater  part  of  those  who 
are  now  claimed  as  having  then  belonged 
to  the  "  liberal"  party  were  only  Armini- 
ans,  or,  at  the  farthest,  Pelagians  ;  and 
some  of  them  were  decided  Calvinists. 

From  1744  to  1762  the  colonies  were 
engaged,  almost  incessantly,  in  the  wars 
that  secured  them  against  the  arms  of 
France.  In  1765  troubles  with  England 
began,  and  continued  till  1783.  Then 
came  the  formation  of  our  system  of  gov- 
ernment, and  the  anxious  period  of  its 
early  operations.  Thus  the  attention  of 
men  was  drawn  off  from  religion,  and  fixed 
on  other  subjects  for  about  half  a  century, 
affording  a  favourable  opportunity  for  hab- 
its of  indifference  to  become  confirmed, 
and  for  error  to  make  progress  unobserved. 

Yet  it  was  not  wholly  unobserved.  In 
1768,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hopkins  preached  in 
Boston  on  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  pub- 
lished the  sermon,  assigning  as  a  reason 
for  the  choice  of  this  subject,  his  belief  that 
it  was  needed  there.  From  time  to  time 
other  testimonies  appeared  of  similar  char- 
acter. 

The  first  congregation  that  became 
avowedly  Unitarian  was  that  at  the 
"  King's  Chapel,"  in  Boston.  It  was  Epis- 
copalian. Being  without  a  pastor,  they 
employed  Mr.  Freeman,  afterward  Dr. 
Freeman,  as  reader,  in  1782.  In  1785  he 
succeeded  in  introducing  a  revised  liturgy, 
from  which  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
was  struck  out.  He  applied  to  several 
American  bishops  for  ordination,  but  none 
would  ordain  him.  He  was,  therefore,  or- 
dained by  the  church- wardens,  in  1787. 
For  many  years  he  maintained  a  constant 
correspondence  with  the  leading  Unitari- 
ans in  England,  and  was  a  convenient  me- 
dium of  communication  between  them  and 
the  secret  adherents  of  the  same  doctrines 
in  America. 

The  first  Unitarian  book  by  an  Ameri- 
can author  is  said  to  have  been  "  Ballou  on 
the  Atonement,"  published  in  1803.  Mr. 
Ballou  was  pastor  of  a  Universalist  socie- 
ty in  Boston.  But  the  term  Universalist 
must  not  be  understood  here  as  it  often  is 
in  Europe.  It  designates  the  belief  that 
all  intelligent  beings — men  and  devils,  if 


276 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  VII. 


there  are  any  devils — will  be  saved.  Some 
Universalists  hold  that  all  men  at  death 
pass  directly  into  heaven  ;  others,  that  a 
part  of  mankind  will  undergo  a  limited 
punishment  in  hell,  or,  rather,  in  purgato- 
ry, in  proportion  to  the  number  and  atroci- 
ty of  their  sins.  The  doctrine  has  been 
favoured  by  a  few  men  of  considerable 
learning  and  respectable  morals  ;  but  its 
chief  success  has  been  among  the  igno- 
rant, the  vulgar,  and  the  vicious,  not  one 
of  whom  was  ever  known  to  be  reformed 
by  it.  Mr.  Ballou  was  a  man  of  some  ge- 
nius, but  little  learning.  His  works  have 
done  something  to  diffuse  Unitarian  opin- 
ions among  Universalists.  A  Mr.  Sher- 
man, in  Connecticut,  published  in  favour 
of  Unitarianism  in  1805.  He  was  dismiss- 
ed from  his  pastoral  charge  about  the  same 
time,  and  in  a  few  years  left  the  ministry 
and  lost  his  character.  In  1810,  Thomas 
and  Noah  Worcester  began  to  publish  their 
modification  of  Arianism  in  New-Hamp- 
shire. The  same  year  the  church  in  Cov- 
entry, Connecticut,  became  suspicious  that 
their  pastor,  the  Rev.  Abiel  Abbot,  was  a 
Unitarian.  The  subject  was  brought  be- 
fore the  Consociation  to  which  that  church 
belonged,  and  he  was  dismissed.  He  then 
called  together  a  council,  composed  chiefly 
of  men  suspected  of  Unitarianism,  who 
dismissed  him  a  second  time,  and  gave 
him  a  certificate  of  regular  standing.  The 
irregularity  of  this  transaction  called  forth 
many  expressions  of  disapprobation. 

In  and  around  Boston  no  Congregational 
church  had  yet  avowed  itself  Unitarian. 
Harvard  College  had  an  orthodox  presi- 
dent and  professor  of  theology  till  after 
the  commencement  of  the  present  century. 
After  the  death  of  Professor  Tappan,  in 
1804,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ware  was  elected  as 
his  successor.  While  the  question  of  his 
election  was  pending,  a  suspicion  of  his 
Unitarianism  was  suggested,  but  it  was 
repelled  by  his  friends  as  a  calumny. 
Even  when  President  Kirkland  was  elect- 
ed, in  1812,  it  has  been  said,  on  high  Uni- 
tarian authority,  that  he  could  not  have 
been  elected  if  he  had  been  known  as  a 
defender  of  Unitarianism. 

No  pastor  of  a  Congregational  church 
in  or  near  Boston  had  yet  avowed  himself 
a  Unitarian,  either  from  the  pulpit  or  the 
press.  Yet  the  style  of  preaching  adopted 
by  many  was  such  as  to  excite  suspicion ; 
several  periodicals  openly  advocated  Uni- 
tarianism, and  Unitarian  books  were  im- 
ported and  published  in  considerable  num- 
bers. Orthodox  ministers,  when  attending 
councils  for  ordaining  pastors,  found  them- 
selves opposed  and  thwarted  in  their  at- 
tempts to  ascertain  the  theological  views 
of  the  candidates.  Many  other  circum- 
stances indicated  the  presence  and  secret 
diffusion  of  error  ;  but  the  means  were 
wanting  of  fastening  the  charge  upon  indi- 


viduals. There  was,  therefore,  an  increase 
of  preaching  and  publishing  against  Unita- 
rianism. In  the  Panoplist,  a  monthly  mag- 
azine commenced  in  Boston  in  1806,  this 
subject  received  special  attention  ;  but  all 
its  warnings  were  denounced  as  "  calum- 
ny." The  facts,  however,  could  not  be 
much  longer  concealed. 

In  1812,  the  memoir  of  Lindsay,  by  Bel- 
sham,  Avas  published  in  London.  Only  a 
few  copies  of  the  work  were  imported,  and 
these  were  carefully  kept  from  the  sight 
of  all  but  a  select  few  for  nearly  three 
years.  At  length,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Morse,  af- 
ter months  of  fruitless  effort,  succeeded  in 
obtaining  possession  of  a  copy.  The  ac- 
count there  given  of  Unitarianism  in  Amer- 
ica was  extracted  and  published  in  a  pam- 
phlet. It  contained  letters  from  several 
leading  Unitarians  in  Boston,  especially 
Dr.  Freeman,  of  various  dates,  from  1796, 
or  thereabout,  to  1812.  In  these  letters 
the  spread  of  Unitarianism,  and  the  means 
used  to  promote  it,  were  described  without 
reserve.  Concealment  was  no  longer  pos- 
sible. Unitarianism  was,  therefore,  open- 
ly avowed  by  those  who  had  been  detect- 
ed, and  by  others  whose  character  and  in- 
terests were  closely  identified  with  theirs. 

The  ecclesiastical  results  of  this  disclo- 
sure need  to  be  particularly  explained. 
Among  Congregationalists,  each  church, 
that  is,  each  congregation  of  covenanted 
believers,  has  full  power  to  manage  its 
own  ecclesiastical  concerns,  without  sub- 
ordination to  any  earthly  tribunal.  There 
was  no  way,  therefore,  of  compelling 
churches  that  had  become  Unitarian  to 
part  with  their  Unitarian  pastors.  On  the 
same  principle,  pastors  and  churches  that 
continued  orthodox  were  at  liberty  to  with- 
hold Christian  fellowship  from  those  in 
whom  they  had  no  confidence.  There  was 
no  means  of  compelling  orthodox  minis- 
ters and  churches  to  perform  any  act  by 
which  a  Unitarian  would  be  virtually  ac- 
knowledged as  a  Christian  minister,  or  his 
church  as  a  Christian  church.  Orthodox 
ministers,  therefore,  refused  to  exchange 
pulpit  labours  on  the  Sabbath  with  those 
whom  they  believed  to  be  Unitarians,  or  to 
sit  with  them  in  ecclesiastical  councils,  or 
in  any  other  way  to  recognise  them  as 
ministers  of  Christ.  This  practice,  how- 
ever, was  adopted  gradually.  Many  or- 
thodox men  were  slow  in  believing  that 
one  and  another  of  their  neighbours  was  a 
Unitarian ;  and  many  undecided  men  con- 
trived to  avoid  for  some  time  a  declara- 
tion in  favour  of  either  party,  and  to  keep 
on  good  terms  with  both.  At  length,  how- 
ever, successive  disclosures  made  the  di- 
viding line  so  visible,  throughout  its  whole 
length,  that  every  man  knew  his  own  side 
of  it,  and  the  parties  are  completely  sep- 
arated without  any  formal  excommunica- 
tion of  one  by  the  other.     They  meet  only 


Chap.  III.] 


U  N  I  T  A  R I  A  N  I  S  M. 


277 


once  in  a  year  in  the  "  General  Conven- 
tion of  Congregational  Ministers,"  and  they 
continue  to  meet  together  there  only  on 
account  of  a  fund  of  about  100,000  dollars 
for  the  support  of  their  widows. 

On  the  publication  of  Mr.  Belsham's  dis- 
closures, it  was  found  that  all  the  Congre- 
gational churches  in  Boston  had  become 
Unitarian,  except  the  Old  South  and  Park- 
street,  which  last  had  been  established 
within  a  few  years  by  some  zealous  Trin- 
itarians. The  whole  number  of  Unitarian 
churches  in  various  parts  of  New-England, 
but  mostly  in  the  eastern  part  of  Massa- 
chusetts, was  supposed  to  be  about  sev- 
enty-five, though  subsequent  disclosures 
showed  it  to  have  been  considerably  lar- 
ger. They  had  then  almost  entire  pos- 
session of  Harvard  College  ;  and,  by  a 
change  in  its  charter,  deliberately  planned 
some  years  before,  but  hurried  through  the 
Legislature  at  a  favourable  moment,  they 
secured  the  control  of  it  to  their  party. 

A  considerable  number  of  churches  in 
Massachusetts  had  funds,  given  by  the  pi- 
ous of  former  generations,  for  the  support 
of  the  ministry  and  of  Christian  ordinan- 
ces. The  main  object  of  the  donors  was 
to  secure  to  their  descendants,  in  perpetui- 
ty, the  services  of  learned,  pious,  and  or- 
thodox pastors ;  and  the  funds  were  com- 
mitted to  the  church,  and  not  to  the  parish, 
because  the  church,  being  composed  of  per- 
sons of  approved  piety,  would  guard  them 
most  effectually  against  perversion.  Such 
was  the  case  with  the  First  Church  in  Ded- 
ham.  In  1818,  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  parish  with  which  that  church  was 
connected  chose  a  Unitarian  to  be  their 
pastor.  The  church  refused  to  receive 
him  as  their  pastor.  A  few  of  its  members, 
however,  seceded  from  the  church,  chose 
the  Unitarian  for  their  pastor,  and  com- 
menced a  lawsuit  against  the  church  for 
the  possession  of  its  property.  In  March, 
1821,  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts 
decided  in  their  favour,  and  established  the 
principle  that,  in  all  such  cases,  those  who 
act  with  the  majority  of  the  parish  are  the 
church,  and  have  a  right  to  the  funds.  By 
this  decision  many  churches  have  been 
deprived  of  their  funds,  their  houses  of 
worship,  and  even  the  furniture  of  their 
communion-table  ;  and  many  Unitarian 
churches  owe  their  existence  to  means 
thus  obtained. 

After  this  decision  the  existence  of  a 
church,  as  distinct  from  the  parish,  became 
unimportant  among  Unitarians.  Its  sec- 
ular interests  were  wholly  in  the  power 
of  the  parish,  and  might  as  well  be  held 
by  the  parish  directly.  Their  churches,  as 
has  been  shown,  were  never  intended  to  be 
bodies  from  which  the  unregenerate  should 
be  excluded.  There  was,  therefore,  no 
longer  any  important  end  to  be  answered 
by  their  existence.     Generally,  it  has  not 


been  thought  best  to  disband  them ;  but  in 
a  considerable  number  of  instances  they 
have  been  suffered  to  become  extinct,  and 
there  remains  only  the  parish  and  the  pas- 
tor, who  administers  the  ordinances  indis- 
criminately to  all  who  desire  it.  Accord- 
ing to  some  of  their  own  writers,  the  re- 
sult is  that  the  ordinances  become  cheap 
in  men's  esteem,  and  few  care  to  receive 
them.  Church  discipline,  of  course,  has 
fallen  into  entire  disuse.  The  discipline 
of  the  clergy  appears  to  be  also  extinct. 
If  any  of  their  clergy  become  scandalous- 
ly immoral,  they  are  not  formally  deposed 
from  the  ministry,  or  visited  with  any  ec- 
clesiastical censure,  but  are  allowed  to 
continue  in  office  till  their  reputation  be- 
comes such  that  none  will  employ  them, 
and  then  to  retire  silently  to  private  life. 

In  1825  the  number  of  Unitarian  con- 
gregations was  estimated  at  120.  Now, 
in  1844,  they  are  said  to  amount  to  230. 
There  are  several  causes  of  this  increase. 

In  1825  the  process  of  taking  sides  was 
not  completed.  Of  the  few  which  then 
remained  without  character,  a  part  have 
doubtless  become  decidedly  Unitarian. 

Mr.  Ballou's  work  on  the  atonement  has 
already  been  mentioned  as  the  first  Uni- 
tarian work  by  an  American  author.  That 
and  other  works  of  a  similar  character 
prepared  the  Universal ists,  somewhat  ex- 
tensively, to  avow  Unitarian  opinions. 
The  Unitarians  have,  to  a  great  extent, 
and  it  is  believed  generally,  embraced  the 
doctrine  of  the  final  salvation  of  all  men. 
There  is,  therefore,  no  doctrinal  distinc- 
tion between  the  two  sects.  As  Unitari- 
anism  is  esteemed  the  more  genteel  reli- 
gion of  the  two,  Universalists  are  under  a 
strong  temptation  to  change  their  name, 
and  call  themselves  Unitarians.  Such 
changes  very  naturally  occur  when  a  Uni- 
versalis! congregation  becomes  vacant,  and 
a  Unitarian  preacher  of  acceptable  address 
offers  himself  as  a  candidate.  Sometimes 
congregations  change  from  one  of  these 
sects  to  the  other,  and  back  again,  as  tem- 
porary convenience  dictates. 

Unitarianism,  as  has  been  shown,  ori- 
ginally grew  out  of  a  dislike  to  the  prac- 
tice of  requiring  evidence  of  piety  in  can- 
didates for  admission  to  the  churches. 
There  are  many,  in  various  parts  of  the 
country,  in  whom  this  fundamental  feeling 
of  the  sect  is  very  strong,  but  who  are  yet 
unwilling  to  live  without  some  form  of  re- 
ligion. They  are  easily  organized  into  a 
society  which  requires  no  creed,  and  sub- 
jects them  to  no  discipline.  Societies 
thus  formed,  however,  often  vanish  as  ea- 
sily and  suddenly  as  they  are  made. 

In  1787  a  "Society  for  Propagating  the 
Gospel  among  the  Indians  and  others  in 
North  America"  was  incorporated  by  the 
Legislature  of  Massachusetts.  It  acquired 
permanent  funds  to  the  amount  of  9000 


278 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VII. 


dollars.  It  elects  its  own  members ;  and 
a  majority  of  them  having  proved  to  be 
Unitarian,  the  society  has  passed  wholly 
into  the  hands  of  that  sect.  It  expends 
the  income  of  its  fund  in  supporting  two 
or  three  preachers  among  the  remnants  of 
Indian  tribes  in  New-England.  One  or 
two  other  unimportant  societies,  not  ori- 
ginally formed  by  them,  have  in  like  man- 
ner passed  under  their  control.  They  have 
no  organization  for  foreign  missions.  To 
the  Bible  Society  they  contribute  some- 
thing, but  the  amount  is  not  known. 

The  "  American  Unitarian  Association," 
formed  in  1825,  is  their  principal  organ- 
ization for  united  action.  Its  object  is  de- 
clared to  be  "  to  diffuse  the  knowledge 
and  promote  the  interests  of  pure  Chris- 
tianity throughout  our  country."  Its  six- 
teenth annual  report  gives  the  names  of 
117  clergymen  who  have  been  made  life 
members  by  the  payment  of  thirty  dol- 
lars each,  of  whom  eight  are  dead.  The 
whole  number  of  life  members  are  stated 
at  374.  It  expended  during  the  year  end- 
ing in  May,  1841,  the  sum  of  4962  dollars, 
which  was  81  dollars  89  cents  more,  than 
its  receipts.  The  expenses  of  adminis- 
tration were,  the  salary  of  the  general 
agent,  1800;  his  travelling  expenses,  100; 
office  rent,  200  ;  total,  2100  dollars  ;  being 
very  nearly  three  sevenths  of  the  whole. 

This  association  has  published  179  dif- 
ferent tracts,  the  prices  of  which  vary 
from  one  cent  to  six  cents.  During  the 
year  ending  in  May,  1841,  it  aided  sixteen 
destitute  congregations,  of  which  ten  were 
in  New-England,  three  in  the  State  of  New- 
York,  and  three  in  the  Western  States. 
The  lowest  appropriation  for  this  purpose 
was  thirty  dollars,  and  the  highest  300. 
It  also  expended  570  dollars  for  mission- 
ary services,  of  which  530  were  expended 
to  the  west  of  New-England. 

The  smallness  of  the  amount  expended 
by  Unitarians  in  the  way  of  associated  ac- 
tion is  not  to  be  ascribed  to  parsimony, 
but  to  religious  indifference.  A  large  part 
of  the  wealth  of  Boston,  and  of  the  east- 
ern part  of  Massachusetts,  is  in  their  hands ; 
and  their  capitalists  have  made  many  splen- 
did donations  to  literary,  scientific,  and  hu- 
mane institutions. 

Their  churches  probably  contain  some 
truly  regenerate  persons,  who  became 
members  of  them  before  they  were  avow- 
edly Unitarian,  and  who  remain  there  from 
reverence  for  ancient  usages,  attachment 
to  the  places  where  their  ancestors  wor- 
shipped, and  other  similar  causes.  Others 
of  them  are  men  of  stern  and  almost  Puri- 
tanic morality,  who  have  had  from  infan- 
cy great  reverence  for  religion  in  the 
gross,  but  have  never  seriously  studied  its 
application  to  themselves  in  the  detail  of 
its  doctrines  and  duties,  and  who  would 
have  remained  steadfast  members  of  the 


same  congregations  just  as  quietly  had 
those  congregations  remained  orthodox. 

In  philosophy  the  Unitarians  of  New- 
England  were  at  first,  and  for  some  years, 
followers  of  Locke  ;  holding  that  all  our 
ideas,  or,  at  least,  the  elements  of  which 
they  are  formed,  are  received  through  the 
senses.  Very  naturally,  therefore,  they 
built  their  belief  of  Christianity  wholly  on 
evidence  addressed  to  the  senses.  They 
believed  that  miracles  had  been  wrought, 
because  it  appeared  so  extremely  improb- 
able that  the  apostles  were  deceived  con- 
cerning them,  or  attempted  to  deceive  oth- 
ers"; or  that  the  canonical  writings  ascri- 
bed to  them  are  spurious ;  or  that  the  ac- 
counts of  miracles  which  they  contain  are 
interpolations.  Those  miracles  they  held 
to  be  the  testimony  of  God,  addressed  to 
the  senses  of  men,  proving  the  truth  of 
Christianity.  Yet  they  did  not  admit  the 
infallibility  of  the  apostolic  writings  as  we 
have  them.  Many  of  them  held  that  the 
authors  of  the  several  parts  of  the  New 
Testament  had  no  inspiration  which  se- 
cured them  against  mistakes  and  false 
reasoning ;  and  they  very  generally  held, 
that  strong  texts  in  favour  of  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity,  the  divinity  of  Christ,  or 
the  personality  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  must 
be  interpolations  or  corruptions.  Their 
religious  guide,  therefore,  was  so  much  ot 
the  Bible  as  they  judged  to  be  true ;  and 
their  religion  was,  in  its  theory,  the  con- 
formity of  their  hearts  and  lives  to  certain 
external  rules,  which,  in  all  probability, 
were  originally  given  by  God,  and  which 
have  been  transmitted  to  us  in  a  record 
which  is  not  free  from  error.  To  this,  in- 
dividuals among  them  appended  more  oi 
less  of  sentiment  and  imagination,  accord- 
ing to  the  prompting  of  their  own  genius. 
A  system  like  this  can  never  long  continue 
to  satisfy  any  community.  It  fails  to  meet 
certain  feelings  of  spiritual  want,  which 
are  sure  to  spring  up  in  many  minds, 
Hence  there  has  been  among  the  more  se- 
rious, ever  since  the  separation,  a  gradual 
going  over  to  orthodoxy,  which  has  retard* 
ed  the  growth  of  Unitarianism.  Now  the 
orthodox  Congregational  churches  in  Bos- 
ten  are  about  as  numerous  as  the  Unita- 
rian, and  the  worshippers  much  more  nu- 
merous ;  and  the  result  is  similar  in  the 
surrounding  country. 

A  few  years  since,  German  Transcen- 
dentalism made  its  appearance  among  the 
Unitarian  clergy,  and  has  spread  rapidly. 
Its  adherents,  generally,  are  not  very  pro- 
found thinkers,  nor  very  well  acquainted 
with  the  philosophy  which  they  have  em- 
braced, or  with  the  evidence  on  which  it 
rests.  It  promises  to  relieve  its  disciples 
from  the  necessity  of  building  their  reli- 
gious faith  and  hopes  on  probabilities,  how- 
ever strong,  and  to  give  them  an  intuitive 
and  infallible  knowledge  of  all  that  is  es- 


Chap.  III.] 


UNITARIANISM. 


279 


f.ential  in  religion ;  and  it  affords  an  un- 
limited range  for  the  play  of  the  imagina- 
tion. It  has  charms,  therefore,  for  the  con- 
templative and  for  the  enthusiastic. 

The  controversy  on  this  subject  became 
public  in  1836.  It  was  brought  out  by  an 
article  in  the  Christian  Examiner,  main- 
taining that  our  faith  in  Christianity  does 
not  rest  on  the  evidence  of  miracles  ;  that 
a  record  of  miracles,  however  attested,  can 
prove  nothing  in  favour  of  a  religion  not 
previously  seen  to  be  true  ;  and  that,  there- 
fore, we  need  to  see  and  admit  the  reason- 
ableness and  truth^)f  the  doctrines  of  Chris- 
tianity, before  we  can  believe  that  miracles 
were  wrought  to  commend  it  to  mankind. 
The  "  Old  School"  Unitarians,  as  they 
called  themselves,  pronounced  this  theory 
infidelity,  for  it  struck  at  the  foundation 
of  the  only  reasoning  by  which  they  proved 
the  truth  of  Christianity.  The  controversy 
was  protracted,  and  somewhat  bitter ;  but 
no  attempt  was  made  by  the  "  Old  School" 
to  separate  themselves  from  those  whom 
they  denounced  as  infidels. 

The  charge  of  Pantheism  is  brought 
against  the  Transcendentalists  generally, 
by  their  Unitarian  opponents  ;  and,  in  fact, 
some  of  their  publications  are  evidently 
Pantheistic,  while  others  are  ambiguous 
in  that  respect.  Some  of  them  have  bor- 
rowed largely  from  Benjamin  Constant, 
and  maintain  that  all  religions,  from  Feti- 
chism  to  the  most  perfect  form  of  Christi- 
anity, are  essentially  of  the  same  nature, 
being  only  developments,  more  or  less  per- 
fect, of  the  religious  sentiment  which  is 
common  to  all  men.  According  to  them, 
all  men  who  have  any  religious  thoughts 
or  feelings  are  so  far  inspired ;  Moses. 
Minos,  and  Numa,  and  a  few  others,  had 
an  unusual  degree  of  inspiration  ;  and  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  most  of  all.  They  do  not 
believe,  however,  that  even  Jesus  was  so 
inspired  as  to  be  in  all  cases  an  infallible 
teacher;  and  they  declare  themselves  by 
no  means  sure  that  we  shall  not  yet  see 
his  superior.  They  reject  Christ  as  a  me- 
diator in  every  sense  of  the  term,  and  de- 
clare that,  in  order  to  be  true  Christians, 
we  must  hold  intercourse  with  God  as 
Christ  himself  did,  without  a  mediator. 

These  impious  doctrines  have  been  pro- 
mulgated in  periodicals  and  otherwise, 
from  time  to  time,  with  increasing  boldness. 
In  the  spring  of  the  year  1841,  they  were 
put  forth  without  disguise  and  without  re- 
serve in  a  sermon  at  an  ordination  at  South 
Boston.  Several  of  the  leading  Unitarian 
clergy  of  the  "  Old  School"  were  present, 
and  took  part  in  the  services.  It  is  said 
that  some  of  them,  in  performing  their  parts, 
uttered  sentiments  at  variance  with  those 
of  the  preacher,  from  which  attentive  hear- 
ers might  infer  that  the  sermon  did  not 
meet  their  approbation  ;  but  there  was  no 
-explicit  condemnation  of  the  sermon  either 


then  or  afterward,  till  public  attention  was 
called  to  the  subject  by  three  evangelical 
clergymen  who  attended  the  ordination  as 
hearers,  and  took  notes  of  the  discourse. 
These  three  witnesses,  some  weeks  after 
the  ordination,  published  extracts  from  the 
sermon  in  several  religious  newspapers, 
and  called  on  the  members  of  the  ordaining 
Council  to  say  whether  they  recognised 
the  preacher  as  a  Christian  minister.  Pub- 
lic attention  was  roused.  Several  intelli- 
gent Unitarian  laymen  united  in  the  de- 
mand. Continued  silence  became  imprac- 
ticable. A  number  of  articles  appeared  in 
newspapers  and  magazines,  in  which  indi- 
vidual Unitarian  ministers  denounced  the 
sermon,  and  pronounced  its  doctrines  deis- 
tical ;  but  they  carefully  avoided  the  ques- 
tion, whether  its  author  was  recognised  by 
them  as  a  Christian  minister.  Others  of 
them  preached  and  wrote  in  his  defence. 
His  ecclesiastical  relations  still  remain 
undisturbed.  Some  of  his  Unitarian  neigh- 
bours have  recognised  his  ministerial  char- 
acter by  exchanging  pulpits  with  him  on 
the  Sabbath ;  and  he  has,  in  his  turn, 
preached  the  weekly  lecture  maintained 
by  the  Unitarian  clergy  of  the  Boston  As- 
sociation. It  is  understood,  therefore,  that 
the  public  avowal  of  doctrines  like  his, 
forms  no  obstacle  to  a  regular  standing  in 
the  Unitarian  ministry. 

Why  was  not  this  defection  arrested  in 
its  progress  by  ecclesiastical  authority? 
The  answer  is  easy. 

In  Connecticut,  where  one  or  two  min- 
isters became  Unitarian  while  the  com- 
munity remained  orthodox,  it  was  done. 
Those  Unitarian  ministers  were  removed 
from  their  places,  and  the  progress  of  error 
was  arrested.  In  Massachusetts,  the  de- 
fection was  carried  on  by  a  different  pro- 
cess. Men  did  not  fall,  one  at  a  time,  from 
orthodoxy  into  open  Unitarianism,  but  al- 
most the  whole  community  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  state  sunk  down  gradually  and 
together.  For  a  long  time  there  was  no 
proof  by  which  any  one  could  be  convicted 
of  heresy  ;  and  when  proof  was  obtained, 
the  heretics  were  found  to  be  the  majority 
in  the  ecclesiastical  bodies  to  which  they 
belonged,  and  of  course,  if  any  process  had 
been  commenced,  would  have  decided  all 
questions  in  their  own  favour. 

The  friends  and  abettors  of  the  Congre- 
gational independence  of  individual  church- 
es maintain  that  it  has  been  the  means 
of  saving  New- England  from  universal 
apostacy.  Had  the  Synod  in  1662,  they 
say,  instead  of  being  merely  advisory, 
possessed  jurisdiction  over  the  churches, 
it  would  have  imposed  the  half-way  cove- 
nant upon  them  all.  As  it  was  only  ad- 
visory, a  considerable  number  of  churches 
rejected  its  advice,  and  adhered  to  the 
ancient  practice  of  the  Pilgrims.*    So,  half 

*  Many  readers,  however,  will  be  of  opinion  that, 


280 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VIL 


a  century  later,  had  there  been  an  eccle- 
siastical government  to  which  all  the 
churches  owed  obedience,  Stoddard's  doc- 
trine of  admitting  the  unregenerate  to  full 
communion  would  have  been  enforced 
upon  all ;  for  numbers  and  influence  were 
in  its  favour.  And  when  Edwards,  after 
the  great  revival  of  1740,  reproclaimed  the 
ancient  doctrine  concerning  church  mem- 
bership, had  there  been  an  ecclesiastical 
tribunal  having  authority  over  all  the 
churches,  he  and  his  Reformation  would 
have  been  put  down  at  once,  and  the  ad- 
mission of  the  unregenerate  to  the  Lord's 
fable  would  have  been  required  of  all.  And, 
finally,  consider,  they  still  farther  say,  the 
state  of  things  in  1815,  when  conclusive 
proof  was  first  obtained  of  the  existence 
of  Unitarianism  among  the  Congregational 
clergy  in  Eastern  Massachusetts.  The 
Unitarians  had  the  majority  in  the  ec- 
clesiastical bodies  of  which  they  were 
members.  Had  these  bodies  possessed  ju- 
risdiction over  all  churches  within  their 
bounds,  they  might  have  established  Uni- 
tarianism in  them  all,  and  might  have  for- 
bidden all  efforts  for  the  revival  or  preser- 
vation of  orthodoxy.  If  there  had  been  a 
body  representing  all  the  churches  in  the 
state,  and  having  authority  over  all,  the 
majority  would  have  been  orthodox ;  but 
the  Unitarians  were  numerous  and  power- 
ful enough  to  have  thrown  off  its  jurisdic- 
tion, and  to  have  subsisted  by  themselves, 
as  they  now  do.  If  the  civil  government 
had  been  invested  with  power  to  enforce 
religious  uniformity,  it  could  have  prevent- 
ed such  a  result ;  but  it  would  not  have 
done  it ;  for  the  most  important  powers  of 
the  civil  government  were  then,  and,  with 
few  exceptions,  have  been  ever  since, 
wielded  by  Unitarian  hands. 

In  all  these  instances,  the  independence 
of  the  churches,  its  friends  firmly  believe, 
secured  to  the  most  orthodox  the  privi- 
lege of  adhering  to  the  whole  truth,  both 
in  doctrine  and  practice,  and  of  exerting 
themselves  in  its  defence  and  for  its  diffu- 
sion. This  privilege  there  have  always 
been  some  to  claim  and  to  use.  Error, 
therefore,  has  always  been  held  in  check 
till  truth  could  rally  its  forces  and  regain 
its  ascendency. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    CHRIST-IAN    CONNEXION. 

The  body  that  assumes  the  title  of  Chris- 


hut  for  the  isolation  of  ministers  and  congregations 
under  the  Congregational  system,  error  must  have 
been  much  sooner  discovered,  and  checked  in  its  be- 
ginnings. The  same  remark  applies  to  the  apostacy 
of  many  nominally  Presbyterian  ministers  and  con- 
gregations in  England.  These  never  were  Presby- 
terians in  fact.  Error  thus  had  leave  to  work  its  way 
unchecked  by  the  oversight  either  of  bishop  or  pres- 
bytery. 


tians  is  of  purely  American  origin.  They 
are  more  generally  called  in  the  United 
States  Christ-ians,  the  i  in  the  first  syllable 
being  pronounced  long,  though  this  pro- 
nunciation, I  need  hardly  say,  is  rejected 
by  themselves. 

Dating  their  rise  from  about  the  year 
1803,  they  appeared,  it  seems,  in  New- 
England,  Ohio,  and  Kentucky,  some  say 
also  in  the  South,  nearly  about  the  same 
time.  They  boast  of  having  no  founder — 
no  Luther  or  Calvin,  no  Whitefield  or  Wes- 
ley— that  can  claim  any  special  influence 
among  them.  They  are  the  largest  no- 
creed  sect  in  America,  and  had  their  origin 
in  the  dissatisfaction  that  existed  in  some 
minds  with  what  they  called  the  "  bondage 
of  creeds,"  and  still  more,  with  the  bond- 
age of  discipline  that  prevails,  as  they  in- 
sist, in  all  other  churches.  This  may  be 
easily  accounted  for.  Many  of  the  most 
active  promoters  of  the  new  sect  had  been 
excluded  from  other  communions  because 
of  their  denial  of  some  important  doctrine, 
or  their  refusal  to  submit  to  discipline  and 
government. 

The  Christ-ians,  according  to  some  of 
their  leading  authorities,  had  a  threefold 
origin.  The  first  members  of  their  socie- 
ties, or  churches,  in  New-England,  were 
originally  members  of  the  Regular  Bap- 
tist connexion  ;  in  the  West  they  had  been 
Presbyterians,  and  in  the  South  Metho- 
dists. Their  churches  have  all  along  been 
constituted  on  the  following  principles  : 
"  The  Scriptures  are  taken  to  be  the  only 
rule  of  faith  and  practice,  each  individual 
being  at  liberty  to  determine  for  himself, 
in  relation  to  these  matters,  what  they  en- 
join ;  no  member  is  subject  to  the  loss  of 
church  fellowship  on  account  of  his  sin- 
cere and  conscientious  belief,  so  long  as 
he  manifestly  lives  a  pious  and  devout 
life  ;  no  member  is  subject  to  discipline 
and  church  censure  but  for  disorderly  and 
immoral  conduct ;  the  name  Christian  to 
be  adopted,  to  be  exclusive  of  all  sectarian 
names,  as  the  most  appropriate  designa- 
tion of  the  body  and  its  members  ;  the  only 
condition  or  test  of  admission,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  a  church,  is  a  personal  profession 
of  the  Christian  religion,  accompanied 
with  satisfactory  evidence  of  sincerity  and 
piety,  and  a  determination  to  live  according 
to  the  divine  rule  or  the  Gospel  of  Christ ; 
each  church  is  considered  an  independent 
body,  possessing  exclusive  authority  to 
regulate  and  govern  its  own  affairs."* 

Although  their  founders  continued  to 
cleave  more  or  less  closely  to  some,  at 
least,  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  various 
bodies  in  which  they  had  been  brought  up, 
a  process  of  assimilation  to  each  other 
has  been  gradually  going  on,  and  has  at 


*  See  an  "Account  of  the  Christian  Connexion, 
or  Christ-ians,"  by  the  Rev.  Joshua  V.  Himes,  in  the 
Encyclopaedia  of  Religious  Knowledge. 


Chap.  V.] 


THE    UNIVERSALISTS. 


281 


length  brought  them  to  a  considerable  de- 
gree of  uniformity  on  most  points  of  doc- 
trine. Trinitarians  for  the  most  part  at  the 
outset,  they  have  now  almost  unanimously 
rejected  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  as  un- 
scriptural ;  and  although  they  refuse  to  be 
tied  down  to  a  creed,  the  following  may  be 
considered  as  a  fair  outline  of  the  doctrines 
that  prevail  among  them  :  "  There  is  one 
living  and  true  God,  the  Father  Almighty, 
who  is  unoriginated,  independent,  and  eter- 
nal, the  Creator  and  Supporter  of  all 
worlds  ;  and  that  this  God  is  one  spiritual 
intelligence,  one  infinite  mind,  ever  the 
same,  never  varying :  that  this  God  is  the 
moral  Governor  of  the  world,  the  absolute 
source  of  all  the  blessings  of  nature,  prov- 
idence, and  grace,  in  whose  infinite  wis- 
dom, goodness,  mercy,  benevolence,  and 
love,  have  originated  all  his  moral  dispen- 
sations to  man  :  that  all  men  sin  and  come 
short  of  the  glory  of  God,  and,  consequent- 
ly, fall  under  the  curse  of  the  law :  that 
Christ  is  the  Son  of  God,  the  promised  Mes- 
siah, and  Saviour  of  the  world,  the  Mediator 
between  God  and  man,  by  whom  God  has 
revealed  his  will  to  mankind ;  by  whose 
sufferings,  death,  and  resurrection,  a  way 
has  been  provided  by  which  sinners  may 
obtain  salvation — may  lay  hold  on  eternal 
life  ;  that  he  is  appointed  of  God  to  raise 
the  dead,  and  judge  the  world  at  the  last 
day  :  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  power  and 
energy  of  God — that  holy  influence  of  God 
by  whose  agency,  in  the  use  of  means,  the 
wicked  are  regenerated,  converted,  and 
recovered  to  a  virtuous  and  holy  life,  sanc- 
tified and  made  meet  for  the  inheritance  of 
the  saints  in  light ;  and  that,  by  the  same 
Spirit,  the  saints,  in  the  use  of  means,  are 
comforted,  strengthened,  and  led  in  the  path 
of  duty  :  the  free  forgiveness  of  sins,  flow- 
ing from  the  rich  mercy  of  God,  through 
the  labours,  sufferings,  and  blood  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ :  the  necessity  of  re- 
pentance towards  God,  and  faith  towards 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  the  absolute  ne- 
cessity of  holiness  of  heart  and  rectitude 
of  life  to  enjoy  the  favour  and  approbation 
of  God :  the  doctrine  of  a  future  state  of 
immortality:  the  doctrine  of  a  righteous 
retribution,  in  which  God  will  render  to 
every  man  according  to  the  deeds  done  in 
the  body  :  the  baptism  of  believers  by  im- 
mersion :  and  the  open  communion  at  the 
Lord's  table  of  Christians  of  every  denom- 
ination having  a  good  standing  in  their  re- 
spective churches."* 

Although  each  church  is  wholly  inde- 
pendent of  all  others  in  the  management 
of  its  affairs,  yet,  for  the  promotion  of  their 
mutual  prosperity,  they  have  associations 
called  "  State  Conferences,"  composed  of 
delegates  from  the  clergy  and  the  church- 
es, but  with   only  advisory  powers.      In 


*  See  "  Account  of  the  Christian  Connexion,  or 
Christ-ians,"  by  the  Rev.  Joshua  V.  Hirnes,  as  above. 


1841  there  were  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada  forty-one  conferences,  embracing, 
it  was  estimated,  593  ministers,  591  church- 
es, and  about  30,000  members.  The  pop- 
ulation supposed  to  be  under  their  influ- 
ence is  estimated  at  300,000,  which  is  man- 
ifestly too  high,  for  many  of  their  con- 
gregations are  very  small,  particularly  in 
the  West. 

Generally  speaking,  their  ministers  are 
men  of  little  education,  but  a  laudable  de- 
sire for  improvement  in  this  respect  has 
been  showing  itself.  The  State  of  Indiana 
granted  them  a  charter  some  years  ago 
for  a  college  at  New  Albany,  but  whether 
it  has  taken  effect  I  know  not.  They  have 
no  theological  seminaries.  For  some  years 
past  they  have  had  a  religious  journal  call- 
ed "  The  Christian  Palladium,"  published 
in  the  State  of  New- York,  and  two  other 
journals,  one  published  in  New-Hampshire,, 
the  other  in  Illinois.  They  have  a  Book 
Association  also.  Upon  the  whole,  much 
inferior  as  the  Christians  are  to  the  Unita- 
rians in  point  of  wealth,  the  size  of  their 
churches,  the  learning  and  eloquence  of 
their  ministers,  and  the  rank  and  respect- 
ability of  their  members,  yet  being  far  more 
numerous,  and  having  doctrines  of  quite  as 
elevated  a  character,  their  influence  upon 
the  masses,  whlie  kindred  in  nature,  is  per- 
haps greater  in  extent. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    UNIVERSALISTS. 

In  our  chapter  on  the  Unitarians  we  ex- 
pressed our  views  of  the  moral  influence 
of  the  doctrines  of  the  Universalists.  The 
latter  were  little  known  as  a  sect  in  Amer- 
ica until  about  the  middle  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, when  a  few  persons  of  reputation 
partially  or  wholly  embraced  their  doc- 
trines. These  were  afterward  preached 
by  the  Rev.  John  Murray,  who  came  from 
England  in  1770,  and  were  embraced  by 
the  Rev.  Elhanan  Winchester,  a  Baptist 
minister  of  considerable  talent.  Both  Mur- 
ray and  Winchester  held  the  doctrine  of 
restoration,  that  is,  that  after  the  resurrec- 
tion and  the  judgment,  the  wicked,  after 
suffering  in  hell  for  a  time,  and  in  a  meas- 
ure proportioned  to  their  guilt,  will  event- 
ually be  recovered  through  the  influences 
of  the  Spirit,  and  saved  by  the  atonement 
of  Christ.  About  the  year  1790,  the  Rev. 
Hosea  Ballou  appeared  as  a  Universalist 
preacher,  and  taught  that  all  punishment 
is  in  this  life,  and,  consequently,  that  the 
souls  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  alike 
pass  immediately  at  death  into  a  state  of 
happiness — a  doctrine  which,  being  much- 
more  acceptable  to  the  unrenewed  heart, 
became  much  more  popular  than  that  of 
restoration  as  above  described.     The  res- 


282 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  VII. 


torationist  preachers  in  the  United  States 
hardly  exceed  twelve  or  fifteen  in  number, 
and  their  churches  are  even  fewer ;  where- 
as the  Universalists,  properly  so  called, 
have  rapidly  increased  here  within  the 
last  forty  years.  In  1801  there  were  but 
twenty-two  avowed  Universalist  preach- 
ers ;  they  now  state  their  numbers  to  be 
as  follows  :  a  General  Convention,  twelve 
State  Conventions,  fifty-nine  Associations, 
540  preachers,  550  meeting-houses,  875 
societies,  and  600,000  of  the  population 
under  their  influence.  The  last  item,  we 
suspect,  is  much  too  high.  Their  congre- 
gations are  mostly  small,  and  many  attend 
from  mere  curiosity. 

The  doctrines  of  the  American  Univer- 
salists are  well  expressed  in  three  articles 
adopted  as  a  "  Profession  of  Belief"  by  the 
General  Convention  of  Universalists,  held 
in  1803.  It  is  said  to  be  "  perfectly  sat- 
isfactory to  the  denomination,"  and  is  as 
follows  : 

1.  "  We  believe  that  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
contain  a  revelation  of  the  character  of 
God,  and  of  the  duty,  interest,  and  final 
destination  of  mankind. 

2.  "  We  believe  that  there  is  one  God, 
whose  nature  is  love  ;  revealed  in  one 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  one  Holy  Spirit  of 
grace,  who  will  finally  restore  the  whole 
world  of  mankind  to  holiness  and  happi- 
ness. 

3.  "  We  believe  that  holiness  and  true 
happiness  are  inseparably  connected ;  and 
that  believers  ought  to  be  careful  to  main- 
tain order  and  practise  good  works  ;  for 
these  things  are  good  and  profitable  unto 
men." 

Although  their  churches  are  all  several- 
ly independent  of  each  other,  yet  for  con- 
sultation they  have  local  associations, 
State  Conventions,  and  a  General  Con- 
vention. They  have  begun  of  late  years 
to  pay  some  attention  to  education,  and 
have  now  what  they  call  a  university  in 
the  State  of  Vermont,  and  three  or  four 
inferior  institutions.  Most  of  their  preach- 
ers, though  men  of  little  learning,  by  di- 
recting all  their  thoughts  to  one  point,  and 
mustering  every  plausible  argument  in 
favour  of  their  doctrines,  become  wonder- 
fully skilful  in  wielding  their  sophistry, 
so  as  readily  to  seduce  such  as  want  to 
find  an  easier  way  to  heaven  than  can  be 
found  in  the  Scriptures,  when  these  are 
not  tortured  and  perverted  to  serve  some 
particular  end.  They  say  that  they  have 
no  fewer  than  twenty  newspapers,  advoca- 
ting their  doctrines  in  different  parts  of 
the  country. 

The  only  Universalists  whose  preaching 
seems  to  have  any  moral  influence,  are  the 
haudful  of  Restorationists — the  rest  are 
heard  with  delight  chiefly  by  the  irreligious, 
the  profane,  Sabbath-breakers,  drunkards, 


and  all  haters  of  evangelical  religion. 
Their  preaching  positively  exercises  no 
reforming  influence  on  the  wicked,  and 
what  worse  can  be  said  of  it  1* 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SWEDENBORGIANS   AND  TUNKERS. 

The  Neio  Jerusalem  Church,  or  Sweden- 
borgians,  are  not  numerous  in  America. 
Their  doctrines  were  first  propagated  here, 
I  believe,  by  some  missionaries  from  Eng- 
land. Their  churches,  which  are  small,  are 
about  thirty  or  forty  in  number,  and  iso- 
lated members  of  the  sect  are  to  be  found 
in,  various  parts  of  the  country.  They 
have  about  thirty-five  ministers,  with  hard- 
ly 10,000  souls  under  their  instruction. 
Their  churches,  in  point  of  government, 
are,  in  the  main,  independent,  with  consul- 
tative conventions  of  their  ministers,  held 
from  time  to  time.  Their  doctrines,  which, 
the  reader  must  be  aware,  are  of  Swedish 
origin,  and  have  for  their  author  Baron 
Emanuel  Swedenborg,  are  a  strange  "  amal- 
gamation," as  some  one  has  justly  re- 
marked, "  of  Sabellianism,  the  errors  of  the 
Patripassians,  many  of  the  anti-scriptural 
notions  of  the  Socinians,  and  some  of  the 
most  extravagant  vagaries  of  mysticism. 
Their  mode  of  interpreting  Scripture  is  to- 
tally at  variance  with  every  principle  of 
sound  philology  and  exegesis,  and  neces- 
sarily tends  to  unsettle  the  mind,  and  leave 
it  a  prey  to  the  wildest  whimsies  that  it  is 
possible  for  the  human  mind  to  create  or 
entertain."  They  practise  both  Baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Supper. f  They  have  two 
or  three  periodicals,  in  which  their  doc- 
trines are  expounded  and  defended. 

Tankers. — The  Tunkers,or  Dunkers,  are, 
on  the  other  hand,  a  sect  of  German  ori- 
gin. They  are  Seventh-day  Baptist  Uni- 
versalists. They  are  Restorationists,  and 
teach  that  men  may  do  works  of  superero- 
gation :  on  this  latter  point,  as  well  as  on 


*  On  the  opening  of  a  Universalist  place  of  wor- 
ship in  any  of  our  cities  and  villages,  it  is  flocked  to 
chiefly  by  low,  idle,  and  vicious  persons.  Curiosity 
sometimes  attracts  others  of  a  better  description  for 
a  time ;  but  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  established  by 
the  testimony  of  Universalists  on  becoming  con- 
verted to  the  Truth,  that  few  can,  however  desirous, 
ever  bring  themselves  to  believe  the  doctrine  of  uni- 
versal salvation.  Most  are  like  the  New-England 
farmer  who,  at  the  close  of  a  Universalist  service, 
thanked  the  preacher  for  his  sermon,  saying  that  he 
vastly  liked  his  doctrine,  and  would  give  him  five 
dollars  if  he  would  only  prove  it  to  be  tme  ! 

t  The  Swedenborgians  say  that  they  are  increas- 
ing faster  in  America  than  anywhere  else  at  present. 
If  this  be  so,  their  increase  throughout  the  world 
must  be  slow  indeed.  The  late  Judge  Young,  of 
Greensburg,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  a  few  other  men 
of  some  influence,  have  been  reckoned  among  their 
converts.  In  some  instances  men  who  have  grown 
tired  of  the  coldness  of  Unitarianism,  have  betaken 
themselves  to  Svvedenborgianism. 


Chap.  VIII.]         JEWS,   RAPPISTS,   SHAKERS,   MORMONS,  ETC. 


283 


some  others,  they  show  a  strong  leaning 
towards  Romanism.  They  allow  mar- 
riage, bnt  make  much  account  of  celibacy  ; 
in  Baptism  they  hold  that  the  immersion 
should  be  repeated  thrice,  and  observe  the 
seventh  day  as  their  Sabbath.  Their 
church  order  is  like  that  of  the  Regular 
Baptists,  except  that  every  brother  is  al- 
lowed to  speak,  and  the  most  fluent  is 
generally  chosen  the  regular  minister. 
Most  of  the  men  in  this  communion  wear 
their  beards  long,  and  dress  in  long  coats, 
or  tunics,  reaching  to  their  heels,  and  bound 
at  the  waist  with  a  girdle.  They  are  but 
a  small  body,  having  some  churches,  but 
in  many  places  meet  in  private  houses. 
Some  of  them  appear  to  possess  piety. 
Their  ministers  are  supposed  to  be  about 
equal  in  number  to  their  churches,  and  the 
aggregate  amount  of  their  members  may 
be  about  3000  or  4000. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    JEWS. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  early 
legislation  of  the  Anglo-American  colonies 
in  regard  to  the  descendants  of  Abraham, 
it  is  certain  that  the  Jew  now  finds  an  asy- 
lum, and  the  full  enjoyment  of  his  civil 
rights,  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 
Yet  I  know  not  how  it  has  happened,  un- 
less it  be  owing  to  the  distance  of  our 
country  from  Europe,  and  its  presenting 
less  scope  for  the  petty  traffic  which  forms 
their  chief  employment  in  the  Old  World, 
that  it  has  been  only  at  a  comparatively 
recent  period  that  any  considerable  num- 
ber of  Jews  have  found  their  way  to  our 
shores.  So  much  have  they  increased, 
however,  among  us  during  the  last  ten 
years,  that  it  is  now  computed  that  there 
are  no  fewer  than  50,000  in  the  United 
States.  They  have  about  fifty  synagogues, 
and  the  same  number  of  Rabbies.  Five  or 
six  synagogues  are  now  to  be  found  in 
New- York,  instead  of  one,  as  a  few  years 
ago.  There  is  one  in  which  the  service 
is  conducted  in  English,  at  Charleston,  in 
South  Carolina,  and  no  doubt  in  other 
cities  also.  A  few  instances  of  conver- 
sion to  Christianity  have  taken  place,  but 
only  a  few,  the  attention  of  Christians,  we 
may  truly  say,  not  having  been  sufficiently 
turned  to  that  object.  This  may  have  been 
from  the  fewness  of  the  Jews,  until  of  late 
years,  causing  them  to  be  overlooked,  or 
from  the  want  of  suitable  persons  to  devote 
themselves  to  the  work.  We  are  pleased 
to  see  that  some  interest  has  begun  to  be 
taken  in  this  subject  during  the  last  year 
or  two. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


RAPPISTS,  SHAKERS,  MORMONS,  ETC. 

The  Rappists  are  a  small  body  of  German 
Protestants,  who  came  to  the  United  States 
from  Wurtemburg,  about  the  year  1803, 
under  their  pastor,  a  Mr.  George  Rapp, 
who  has  recently  deceased.  They  settled 
ax  a  place  called  Economy,  on  the  Ohio, 
about  fifteen  miles  below  Pittsburgh.  From 
Economy  part  of  them,  headed  by  Mr. 
Rapp,  went  to  the  Wabash  River,  in  Indi- 
ana, and  on  its  banks  formed  a  new  settle- 
ment, called  Harmony,  but  this  they  after- 
ward sold  to  the  well-known  Robert  Owen, 
and  returned  to  Economy,  in  Pennsylvania. 
Their  distinguishing  principle  is  an  entire 
"  community  of  goods,"  upon  what  they 
suppose  to  have  been  the  example  of  the 
primitive  Christians.  The  whole  scheme, 
however,  of  this  small  community,  for  it 
comprises  but  a  few  hundred  members, 
seems  mainly  of  a  worldly  and  merely 
economical  character,  though  they  keep 
up  the  form  of  religious  observances  and 
services. 

The  Shakers  are  a  fanatical  sect  of  Eng- 
lish origin.  About  1747,  James  Wardley, 
originally  a  Quaker,  imagining  that  he  had 
supernatural  dreams  and  revelations,  found- 
ed a  sect  which,  from  the  bodily  agitations 
practised  in  some  parts  of  their  religious 
services,  were  called  Shakers,  or  Shaking 
Quakers  ;  it  is  not,  however,  to  be  suppo- 
sed for  a  moment  that  they  are  connected 
with  the  respectable  people  called  Qua- 
kers or  Friends.  Ann  Lee,  or,  rather,  Mrs. 
Standley,  for  she  had  married  a  man  of 
that  name,  the  daughter  of  a  blacksmith  in 
Manchester,  England,  adopted  Wardley's 
views  and  the  bodily  exercises  of  his  fol- 
lowers. From  the  accounts  we  have  of  her 
she  must  have  become  a  thorough  adept 
during  the  nine  years  which  she  spent  in 
convulsions,  fastings,  &c.  ;  for  she  is  said 
to  have  clinched  her  fists  in  the  course  of 
her  fits  so  as  to  make  the  blood  pass  through 
the  pores  of  her  skin,  and  wasted  away  so 
that  at  last  she  had  to  be  fed  like  an  infant. 
About  1770  she  discovered  the  wickedness 
of  marriage,  and  began  "  testifying  against 
it."  She  called  herself  "  Ann  the  Word," 
meaning  that  the  Word  dwelt  in  her.  And 
to  this  day  her  followers  say  that  "  the  man 
who  was  called  Jesus,  and  the  woman  who 
was  called  Ann,  are  verily  the  two  first  pil- 
lars of  the  Church,  the  two  anointed  ones." 
In  other  words,  they  hold  that,  as  the  first 
Adam  was  accompanied  by  a  woman,  so 
must  be  the  second  Adam. 

In  May,  1774,  Ann  Lee,  otherwise  Mrs. 
Standley,  together  with  three  elders,  and 
others  of  the  sect,  emigrated  to  America, 
and  two  years  after  formed  a  settlement 
at  Niskayuna,  a  few  miles  from  Albany,  in 
the  State  of  New- York.  From  that,  as 
from  a  centre,  they  put  forth  shoots,  until 


284 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VIII. 


at  length  there  are  now  about  fifteen  Shaker 
settlements,  or  villages,  in  different  parts 
of  the  United  States,  comprising  some  6000 
or  8000  souls.  Their  doctrines  are  a  strange 
mixture  of  the  crudest  errors  with  some 
few  Gospel  truths,  but  it  would  be  a  sad 
misnomer  to  call  them  Christian.  They 
call  themselves  the  Millennial  Church. 
They  hold  that  the  millennium  has  begun, 
and  that  they  are  the  only  true  church,  and 
have  all  the  apostolic  gifts.  They  insist 
that  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  ceased 
with  the  apostolic  age  ;  that  the  wicked 
will  be  punished  for  a  definite  period  only, 
except  such  as  apostatize  from  them,  and 
these  will  be  punished  forever ;  that  the 
judgment  has  already  commenced  ;  that 
Christ  will  not  again  appear  in  the  world, 
except  in  the  persons  of  his  followers,  that 
is,  the  Shakers  ;  that  marriage  is  sinful, 
and  that  "  they  that  have  wives  should  be 
as  though  they  had  none,"  even  now,  and 
that  thus  alone  purity  and  holiness,  and 
the  consequent  beatitude  of  the  heaven- 
ly state,  can  be  attained  ;  that  sin  com- 
mitted against  God  is  committed  against 
them,  and  can  be  pardoned  only  for  Christ's 
sake  through  them.  Such  are  some  of 
their  absurd  tenets.  The  discipline  of 
their  churches  rests  for  the  most  part  with 
"  their  elders,"  who  follow  the  instructions 
left  by  "  Mother  Ann  Lee."  In  their  reli- 
gious worship,  they  range  themselves  at 
intervals  in  rows,  and  then  spring  upward 
a  few  inches  ;  sometimes,  however,  they 
become  so  excited  in  this  exercise  as  to 
throw  off  their  upper  garments,  and  jump 
as  if  they  would  touch  the  ceiling — all,  as 
they  say,  to  express  their  joy  in  the  Lord. 
After  this  they  sit  down  and  listen  a  while 
to  their  preachers,  and  then,  when  tired  of 
hearing,  resume  their  dancing  freaks. 

They  maintain  the  doctrine  of  a  commu- 
nion of  goods.  The  men  and  women  live 
apart.  The  children  of  proselytes  are  in- 
stantly separated,  by  the  boys  being  sent 
into  the  male  apartment,  and  the  girls  into 
the  female.  Of  course  it  is  only  from  such 
recruits  that  a  community  of  this  kind  can 
keep  up  its  numbers. 

The  Shakers  have  the  reputation,  in  gen- 
eral, of  being  honest  and  industrious,  but  I 
have  had  no  means  of  ascertaining  what 
their  interior  life  and  conduct  may  be,  be- 
yond this,  that  no  small  number  of  their 
members  have  left  them  in  disgust,  and  are 
far  from  speaking  well  of  them.  The  read- 
er will  perceive  their  insignificance  in  point 
of  numbers,  yet,  to  believe  some  European 
travellers,  there  is  cause  to  fear  that  the 
United  States  may  one  day  be  overrun 
with  this  ignorant  and  deluded  sect.  But 
the  absurd  importance  which  such  writers 
would  fain  attach  to  the  Shakers  is  easily 
accounted  for ;  their  eccentricities  afford 
a  topic  sufficiently  marvellous  and  amusing 
to  fill  a  chapter  or  two  in  a  "  Diary"  or 


"  Notebook,"  while  in  the  United  States  no 
body  thinks  it  worth  while  to  bestow  much 
thought  upon  them.  So  long  as  they  re- 
spect the  persons,  rights,  and  property  of 
others,  the  government  suffers  them  to  grat- 
ify their  fancies  undisturbed.  According- 
ly, they  remain  a  small  and  quite  obscure 
community,  that  must  in  time  utterly  dis- 
appear instead  of  growing  into  something 
like  importance,  which  would  be  the  prob- 
able result  if  they  were  persecuted.  Were 
the  Shakers  to  appear  in  some  European 
countries,  a  very  different,  and,  in  my  opin- 
ion, a  far  less  prudent  course  would  be  fol- 
lowed. Accustomed  to  meddle  with  eve- 
rything, even  with  conscience  itself,  their 
governments  would  probably  interfere,  un- 
der the  plea  of  saving  the  children  from 
being  brought  up  in  such  delusion.  But 
we  prefer  letting  them  alone,  under  the 
conviction  that,  all  things  considered,  it  is 
better  to  do  so,  and  with  the  hope  that  the 
light  that  surrounds  them,  and  with  which 
they  must  come  into  contact  in  their  inter- 
course with  the  worlu,  will,  in  God's  own 
time,  reach  their  minds.  To  interfere  with 
those  parental  ties,  and  that  consequent 
responsibility  which  God  himself  has  es- 
tablished, must  always  be  a  difficult  and 
dangerous  task  even  for  the  best  and  wi- 
sest of  governments.* 


*  A  book  of  a  character  somewhat  remarkable  has 
lately  been  published  by  these  deluded  people.  It  is  en- 
titled, "  A  Holy,  Sacred,  and  Divine  ROLL  AND 
BOOK,  from  the  LORD  GOD  OF  HEAVEN,  to 
the  Inhabitants  of  the  Earth  ;  revealed  in 
the  United  Society  at  New-Lebanon.  Coun- 
ty of  Columbia,  State  of  New-York,  United 
States  OF  America.  Read  and  understand  all  ye 
in  mortal  clay.    Published  at  Canterbury,  N.  H.,  1843.'r 

The  history  of  this  strange  production  is  as  fol- 
lows: A  certain  Philemon  Stewart  asserts  that  a 
holy  angel  from  the  Lord  came  to  him  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  4th  of  May,  1842,  at  New-Lebanon,  and 
commanded  him  to  appear  before  the  Lord  on  the 
Holy  Mount,  bowing  himself  seven  times  as  he  ap- 
proached. He  obeyed  the  heavenly  messenger,  and 
met  a  mighty  angel  on  the  summit  of  the  hill  or 
mount,  who  read  to  him  six  hours  every  day  from 
the  Roll  which  he  had  in  his  hand,  in  order  that  he, 
Philemon  Stewart,  might  write  down  the  sacred 
revelation. 

The  contents  of  this  volume  are  various.  First, 
there  is  a  Proclamation  of  the  Almighty  to  all  that 
dwell  on  the  earth,  announcing  that  he  was  going  to 
make  a  great  revelation  through  his  holy  angel,  who 
is  Jesus  Christ.  Next  comes  a  proclamation  from 
God  to  his  holy  angel.  Then  follows  a  proclamation 
of  the  angel  himself.  After  this,  we  have  the  intro- 
duction to  the  Sacred  Roll  by  the  holy  angel,  giv- 
en also  at  New-Lebanon  (after  the  volume  had  been 
written),  on  the  2d  of  February,  1843,  at  twelve 
o'clock,  M.  Then  comes  the  "  Sacred  Volume  and 
Sealed  Roll,  opened  and  read  by  the  mighty  angel," 
consisting  of  33  chapters,  each  of  which  is  divided 
into  verses,  after  the  manner  of  the  Scriptures. 

To  give  anything  like  an  adequate  idea  of  its  con- 
tents in  a  short  space  is  impossible.  I  will  only  say, 
that  it  proposes  to  give  an  account  of  the  character 
of  God  ;  the  creation  of  man  ;  of  his  fall  through  the 
temptation  of  the  serpent  [irrational  or  animal  pro- 
pensities] ;  of  God's  dealing  with  mankind  ;  of  Jesus 
Christ;  of  the  departures  from  the  Gospel;  of  the 
second  advent,  or  the  Christ  in  the  female  (Mother 


Chap.  Till.] 


RAPPISTS,  SHAKERS,  MORMONS,  ETC. 


The  Mormons,  or  Latter  Day  Saints,  as 
they  call  themselves.  The  annals  of  mod- 
ern times  furnish  few  more  remarkable 
examples  of  cunning  in  the  leaders,  and 
delusion  in  their  dupes,  than  is  presented 
by  what  is  called  Mormonism.  An  ig- 
norant but  ambitious  person  of  the  name 
of  Joseph  Smith,  Jun.,  then  residing  in  the 
western  part  of  the  State  of  New- York, 
pretends  that  an  angel  appeared  to  him  in 
1827,  and  told  him  where  he  should  find 
a  stone  box.  containing  certain  golden 
plates,  with  a  revelation  from  heaven  in- 
scribed on  them.  Four  years  after  this,  the 
plates  having,  of  course,  been  found  as  de- 
scribed, the  impostor  set  about  the  writing 
out  of  this  revelation,  and  pretended,  with 
the  aid  of  a  pair  of  stone  spectacles,  found 
also  in  the  box,  to  read  it  off  to  a  man 
of  the  name  of  Harris,  and  afterward  to 
one  called  Cowdery,  these  acting  as  his 
amanuenses.      The   "  prophet,"  as  he  is 


Ann  Lee) ;  of  the  way  by  which  holiness  may  be  at- 
tained, viz.,  the  renunciation  of  sexual  and  sensual 
desires,  and  living  as  brothers  and  sisters,  instead  of 
husband  and  wife ;  of  the  terrible  judgments  which 
men  will  encounter  if  they  do  not  obey  this  revela- 
tion, etc.,  etc. 

As  it  is  important  that  this  book  should  be  known 
to  all  mankind,  it  is  enjoined  by  the  mighty  angel 
that  every  minister  of  the  Gospel  should  have  a  copy, 
as  soon  as  he  can  procure  one,  in  the  sacred  pulpit, 
that  people  may  see  it.  All  boards  of  missions  are 
commanded  to  have  it  translated  into  foreign  lan- 
guages. One  edition  has  been  printed  by  the  "  So- 
ciety" for  gratuitous  distribution.  Copies  have  been 
sent,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  to  the  principal  book- 
sellers, and  a  modest  request  is  made  that  they 
would  publish  and  circulate  the  work,  and  some  di- 
rections respecting  the  manner  of  doing  so  are  giv- 
en.* 

We  leam,  furthermore,  from  a  letter  dated  the  18th 
of  December,  1843,  addressed  to  the  Messrs.  Harper, 
that  the  committee  or  agents  of  the  Society  have  re- 
solved upon  a  pretty  wide  and  thorough  dissemina- 
tion of  the  500  copies  which  they  had,  agreeably  to 
the  divine  command,  printed  for  general  distribution. 
"  We  do  not  feel  it  our  province,"  say  they,  "to  judge 
of  the  work  and  designs  of  the  Almighty  in  this  mat- 
ter ;  but  we  feel  ourselves  under  the  most  solemn  ob- 
ligations to  obey  his  divine  command,  which  has  been 
revealed  to  us  by  the  inspiration  of  his  holy  angel, 
with  that  degree  of  evidence  which  we  cannot  doubt. 
We  have,  therefore,  made  arrangements  to  forward 
four  copies  to  each  of  the  governments  of  Europe  and 
Asia,  part  of  which  are  already  on  the  way  to  Eu- 
rope ;  four  to  the  chief  magistrate  of  these  United 
States,  and  two  to  the  executive  of  each  state,  and 
also  to  the  different  boards  of  foreign  missions. 

"  We  are  aware  that  the  manner  in  which  the 
book  was  revealed  and  written,  in  the  name  of  in- 
spiration from  the  Almighty,  is  not  according  to  the 
generally-received  opinions  and  present  sense  and 
ideas  of  mankind,  but  we  solemnly  testify  that  this 
work  was  not  directed  nor  dictated  by  any  mortal 
•power  or  wisdom." 

The  whole  is  a  strange  mixture,  in  which  entire 
passages,  as  well  as  verses,  of  the  Scriptures  are  min- 
gled up  with  the  speculations,  often  both  impious 
and  absurd,  of  the  professed  author. 

*  In  fact,  ou  page  161,  it  is  expressly  ordained  that  the 
book  must  be  "  bound  in  yellow  paper,,  with  red  backs, 
edges  also  yellow  ;  and  it  is  my  command,  saith  the  Lord, 
that  if  any  person  or  persons  shall  add  aught  to  this  book, 
he  or  they  shall  not  prosper  in  time,  nor  find  rest  in  eter- 
Jiity." 


now  called,  took  care,  of  course,  that  nei- 
ther of  them,  nor  any  one  else,  should 
see  the  plates,  the  part  of  the  room  he 
occupied  having  been  partitioned  off  from 
where  they  sat  by  a  blanket.  After  three 
years  spent  in  concocting  this  new  rev- 
elation, the  book  at  last  was  completed, 
and  published  as  a  12mo  volume  of  588 
pages,  at  Palmyra,  in  the  State  of  New- 
York.  It  is  commonly  called  the  Mor- 
mon's Bible,  but  more  properly  The  Book 
of  Mormon,  and  is  divided  into  fifteen 
books  or  parts,  each  purporting  to  be  writ- 
ten by  the  author  whose  name  it  bears. 
These  profess  to  give  the  history  of  about 
a  thousand  years  from  the  time  of  Zedeki- 
ah,  king  of  Judah,  to  A.D.  420.  The  whole 
work  claims  to  be  an  abridgment  by  one 
Moroni,  the  last  of  the  Nephites,  of  the 
seed  of  Israel,  from  the  records  of  his 
people.  Not  to  trouble  the  reader  with  de- 
tails respecting  this  most  absurd  of  all  pre- 
tended revelations  from  heaven,  we  need 
only  say  that  it  undertakes  "  to  trace  the 
history  of  the  Aborigines  of  the  American 
Continent,  in  all  their  apostacies,  pilgrim- 
ages, trials,  adventures,  and  wars  from  the 
time  of  their  leaving  Jerusalem,  in  the 
reign  of  Zedekiah,  under  one  Lehi,  down 
to  their  final  disaster,  near  the  Hill  of  Ca- 
morah,  in  the  State  of  New- York,  where 
Smith  found  his  golden  plates.  In  that 
final  contest,  according  to  the  Prophet  Mo- 
roni, about  230,000  were  slain  in  battle, 
and  he  alone  escaped  to  tell  the  tale."* 

But  the  Book  of  Mormon,  which  they  do 
not  consider  so  much  in  the  light  of  a  sub- 
stitute for  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  of  a  sup- 
plement to  them,  does  not  contain  all  Jo- 
seph Smith's  revelations  ;  a  12mo  volume, 
of  about  250  pages,  called  The  Book  of  Cov- 
enants and  Revelations,  and  filled  with  the 
silliest  things  imaginable,  of  all  sorts,  has 
been  added  to  it  by  way  of  another  supple- 
ment. Thoroughly  to  comprehend  the 
whole  system,  however,  one  must  read  Mr. 
Parley  P.  Pratt's  "  Voice  of  Warning,"  for 
he  is  an  oracle  among  the  Mormons,  and 
also  the  newspaper  which  they  publish 
as  an  organ  for  the  dissemination  of  their 
doctrines.  We  may  add,  that,  aided  by 
his  wonderful  spectacles,  Smith  is  ma- 
king a  new  translation  of  the  Bible,  al- 
though quite  unacquainted  with  Hebrew 
and  Greek ! 

The  publication  of  his  own  Bible,  in 
1830,  may  be  considered  as  the  starting- 
point  of  the  sect.  For  some  years  he 
made  but  few  converts,  but  having  remo- 
ved to  Kirtland,  Ohio,  he  was  there  joined 
by  Sidney  Rigdon,  formerly  a  heterodox 
Baptist  preacher,  who  had  been  preparing 
the  way  for  Mormonism  by  propagating 
certain  doctrines  of  his  own,  and  being  a 


*  Turner's  "Mormonism  in  all  Ages,"  published 
at  New-York,  and  to  be  had  of  Wiley  and  Putnam, 
booksellers,  London. 


286 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  VII. 


much  better-informed  man  than  Smith,  it 
is  chiefly  under  his  plastic  hand  that  the 
religious  economy  of  the  sect  has  been 
formed.  From  Ohio  they  began  to  re- 
move, in  1834,  to  Jackson  county,  in  Mis- 
souri, where  they  were  to  have  their 
"  Mount  Zion,"  the  capital  and  centre  of 
their  great  empire.  The  people  of  Mis- 
souri, a  few  years  after,  compelled  them 
to  leave  it ;  upon  which  they  went  to  Illi- 
nois, and  there  they  are  now  building  the 
city  of  Nauvoo,  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  thither  their  disciples  have 
been  flocking  ever  since,  until  their  num- 
bers amount  to  several  thousands.  Smith 
and  Rigdon  are  still  their  chief  prophets. 
For  a  while,  they  had  many  to  sympathize 
with  them  on  account  of  the  severity  with 
which  they  had  been  supposed  to  be  treat- 
ed in  Missouri,  but  so  much  has  lately 
come  to  light  in  proof  of  the  inordinate  am- 
bition, and  vile  character  and  conduct  of 
their  leaders,  who  want  to  found  a  kind  of 
empire  in  the  West,  that  their  speedy  an- 
nihilation as  a  sect  seems  now  inevitable. 
One  dupe  after  another  is  leaving  them, 
and  exposing  the  abominations  of  the  fra- 
ternity and  its  chiefs.  Smith  and  some 
others  seem  now  marked  out  as  objects  on 
which  the  laws  of  the  land  must  soon  in- 
flict summary  justice.  Their  leaders  are 
evidently  atrocious  impostors,  who  have 
deceived  a  great  many  weak-minded  per- 
sons, by  holding  out  to  them  promises  of 
great  temporal  advantage.  "  Joe  Smith," 
as  he  is  commonly  called,  will  soon  find 
that  America  is  not  another  Arabia,  nor 
he  another  Mohammed ;  and  his  hope  of 
founding  a  vast  empire  in  the  Western 
hemisphere  must  soon  vanish  away. 

To  conclude,  the  Mormons  are  a  body 
of  ignorant  creatures,  collected  from  al- 
most all  parts  of  the  United  States,  and 
also  from  Great  Britain.*  A  full  exposi- 
tion of  the  wickedness  of  their  leaders  has 
lately  been  made  by  John  C.  Bennet,  for- 
merly a  major-general  in  the  "  Legion  of 
Nauvoo,"  and  an  important  man  among 
them. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ATHEISTS,    DEISTS,    SOCIALISTS,    FOURRIER1STS, 
ETC. 

These  sects  can  hardly  be  placed  with 
propriety  among  religious  denominations 
of  any  description,  the  most  they  pretend 
to  being  a  code  of  morals,  such  as  it  is. 
The  avowed  Atheists  are,  happily,  few  in 
number,  and  are  chiefly  to  be  found  among 


*  It  is  a  singular  fact  that  so  large  a  proportion  of 
them  are  from  Great  Britain.  But  it  is  not  difficult 
to  account  for  it.  Smith  and  the  other  leaders  know 
well  that  there  is  a  large  population  in  England  of  a 
low  and  ignorant  character,  who  may  be  readily 
tempted,  by  the  prospect  of  bettering  their  fortunes 
to  take  part  in  such  an  enterprise. 


the  frequenters  of  our  remaining  groggeries 
and  rum-holes. 

As  for  our  Deists,  including  unbelievers 
in  Christianity  of  all  classes,  there  is  a 
considerable  number,  especially  in  New- 
York,  and  some  of  our  other  large  cities 
and  towns.  A  very  large  proportion  of 
them  are  foreigners.  The  infidelity  of  the 
present  times,  however,  in  the  United 
States  is  remarkably  distinguished  from 
what  was  to  be  found  there  fifty  years 
ago,  when  that  of  France,  after  having  dif- 
fused itself  in  the  plausible  speculations  of 
a  host  of  popular  writers,  wherever  the 
French  language  was  known,  became  at 
length  associated  with  the  great  Revolu- 
tion of  that  country,  and  obtaining  credit 
for  all  that  was  good  in  a  work  which  it 
only  corrupted  and  marred,  became  fash- 
ionable in  America  as  well  as  Europe, 
among  the  professed  admirers  of  liberty, 
in  what  are  called  the  highest  classes  of 
society.  At  the  head  of  these,  in  the  Uni- 
ted States,  stood  Mr.  Jefferson,  who  was 
President  from  1801  to  1809,  and  who  in 
conversation,  and  by  his  writings,  did  more 
than  any  other  man  that  ever  lived  among 
us  to  propagate  irreligion  in  the  most  in- 
fluential part  of  the  community.  In  the 
same  cause,  and  about  the  same  period, 
laboured  Mr.  Thomas  Paine,  and,  at  a  later 
date,  Mr.  Thomas  Cooper,  who  endeavour- 
ed to  train  to  infidelity  by  sophistical  rea- 
soning, and  still  more,  by  contemptible 
sarcasms  and  sneers,  the  youth  whom  it 
was  his  duty  to  teach  better  things.    ■ 

Now,  however,  it  is  much  otherwise. 
When  men  dislike  evangelical  truth,  they 
take  refuge  in  something  which,  under  the 
name  of  Christianity,  makes  a  less  demand 
on  their  conscience  and  their  conduct. 
Open  infidelity,  meanwhile,  has  descended 
to  the  lower  ranks.  It  now  burrows  in 
the  narrow  streets,  and  lanes,  and  purlieus 
of  our  large  cities  and  towns,  where  it  finds 
its  proper  aliment — the  ignorant  and  the 
vicious  to  mislead  and  to  destroy. 

Owenism,  Socialism,  and  Fourrierism, 
are  of  foreign  origin.  The  first  two  are 
from  England,  and  are  but  economical  or 
political  schemes,  in  which  infidelity  seeks 
to  imbody  and  sustain  itself.  Fourrierism 
is  also  an  economical  scheme.  It  is  not 
necessarily  allied  to  infidelity,  but  as  it 
has  not  long  been  known  in  the  United 
States,  I  am  not  informed  of  its  character 
there. 

Robert  Owen,  from  Scotland,  and  Miss 
Frances  Wright,  from  England,  endeavour- 
ed some  years  ago  to  form  the  first  infidel 
community  upon  the  social  principle  adopt- 
ed by  the  Shakers  and  the  Mormons ;  fail- 
ing in  which,  they  set  about  endeavouring 
to  bring  over  the  labouring  classes  of  New- 
York,  and  other  great  cities,  to  certain 
agrarian  schemes.  But  after  much  labour 
in  travelling,  lecturing,  and  forming  socie- 


Chap.  X.] 


GENERAL   REMARKS. 


287 


ties  for  the  circulation  of  infidel  tracts  and 
books,  their  efforts  have  proved  almost 
fruitless.  Their  lectures  at  first  attracted 
crowds  both  of  Americans  and  foreigners, 
who  attended  them  from  curiosity,  but  be- 
fore long  their  audiences  consisted  chiefly 
of  foreigners,  and  such  is  the  state  of 
things  at  present.*  That  there  is  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  infidelity  in  America 
is  not  denied,  but  it  cannot  be  compared 
to  the  vast  amount  of  true  religion,  much 
less  with  the  much  vaster  amount  of  re- 
spect for  religion,  and  religious  belief, 
which  so  largely  pervades  the  moral  at- 
mosphere of  the  country.  Of  the  truly 
great  men  of  the  nation,  very  few  are  in- 
fidels. 


CHAPTER  X. 

GENERAL    REMARKS    ON    THE    STATE    OF    THEO- 
LOGICAL   OPINION    IN   AMERICA. 

Having  concluded  these  notices  of  the 
various  denominations  —  evangelical  and 
non-evangelical  —  in  the  United  States,  I 
would  now  make  a  few  remarks  on  the 
past  history  and  present  state  of  theologi- 
cal opinion  in  that  country.  Fully  and 
philosophically  treated,  this  could  not  fail 
to  interest  sincere  inquirers  after  truth  in 
all  countries,  but  it  would  require  not  a 
chapter,  but  a  volume,  and  would  hardly 
be  consistent  with  the  nature  of  this  work. 
We  must  leave  such  a  discussion  to  an- 
other time,  and,  probably,  to  other  hands, 
and  shall  now  merely  touch  on  a  few  gen- 
eral topics. 

I.  Let  us  first  mark  some  of  the  causes 
and  influences  to  which  this  diversity  of 
religious  doctrines  may  be  traced.  The 
chief  of  these  are, 

1.  Difference  of  origin  and  ancestry. 
This  we  have  already  noticed,  but  must 
refer  to  it  again. 

Had  the  whole  territory  of  the  United 
States  been  originally  settled  by  one  class 
of  men,  holding  the  same  system  of  reli- 
gious opinions,  more  uniformity  of  doc- 
trine might  reasonably  have  been  looked 
for.  But  what  philosophical  inquirer,  know- 
ing the  different  origins  of  New-England, 
Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and  New-York, 
would  expect  that  the  mere  federal  union 


*  At  one  time  it  was  feared  that  vast  numbers 
of  the  labouring  classes  in  New-York,  as  well  as  in 
Philadelphia  and  other  cities,  would  be  carried  away 
by  the  plausible  but  vile  discourses  of  Miss  Frances 
Wright.  But  facts  soon  proved  that  those  fears 
were  groundless.  Even  in  the  acme  of  her  popular- 
ity, a  friend  of  mine  who  was  present  at  one  of  her 
lectures  told  me  that  she  was  hissed  no  less  than 
two  or  three  times  for  making  the  assertion,  and  re- 
peating it,  that  Washington  was  an  infidel !  There 
are  few  people  in  the  United  States  who  would  not 
consider  it  a  dishonour  done  to  the  name  of  that 
great  and  good  man,  whom  humanity  claims  as  her 
own,  to  call  him  an  infidel. 


of  states  that  differ  so  much  in  their  ori- 
ginal inhabitants,  could  ever  bring  them 
all  to  complete  religious  uniformity  1  Let 
us  but  look  at  the  number  of  different  reli- 
gious bodies — different,  I  mean,  in  their 
origin — to  be  found  in  these  and  the  other 
states  of  the  Union.  (1.)  The  New-Eng- 
land Congregational  churches,  formed  by 
immigrant  Puritans,  and,  down  to  the  epoch 
of  our  Revolution,  sympathizing  strongly 
with  all  the  changes  of  opinion  among  the 
English  dissenters.  (2.)  The  Presbyterian 
Church  in  its  larger  and  smaller  branches, 
very  much  of  Scotch  and  Irish  origin,  and 
still  aiming  at  an  imitation  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland  as  its  pattern.  (3.)  The  Epis- 
copal Church,  an  offshoot  from  the  Church 
of  England,  dreading  and  almost  scorning 
to  borrow  ideas  from  any  quarter  save  its 
mother-church.  (4.)  The  Dutch  Reformed 
Church,  which  long  received  its  ministers 
from  Holland,  and  still  glories  in  the  Hei- 
delberg Catechism  and  the  decrees  of  the 
Synod  of  Dort.  (5.)  The  Lutherans,  the 
Reformed,  and  other  German  churches, 
who  preserve  their  old  nationality,  both 
by  being  still  organized  as  distinct  com- 
munions, and  by  the  constant  emigration 
of  ministers  and  people  from  their  original 
fatherland.  Now,  why  should  we  expect 
to  see  all  these  fused  and  amalgamated  in 
the  United  States  more  than  in  Europe  ■? 

2.  Mark,  too,  that  none  of  their  ministers 
can  extend  any  such  direct  influence  over 
other  churches  than  their  own,  as  might 
make  the  exercise  of  brotherly  love  pass 
into  close  intimacy  and  final  amalgama- 
tion. Each  of  them  has  its  own  colleges 
and  theological  seminaries ;  each  its  own 
weekly,  monthly,  or  quarterly  periodicals  ; 
and  some  of  them  may  almost  be  said  to 
have  an  independent  religious  literature, 
edited  and  published  by  their  own  respon- 
sible agents.  All  this  is  counterbalanced 
only  by  many  ministers  of  different  denom- 
inations receiving  their  classical  and  sci- 
entific education  at  the  same  institutions, 
preparatory  to  their  more  strictly  profes- 
sional studies. 

'  3.  The  freedom  allowed  in  the  United 
States  to  all  sorts  of  inquiry  and  discussion 
necessarily  leads  to  a  diversity  of  opinion, 
which  is  seen  not  only  in  there  being  differ- 
ent denominations,  but  different  opinions 
also  in  the  same  denomination.  Perhaps 
there  is  not  a  single  ecclesiastical  conven- 
tion in  which  there  are  not  two  parties  at 
least,  whose  different  views  lead  some- 
times to  discussions  keenly  maintained, 
yet  turning  generally  upon  points  which, 
however  interesting,  are  confessedly  not 
of  fundamental  importance.  On  what  may 
be  called  vital  or  essential  points  there  is 
little  disputation,  just  because  there  is  much 
harmony  in  all  the  evangelical  commu- 
nions. Nor  could  it  be  well  otherwise,  see- 
ing that  in  doctrine  and  practice  they  all 


288 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  VII. 


take  the  Bible  as  their  inspired  and  sole 
authoritative  guide. 

4.  Nor  must  we  forget  that  what  may- 
be called  provincial  peculiarities  necessa- 
rily lead  so  far  to  diversities  of  religious 
sentiment.  A  true  Eastern  man  from  Con- 
necticut, and  a  true  Western  man,  born  and 
brought  up  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  can 
hardly  be  expected  to  speculate  alike  on 
dubious  points  in  theology,  any  more  than 
on  many  other  subjects.  So,  also,  are  the 
inhabitants  of  the  North  and  South  dis- 
tinguished from  each  other  by  peculiarities 
fully  as  marked  as  those  that  distinguish 
the  northern  from  the  southern  inhabitants 
of  Great  Britain. 

II.  Yet  it  is  not  difficult  to  draw  a  line 
between  the  various  unevangelical  sects 
on  the  one  hand,  and  those  that  may  be 
classed  together  as  evangelical  denomina- 
tions on  the  other.  The  chief  of  the  for- 
mer, as  we  have  said,  are  the  Roman  Cath- 
olics, Unitarians,  Christ-ians,Universalists, 
Hicksite  Quakers,  Svvedenborgians,  Tun- 
kers  or  Dunkers,  Jews,  Shakers,  and  so  on 
down  to  the  Mormons,  beginning  with  the 
sect  that  has  buried  the  truth  amid  a  heap 
of  corruptions  of  heathenish  origin,  and 
ending  with  the  grossest  of  all  the  delusions 
that  Satanic  malignity  or  human  ambition 
ever  sought  to  propagate.  Now  it  will  be 
observed  that,  with  the  exception  of  the 
first  two,  these  sects  have  few  elements 
of  stability.  Their  ministers  are  almost 
all  men  of  little  learning,  and  that  little  is 
almost,  all  concentrated  in  specious  endeav- 
ours to  maintain  their  tenets,  by  perverting 
the  Scriptures,  by  appealing  to  the  prejudi- 
ces of  their  hearers,  and  by  misrepresent- 
ing and  ridiculing  the  doctrines  of  oppo- 
nents who  meet  their  subtle  arguments 
with  the  plain  declarations  of  Scripture,  as 
well  as  with  unanswerable  arguments 
drawn  from  sound  reason.  The  congre- 
gations of  the  Universalists  and  Christ-ians 
— the  latter  of  whom  are  Unitarian  Bap- 
tists, and  the  most  numerous  of  the  une- 
vangelical sects  next  to  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics— are  far  from  large,  except  in  some  of 
the  largest  cities  and  towns  in  New-Eng- 
land, and  they  often  last  but  a  few  years, 
disappearing  almost  entirely  before  the  ex- 
tension of  the  evangelical  communions. 
At  times  a  religious  revival  almost  anni- 
hilates, in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks, 
the  attempts  made  by  some  Universalist 
preacher  to  form  a  society  of  that  sect,  at 
places  where  the  faithful  herald  of  the  Gos- 
pel has  lifted  up  a  standard  for  Truth.  And 
as  none  of  the  unevangelical  bodies,  not 
even  the  Roman  Catholics,  can  absolutely 
debar  their  members  from  attending  the 
preaching  of  evangelical  ministers  when 
they  come  into  their  neighbourhood,  they 
present  no  insurmountable  barrier  to  the 
advance  of  truth. 

A  better  and  more  intimate  acquaintance 


with  the  state  of  society  in  the  United 
States  than  foreigners  can  well  possess, 
seems  necessary  to  account  for  the  number, 
variety,  and  numerical  magnitude  of  some 
of  our  unevangelical  sects,  and  thus  to 
abate  the  surprise  which  these  may  occa- 
sion to  many  of  our  readers.  Neverthe- 
less, to  a  certain  extent,  this  may  be 
brought  within  the  comprehension  even  of 
those  who  have  never  seen  the  country. 
First,  then,  be  it  observed  that  not  only 
can  a  far  larger  proportion  of  the  white  in- 
habitants of  the  United  States  read  than  is 
to  be  found  in  almost  any  other  country, 
but  they  actually  do  read  and  pursue  the 
acquisition  of  knowledge  in  almost  every 
possible  way.  Novelty,  accordingly,  has 
always  great  attractions  for  them.  Next, 
with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  Scotland,  in 
no  other  country  is  there  so  little  work  done 
on  the  Lord's  day  ;  not  only  does  the  law 
require,  but  the  disposition  of  the  people 
enforces  it ;  and  as  they  are  not  at  all  of  a 
character  that  would  incline  them  to  spend 
the  day  at  home  in  idleness,  they  naturally 
take  advantage  of  the  opportunities  within 
reach  of  attending  public  meetings,  and 
listening  to  what  may  be  said  there.  And 
religion  being  a  subject  to  which  they  at- 
tach more  or  less  importance  almost  uni- 
versally, it  is  what  they  most  like  to  hear 
discussed  on  the  Sabbath.  Thirdly,  where 
there  is  no  evangelical  preaching,  vast 
numbers,  particularly  of  such  as  have  no 
decided  religious  convictions,  will  resort 
to  a  Universalist,  or  even  to  an  infidel 
preacher,  if  one  is  announced  in  their 
neighbourhood,  rather  than  go  nowhere 
at  all.  No  doubt  curiosity  leads  them  thith- 
er first,  and  perhaps  for  long  afterward. 
Fourthly,  absolute  religious  liberty  being 
the  principle  of  the  government,  the  people 
may  everywhere  have  what  preaching  they 
please,  if  they  can  find  it,  and  choose  to  be 
at  the  expense  of  maintaining  it ;  and,  ac- 
cordingly, they  who  dislike  faithful  evan- 
gelical preaching,  often  combine  to  form 
a  congregation  where  some  heterodox 
preacher  may  hold  forth  doctrines  more 
acceptable  to  them.  Congregations  so 
formed,  especially  in  cities  and  large  towns, 
may  last  for  years,  or  even  become  in  some 
sense  permanent,  but  in  by  far  the  greater 
number  of  cases  they  disappear,  part  of 
their  members  removing  to  some  other 
place,  and  others  becoming  converts  to  the 
orthodox  creed  of  the  surrounding  evan- 
gelical churches. 

Thus  it  will  be  perceived  that  the  une- 
vangelical sects  in  the  United  States  are 
mainly  composed  of  persons  who,  in  other 
countries,  would  remain  stupidly  indiffer- 
ent to  religion,  spending  their  Sabbaths  in 
employments  or  amusements  wholly  sec- 
ular. Even  this  may  be  thought  better  by 
some  than  that  they  should  "  give  heed  to 
doctrines  of  devils,"  upon  the  principle  that 


€hap.  X.] 


GENERAL    REMARKS. 


289 


no  religion  is  better  than  a  false  one.  This 
may  be  true  in  many  cases,  but  hardly  in 
■all.  Experience  proves,  I  think,  very  de- 
cidedly in  America,  that  persons  that  oc- 
cupy their  minds  with  the  subject  of  reli- 
gion, even  when  they  doubt  the  truth  or 
embrace  positive  error,  are  more  accessi- 
ble to  the  faithful  preaching  of  the  Gospel, 
than  others  that  are  sunk  in  stupid  indiffer- 
ence and  infidelity.  The  forms  of  error 
in  that  country  have,  with  one  exception, 
no  element  of  stability — no  vigorous  dog- 
matism or  permanent  fascinations  to  op- 
pose to  the  solid  orthodoxy  of  evangelical 
preaching.  The  one  exception  is  Roman- 
ism, which  presents  a  sort  of  mosaic  of 
truth  and  error,  so  artfully  combined  as  to 
exert  a  charm  over  the  minds  of  those  who 
have  once  received  it,  which  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  dissipate. 

Next  to  Romanism,  Unitarianism  is,  of 
all  forms  of  error  that  assume  the  title  of 
Christian,  the  most  stable.  Its  professors 
are  chiefly  to  be  found  in  the  eastern  parts 
of  Massachusetts  ;  but  as  those,  as  well  as 
other  parts  of  New-England,  are  constantly 
sending  out  emigrants  to  the  new  settle- 
ments, small  knots  of  persons  with  Uni- 
tarian preferences  may  be  found  in  the 
Middle,  Southern,  and  Western  States. 
Still,  this  dispersion  of  Unitarianism,  and 
its  sprouting  up  at  various  points,  not  in 
Massachusetts,  has  rather  the  appearance 
than  the  reality  of  increase.  It  may  be 
more  than  doubted  whether  it  be  not  posi- 
tively declining  in  Boston  and  its  vicinity. 
Except  that  it  by  no  means  prevails  in  the 
same  proportion,  it  is  very  much  in  Amer- 
ica what  Rationalism  is  in  Protestant  Eu- 
rope— a  disease  caught  by  the  Church  from 
the  epidemic  skepticism  of  the  eighteenth 
century — a  skepticism  which  is  now  in 
both  hemispheres  taking  the  form  of  a 
mystical  pantheism.  The  career  of  Uni- 
tarianism, which  one  of  its  advocates  calls 
not  a  "  religion,  but  a  fashion,"*  as  a  sect 
or  party,  is  manifestly  drawing  to  a  close  ; 
and  such,  I  rather  think,  is  the  impression 
of  its  most  intelligent  and  eminent  leaders. 
It  seems  to  be  given  up  as  incapable  of  dif- 
fusion ;  and  the  thirty  years'  experience  it 
has  had  of  a  separate  organization  con- 
firms to  my  mind  this  conclusion,  though 
others  may  think  differently.  At  all  events, 
no  one  who  is  well  informed  with  regard 
to  the  present  aspect  of  things  in  America, 
can  claim  for  Unitarianism  much  vigour 
or  any  greater  positive  increase  than  that 
of  the  natural  increase  of  the  population 
within  its  pale  ;  and  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  it  is  increasing  even  so  much  as 
that. 

A  certain  amount  of  moral  influence  for 
good  may  fairly  be  attributed  to  some  of 
the  unevangelical  sects,  but  this  can  hardly 


The  Rev.  0.  A.  Brownson. 


be  said  of  the  Universalists  —  and  they 
comprise  nearly  the  whole — who  deny  a 
future  judgment  and  all  punishment  beyond 
this  life  ;  while  as  for  the  Atheists,  Deists, 
and  Socialists  of  every  hue,  it  is  hardly 
slander  to  say,  that  their  influence  upon 
society  is  positively  mischievous. 

As  for  the  Shakers,  Mormons,  and  other 
such  agglomerations,  they  may  be  ac- 
counted for,  I  apprehend,  on  two  princi- 
ples. First,  the  binding  nature  of  human 
depravity,  which  makes  men  prefer  any- 
thing, however  absurd,  that  looks  like  re- 
ligion, and  suits  their  fancies,  to  retaining, 
or,  rather,  to  obtaining,  the  true  knowledge 
of  God.  Next,  these  bodies  always  hold 
out  some  temporal  good — some  economi- 
cal advantage — which,  far  more  than  any 
religious  consideration,  tempts  persons  to 
enter  them.  One  would  suppose,  for  ex- 
ample, that  a  religion  which,  like  that  of 
the  Shakers,  makes  the  sinfulness  of  mar- 
riage a  fundamental  principle,  and  obliges 
married  proselytes  to  live  single,  could 
never  find  followers.  Yet,  as  persons 
sometimes  grow  tired  of  the  marriage  rela- 
tion, or,  rather,  of  those  with  whom  it  has 
bound  them  as  husband  and  wife,  so  some 
may  be  found  willing,  even  by  becoming 
Shakers,  to  rid  themselves  of  a  burden 
that  feels  grievous  to  them.  So,  also,  in 
the  separation  of  children  from  their  pa- 
rents, and  the  entire  breaking  up  of  the 
family  relationships,  weak  people  may  al- 
ways be  found  ready  to  snatch  at  any  op- 
portunity of  ridding  themselves  of  parental 
responsibility,  by  shifting  it  upon  other 
shoulders.  This  despicable  and  unmanly 
selfishness  may  be  regarded  as  the  main 
foundation  of  all  the  forms  of  Socialism. 

III.  We  have  yet  to  consider  the  extent 
of  doctrinal  agreement  and  diversity  in  and 
among  the  communions  classed  together 
as  evangelical — a  subject  already  noticed, 
but  to  which  it  is  necessary  to  return,  in 
order  that  the  reader  may  perceive  its  con- 
nexion with  certain  other  interesting  and 
important  topics. 

1.  They  agree  generally  in  holding  the 
body  of  doctrines  professed  by  the  Reform- 
ed churches  of  France  and  Switzerland,  as 
imbodied  in  the  Westminster  Assembly's 
Catechisms,  and  in  the  doctrinal  articles 
of  the  Church  of  England.  In  particular, 
they  hold  the  supremacy  of  the  Scriptures 
as  a  rule  of  faith,  and  that  whatever  doc- 
trine can  be  proved  from  Holy  Scripture 
without  tradition  is  to  be  received  unhesi- 
tatingly, and  that  nothing  that  cannot  so  be 
proved  shall  be  deemed  an  essential  point 
of  Christian  belief.  They  hold  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  Scriptures — the  three  persons 
in  the  divine  unity — the  holiness  of  the  first 
human  pair  as  created  and  placed  upon 
probation— their  fall,  and  the  involved  or 
consequent  apostacy  of  the  whole  human 
race  —  the  necessity  of  some  atonement 


290 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  VIL 


(sufficient  to  vindicate  the  justice  of  God's 
government)  in  order  to  the  pardon  of 
sin — the  fact  of  such  an  atonement  having 
been  made  by  the  humiliation,  sufferings, 
and  death  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  both 
God  and  man — the  offer  of  forgiveness  to 
all  mankind,  as  provided  for  them  by  the 
mercy  of  God  in  Christ — the  free  justifi- 
cation of  the  believer,  not  for  his  works 
past  or  foreseen,  nor  for  his  faith,  but  for 
Christ's  sake  alone — the  necessity  of  an 
inward  spiritual  renovation  in  order  to  sal- 
vation— the  fact  that  this  spiritual  renova- 
tion is  the  result  not  of  human  endeavours, 
but  of  the  Holy  Spirit  operating  upon  the 
soul,  and  thus  making  the  call  of  God  in 
His  Word,  and  by  all  instrumentalities  out- 
ward to  the  soul,  an  effectual  call — the 
dependance  of  the  believer,  for  his  progress 
in  holiness,  on  the  continued  communion 
with  God  by  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy 
Spirit — the  resurrection  of  the  dead — the 
universal  judgment — the  eternal  state  of 
happiness  for  the  saved,  and  of  misery  for 
the  lost. 

.2.  The  Methodists  and  some  smaller 
bodies  reject  the  Calvinistic  or  Reformed 
doctrine  of  predestination,  especially  in  its 
application  to  the  individuals  who,  in  the 
fulfilment  of  God's  counsels,  become  the 
subjects  of  renewing  grace.  They  also 
deny  the  doctrine  that  all  who  are  once 
renewed  to  holiness  are  effectually  and 
certainly  kept  by  the  power  of  God  through 
faith  unto  salvation.  But  in  other  com- 
munions these  doctrines  are  held  as  clearly 
taught  in  the  Scriptures,  and  as  of  great 
practical  value. 

3.  A  considerable  proportion,  perhaps  a 
third,  of  the  clergy  and  members  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  agree  with  what  is 
called  the  Oxford  party  in  the  Church  of 
England ;  so  far,  at  least,  as  to  ascribe  to 
sacraments  and  other  external  institutions, 
a  certain  spiritual  efficacy  not  recognised 
by  other  Protestants. 

4.  The  theological  discussions  and  dis- 
putes which  sometimes  agitate  these  vari- 
ous communions  are  such,  for  the  most 
part,  as  to  make  it  no  easy  matter  to  con- 
vey a  just  idea  of  them  to  a  foreigner.  In 
many  instances,  indeed,  the  disputants 
themselves  can  hardly  state  the  point  in 
debate  to  each  other's  satisfaction.  For 
instance,  I  could  not  expect  to  state  mi- 
nutely the  differences  between  the  "  Old 
School"  and  "  New  School,"  in  the  Pres- 
byterian churches,  without  giving  offence 
to  one  party  or  the  other,  or  perhaps  to 
both  parties. 

Let  it  suffice,  then,  to  say  that,  generally, 
the  debates  among  theologians  in  America 
are  debates  about  the  constitution  of  the 
human  mind,  the  analysis  of  responsibility 
and  moral  agency,  and  the  old  question  of 
"  fate  and  free-will."  Some  hold  that  all 
mankind,  individually,  are  literally  respon- 


sible before  God  for  the  sin  of  their  first 
parents  ;  others  hold  only  that,  in  conse- 
quence of  Adam's  sin,  all  his  posterity  are 
sinners.  Some  hold  that  sin  consists  in  a 
propensity  to  sin  concreated  in  the  soul, 
or,  at  least,  existing  in  the  soul  from  the 
indivisible  instant  in  which  its  existence 
commences,  anterior  to  all  choice,  all  in- 
telligence, all  desire  or  emotion ;  others 
hold  that  sin  consists  only  in  the  perver- 
sion of  the  powers  of  human  nature.  Some 
hold  that  the  "  new  birth"  is  not  only  fig- 
uratively and  morally,  but  literally  and 
physically,  a  new  creation ;  that  it  is  a 
change  in  the  being  itself,  from  which  a 
moral  renovation  inevitably  proceeds ;  that 
anterior  to  repentance,  to  faith,  to  any 
right  movement  of  the  soul,  there  is  not 
merely  an  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
upon  the  soul,  but  a  subjective  change 
within  the  soul,  which  change  they  call 
repentance.  Others,  on  the  contrary,  hold 
that  conversion,  or  the  turning  of  the  soul 
to  God  in  repentance  and  faith,  is  regener- 
ation, and  is  the  effect  of  a  divine  influence 
upon  the  soul.  Some  hold  that  the  re- 
newed man  will  persevere  in  holiness,  be- 
cause the  power  of  God  upon  him  is  such 
that  he  cannot  fall  away ;  others  that  God's 
promise  to  keep  him  cannot  fail,  and  that, 
therefore,  he  will  not  fall  away.  Some 
hold  that  God,  in  His  works  of  creation, 
providence,  and  redemption,  has  not  con- 
stituted the  best  system  possible  to  Him, 
and  that  He  could  have  done  much  better 
than  He  has  done  ;  others  hold  that  the 
system  of  the  universe,  including  all 
events,  is  absolutely  the  best ;  the  best 
which  the  mind  of  God  could  conceive  ; 
better,  with  all  the  sin  which  exists,  than  it 
could  have  been  if  all  creatures  had  re- 
tained forever  their  allegiance  to  God ;  and 
others  still  hold  that  this  system,  including 
all  the  evil  which  exists  under  it,  is,  on  the 
whole,  better  than  any  other  system  of 
creation  and  government  could  have  been, 
but  not  better  than  if  all  God's  creatures 
had  remained  holy  and  happy.  Some  hold 
that  in  every  instance  in  which  sin  takes 
place,  God,  on  the  whole,  prefers  that  sin 
to  holiness  in  its  stead  ;  others  hold  that 
God  never  chooses  evil  rather  than  good, 
or  sin  rather  than  holiness,  yet  that  in 
every  instance  in  which  sin  actually  takes 
place,  he,  for  some  wise  reason,  chooses 
to  permit  rather  than  to  interpose  his  pow- 
er to  prevent  it.  Some  hold  that  all  the 
acts  of  voluntary  agents  are  predestined  in 
such  a  way  that  the  agent  has  no  power  to 
act  otherwise  than  he  does  act  ;  others 
hold  that  while  all  the  acts  of  moral  agents 
are  certain  beforehand  in  the  counsels  of 
God,  nothing  in  that  certainty  is  inconsist- 
ent with  the  power  of  the  voluntary  agent 
to  act  otherwise. 

Such  is  a  specimen  of  the  controversial 
theology  in  the  evangelical,  and  particu- 


Chap.  X.] 


GENERAL    REMARKS. 


291 


larly  in  the  Congregational  and  Presbyte- 
rian denominations.  Were  I  to  indicate 
the  probable  direction  of  religions  opinion 
and  theological  science  in  the  United 
States,  amid  this  metaphysical  strife,  I 
should  little  hesitate  to  say  that  it  is  tend- 
ing, on  the  whole,  towards  a  higher  appre- 
ciation of  the  simplest  and  most  Scriptural 
Christianity,  that  is,  of  the  Gospel  as 
"  glad  tidings"  to  all  men,  tidings  of  for- 
giveness for  guilt  through  the  expiation 
made  by  the  Son  of  God,  and  tidings  of 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  lead  sinners 
to  repentance,  and  to  carry  on  a  work  of 
sanctification  in  the  hearts  of  the  believing. 
The  demand  is  everywhere  for  a  Christian- 
ity that  can  be  pretiched,  and  that,  being 
preached,  will  commend  itself  to  every 
man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God. 
Under  such  a  demand,  wire-drawn  specu- 
lations about  Christianity  —  remote  from 
any  application  to  the  conscience,  to  the 
sinner's  fears,  and  to  the  hopes  and  devout 
affections  of  the  believer — are  felt  to  be 
impertinent.  Thus  the  Gospel  is  preached 
less  and  less  as  a  matter  of  traditionary 
dogmatism  and  speculation,  and  more  and 
more  as  Gospel,  the  message  of  God's 
mercy  to  needy  and  guilty  man,  to  be  re- 
ceived by  every  hearer  as  suited  to  his 
wants,  and  to  be  hailed  with  faith  and  joy 
as  life  from  the  dead.  Against  this  gen- 
eral tendency  there  is,  and  there  will  be, 
occasional,  local,  and  party  resistance ;  the 
surface  may  be  ruffled  from  time  to  time 
by  some  wind  of  doctrine,  or  speculation, 
rather,  and  the  current  may  seem  to  be 
setting  in  the  opposite  direction.  But  I 
am  fully  persuaded  that,  on  the  whole,  if 
not  from  year  to  year,  at  least  from  one 
period  of  change  to  another,  the  progress 
of  religious  opinion  will  be  found  to  be  to- 
wards the  simplest  and  most  Scriptural 
views  of  the  Gospel  as  God's  gracious 
message,  which  every  man  may  embrace, 
and  should  embrace  immediately,  and  away 
from  those  philosophical  and  traditionary 
expositions  of  Christianity  which  it  only 
embarrasses  the  preacher  to  deliver,  and 
the  hearer  to  receive. 

The  increased  attention  which  the  the- 
ologians of  America  are  giving  to  the  ac- 
curate and  learned  investigation  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  may  be  regarded  as  an 
indication  of  the  tendency  of  theological 
seience  in  this  country.  That  the  Scrip- 
tures are  the  only  authority  in  matters  of 
faith  is  not  only  universally  acknowledged 
in  theory,  but  more  and  more  practically 
acted  upon.  Thus  the  science  and  art  of 
interpretation  are  more  and  more  appreci- 
ated. The  best  theologian  must  be  he  who 
bests  understands,  and  who  can  best  ex- 
plain the  Bible.  The  questions,  What  did 
Edwards  hold  ]  What  did  the  Puritans 
hold  1  What  did  the  Reformers  hold  1 
What  did  Augustine,  Jerome,  or  the  earli- 


er Fathers  hold  1  though  admitted  to  be 
important  in  their  place,  are  regarded  as 
of  small  importance  in  comparison  with 
the  questions,  What  saith  the  Scripture  1 
What  did  Christ  and  the  Apostles  teach  ? 
Under  this  influence,  the  tendency  of  the- 
ological science,  as  well  as  of  the  popular 
exposition  of  Christianity  from  the  pulpit, 
is  towards  the  primitive  simplicity  of  Chris- 
tian truth. 

The  great  achievement  of  American  the- 
ology is,  that  it  has  placed  the  doctrine  of 
the  atonement  for  sin  in  the  clearest  light, 
by  illustrations  drawn  from  the  nature  of 
a  moral  government.  Nowhere  is  the  dis- 
tinction between  the  work  of  Christ  as  the 
propitiation  for  the  sins  of  men,  and  that 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  renewing  and  sancti- 
fying the  sinner,  more  clearly  drawn — no- 
where is  the  necessity  of  each  to  the  sal- 
vation of  the  soul  more  constantly  and  for- 
cibly exhibited.  The  tendency  of  our  the- 
ology, under  the  impulse  of  the  Edwardean 
exposition  of  the  doctrine  of  the  atonement, 
is  to  avoid  the  habit — so  common  to  phi- 
losophers and  philosophizing  theologians — 
of  contemplating  God  exclusively  as  the 
First  Cause  of  all  beings  and  all  events,  and 
to  fix  attention  upon  him  as  a  moral  gov- 
ernor of  beings  made  for  responsible  ac- 
tion. Here  it  is  that  the  God  of  the  Bible 
differs  from  the  God  of  philosophy.  The 
latter  is  simply  a  first  cause — a  reason  why 
things  are — sometimes,  if  not  always,  a 
mere  hypothesis  to  account  for  the  exist- 
ence of  the  universe,  another  name  for 
nature  or  for  fate.  The  former  is  a  moral 
governor,  that  is,  a  lawgiver,  a  judge,  a  dis- 
penser of  rewards  and  penalties.  God's 
law  is  given  to  the  universe  of  moral  be- 
ings for  the  one  great  end  of  promoting 
the  happiness  of  that  vast  empire.  As  a 
law,  it  is  a  true  and  earnest  expression 
of  the  will  of  the  lawgiver  respecting  the 
actions  of  his  creatures.  As  a  law,  it 
must  be  sanctioned  by  penalties  ade- 
quate to  express  God's  estimation  of  the 
value  of  the  interests  trampled  on  by  dis- 
obedience. As  the  law  is  not  arbitrary, 
but  the  necessary  means  of  accomplishing 
the  greatest  good,  it  may  not  be  arbitrarily 
set  aside.  Therefore,  when  man  had  be- 
come apostate,  and  the  whole  human  race 
was  under  condemnation,  God  sent  his  Son 
into  the  world,  in  human  nature,  "  to  be 
made  a  sin-offering  for  us ;"  and  thus,  by 
his  voluntary  sufferings  magnifying  the  law, 
"  to  declare  the  righteousness  of  God,  that 
God  may  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him 
who  believeth."  Thus  it  is  that  God,  as  a 
moral  governor,  is  glorified  in  the  forgive- 
ness of  sinners  ;  that  He  calls  upon  all 
men  to  repent,  with  a  true  and  intense  de- 
sire for  their  salvation  ;  that  He  sends  into 
a  world  of  rebellion  the  infinite  gift  of  his 
Spirit,  to  impart  life  to  those  who  are  dead 
in  sin ;  that  in  a  world  of  sinners,  who,  if 


292 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  VIII. 


left  to  themselves,  would  all  reject  the  of- 
fered pardon,  He  saves  those  whom  He  has 
chosen  out  of  the  world ;  that  he  uses  the 
co-operation  of  redeemed  and  renewed  men 
in  advancing  the  work  of  saving  their  fel- 
low-men. Men  are  saved  from  sin  and 
condemnation,  not  by  mere  power,  but  by 
means  that  harmonize  with  the  nature,  and 
conduce  to  the  ends  of  God's  moral  gov- 
ernment. This  method  of  illustrating  the 
Gospel  carries  the  preacher  and  the  theolo- 
gian back  from  the  Platonic  dreams  and  dry 
dogmatizing  of  the  schools,  to  the  Bible. 
It  sets  the  theologian  upon  studying,  and 
the  preacher  upon  imitating,  the  freedom, 
simplicity,  and  directness,  with  which  the 
Apostles  addressed  the  understandings  and 
sensibilities  of  men.  And  thus  it  may  be  re- 
garded as  coinciding  with  other  indications 
of  the  tendency  of  religious  opinion  ia  the 
various  evangelical  bodies  of  America. 

I  would  remark,  in  conclusion,  that  few 
things  in  the  history  of  the  Gospel  more 
strikingly  prove  its  inherent  life  and  divin- 
ity, than  the  extent  to  which  it  has  se- 
cured and  retains  a  hold  upon  the  Ameri- 
can people.  Their  Christianity  is  not  the 
dead  formalism  of  ecclesiastical  institu- 
tions— upheld  by  law,  tradition,  or  the  force 
of  fashion.*     It  is  not  a  body  of  supersti- 


tions, lying  with  oppressive  weight  upon 
the  common  mind,  and  giving  support  to  a 
domineering  priesthood.  It  is  not  that  Ra- 
tionalism which,  retaining  little  of  Chris- 
tianity but  the  name,  has  had  a  brief  as- 
cendency in  some  parts  of  Protestant  Eu- 
rope. It  is  evangelical  Christianity — the 
Christianity  of  the  New  Testament.  Wher- 
ever the  stranger  sees  a  place  of  worship 
in  our  cities,  or  in  the  country,  the  pre- 
sumption is — the  probability  is,  with  few 
exceptions,  ten  to  one — that  there  God  is 
worshipped  in  the  name  of  the  one  Medi- 
ator, with  faith  and  penitence  ;  that  there 
pardon  is  offered  to  the  guilty,  freely  through 
Christ  the  Lamb  of  God  ;  and  that  there  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  looked  for.  and  is  given  to 
renew  the  heart  of  the  sinner,  and  to  fill 
the  believing  soul  with  joy  and  peace.  The 
worship  may,  in  many  instances,  be  such 
as  would  offend  the  sensibilities  of  certain 
cultivated  minds — most  unlike  the  choral 
pomp  of  old  cathedrals — still,  rude  as  it 
may  be,  it  is  often  that  only  acceptable 
worship  which  is  offered  in  spirit  and  in 
truth.  The  Gospel  may  be  preached  there 
ignorantly,  and  with  many  imperfections, 
still  it  is  the  Gospel,  and  often  does  it  be- 
come "  the  wisdom  of  God,  and  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation." 


BOOK    VIII. 

KFFORTS  OF  THE   AMERICAN   CHURCHES  FOR  THE  CONVERSION   OF 

THE  WORLD. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY    REMARKS. 

We  cannot  well  close  our  view  of  the 
religious  condition  of  the  United  States 
without  a  brief  notice  of  what  the  church- 
es here  are  doing  for  the  propagation  of 
the  Gospel  in  other  lands.     This  forms  a 


*  Much  has  been  said  in  Europe  about  the  tyranny 
of  public  opinion  in  the  United  States,  but  I  confess 
I  never  have  been  able  to  comprehend  what  this  ex- 
pression means.  M.  de  Tocqueville  employs  it,  but 
•without  giving  any  clear  idea  upon  the  subject,  as 
has  been  well  remarked  by  the  Hon.  John  C  Spen- 
cer, in  his  Notes  to  the  American  edition  of  M.  de 
T.'s  work.  If  public  opinion  be  strong  and  decided 
in  America,  it  is  because  the  character  of  the  people 
makes  it  so.  When  they  form  an  opinion,  more  es- 
pecially on  any  matter  in  which  the  judgment  or  the 
conscience  is  concerned  (and  what  subject  of  a  prac- 
tical kind  does  not  involve  one  or  other  of  these,)? 
they  are  not  willing  to  change  it  but  for  good  reasons. 
And  in  all  matters  of  religion,  and  morals  especially, 
the  Protestant  Faith,  which  has  so  much  influence 
with  a  large  proportion  of  the  population,  concurs 
with  the  earnestness  and  steadiness  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  character,  to  make  public  opinion,  not  only 
strong,  but  right,  on  all  points  on  which  it  has  been 
sufficiently  informed.  Mr.  Laing,  in  his  excellent 
work  on  Sweden,  has  some  judicious  remarks  on 
this  subject,  proving  that  he  takes  a  philosophic  view 
Of  it. 


natural  sequel  to  what  has  been  said  of 
their  endeavours  to  plant  and  to  sustain  its 
institutions  on  their  own  soil. 

Some  readers,  indeed,  may  be  surprised 
to  learn  that  our  churches  are  doing  any- 
thing at  all  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  oth- 
er countries,  while  they  have  so  much  to 
do  in  their  own.  When  they  hear  that 
our  population  is  increasing  at  the  rate  of 
500,000  of  souls  in  the  year,  so  that  no- 
thing short  of  the  most  gigantic  efforts  can 
effect  a  proportionate  increase  of  ministers 
and  congregations  ;  when  they  read  of  no 
fewer  than  60,000  or  80,000  immigrants 
arriving  from  Europe,  the  greater  number 
of  whom  are  ignorant  of  the  true  Gospel, 
and  many  of  them  uneducated,  poor,  and 
vicious,  they  may  be  astonished  that  the 
American  churches,  unaided  by  the  gov- 
ernment in  any  way,  receiving  no  tithes, 
taxes,  or  public  pecuniary  grants  of  any 
kind,  even  for  the  support  of  religion  at 
home,  do  nevertheless  raise  large  sums  for 
sending  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen.  Such, 
however,  is  not  the  feeling  of  enlightened 
and  zealous  Christians  in  America  itself. 
They  feel  that,  while  called  upon  to  do 
their  utmost  for  religion  at  home,  it  is  at 


Chap.  II.] 


EFFORTS    TO   CONVERT  THE  ABORIGINES. 


293 


once  a  duty  and  a  privilege  to  assist  in 
promoting  it  abroad.  They  feel  assured 
that  he  that  watereth  shall  himself  be  re- 
freshed, and  that,  in  complying  so  far  as 
they  can  with  their  Saviour's  command 
to  "  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature," 
they  are  most  likely  to  secure  the  bless- 
ing of  that  Saviour  upon  their  country. 
And  facts  abundantly  prjove  that  they  are 
right. 

Moreover,  our  churches  have  a  special 
reason  for  the  interest  they  take  in  for- 
eign missions.  No  churches  owe  so  much 
to  the  spirit  of  missions  as  they  do.  Much 
of  the  country  was  colonized  by  men  who 
came  to  it  not  only  as  a  refuge  for  their 
faith  when  persecuted  elsewhere,  but  as  a 
field  of  missionary  enterprise  ;  and  their 
descendants  would  be  most  unfaithful  to 
the  high  trust  that  has  been  bequeathed  to 
them,  did  they  not  strenuously  endeavour 
to  carry  out  the  principles  of  their  forefa- 
thers. Alas,  we  have  to  mourn  that  we 
have,  after  all,  done  so  little  to  impart  the 
glorious  Gospel,  to  which  our  country 
owes  so  much,  to  nations  still  ignorant  of 
it !  Still,  we  have  done  something,  and 
the  candid  reader  will  perhaps  admit  that 
we  have  not  been  altogether  wanting  in 
our  duty,  nor  greatly  behind  the  church- 
es of  most  other  countries  in  this  enter- 
prise. 


CHAPTER  II. 

EARLIER     EFFORTS    TO     CONVERT     THE     ABORI- 
GINES. 

Notwithstanding  the  common  mistake 
at  the  present  day,  of  those  who  conceive 
that  religious  liberty,  and  to  some  extent, 
also,  the  enjoyment  of  political  rights,  were 
the  sole  inducements  that  led  to  the  ori- 
ginal colonization  of  the  United  States,  we 
have  seen  that  the  plantations  of  both  -Vir- 
ginia and  New-England  were  designed  to 
conduce  to  the  spread  of  Christianity  by 
the  conversion  of  the  Aborigines,  as  is 
proved  both  by  the  royal  charters  estab- 
lishing those  early  colonies,  and  by  the  ex- 
pressed sentiments  of  the  Massachusetts 
settlers. 

The  royal  charter  granted  to  the  Plym- 
outh Company,  having  referred  to  the  de- 
population of  the  country  by  pestilence 
and  war,  and  its  lying  unclaimed  by  any 
other  Christian  power,  goes  on  to  say, 
"  In  contemplation  and  serious  considera- 
tion whereof,  we  have  thought  it  fit,  ac- 
cording to  our  kingly  duty,  so  much  as  in 
us  lieth,  to  second  and  follow  God's  sacred 
will,  rendering  thanks  to  his  divine  Majes- 
ty for  his  gracious  favour  in  laying  open 
and  revealing  the  same  unto  us  before  any 
other  Christian  prince  or  state  ;  by  which 
means,  without  offence,  and  as  we  trust  to 


his  glory,  we  may  with  boldness  go  on  to 
the  settling  of  so  hopeful  a  work,  which 
tendeth  to  the  reducing  and  conversion  of 
such  savages  as  remain  wandering  in  des- 
olation and  distress,  to  civil  society  and 
the  Christian  religion."  And  in  this,  the 
charter  professes  to  favour  the  "  worthy 
disposition"  of  the  petitioners  to  whom  it 
was  granted.  Nothing  could  be  more  nat- 
ural, therefore,  than  that  John  Robinson, 
pastor  of  that  part  of  the  church  which  re- 
mained at  Leyden,  in  Holland,  should  ex- 
claim, in  his  letter  to  the  governor  of  the 
colony  at  Plymouth,  "Oh  that  you  had 
converted  some  before  you  killed  any!" 
But,  in  fact,  the  Plymouth  colonists  ap- 
plied themselves  to  the  conversion  of  the 
natives  from  the  very  first.  They  en- 
deavoured to  communicate  the  knowledge 
of  the  Gospel  to  the  scattered  Indians 
around  them,  and  took  pains  to  establish 
schools  for  their  instruction.  The  result 
was,  that  several  gave  satisfactory  evi- 
dence, living  and  dying,  of  real  conversion 
to  God.  A  poor,  small  colony,  struggling 
for  its  very  existence  with  all  manner  of 
hardships,  could  not  be  expected  to  do 
much  in  this  way,  yet  in  1636  we  find  that 
it  made  a  legal  provision  for  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Gospel  among  the  Indians,  and 
for  the  establishment  of  courts  to  punish 
trespasses  committed  against  them. 

The  Massachusetts  charter  sets  forth 
that,  "  to  win  and  incite  the  natives  of  that 
country  to  the  knowledge  and  obedience 
of  the  only  true  God  and  Saviour  of  man- 
kind, and  the  Christian  Faith,  in  our  royal 
intention  and  the  adventurer's  free  profes- 
sion, is  the  principal  end  of  the  plantation." 
The  seal  of  the  colony  had  for  its  device 
the  figure  of  an  Indian,  with  the  words  of 
the  Macedonian  entreaty,  "  Come  over  and 
help  us."  And  here,  as  at  Plymouth,  some 
not  altogether  abortive  attempts  were  made 
to  convert  the  natives  from  the  very  first. 

Thus,  these  two  colonies  might  be  con- 
sidered as  self-supporting  missions,  and 
rank  among  the  earliest  Protestant  mis- 
sionary enterprises.  The  Swedes  had  in 
the  preceding  century  done  something  for 
their  benighted  countrymen  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  that  kingdom.  French  Hugue- 
nots, too,  as  we  have  seen,  made  an  at- 
tempt so  early  as  1556,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  brave  and  good  Coligny,  to  carry 
the  Gospel  to  America,  by  founding  a  set- 
tlement in  Brazil.  Calvin  furnished  sev- 
eral pastors  for  it  from  his  school  at  Ge- 
neva. But  Villagagnon,  who  took  the  lead, 
having  relapsed  to  Romanism,  put  three 
of  the  Genevan  pastors  to  death  ;  where- 
upon some  of  the  colonists  returned  to 
Europe,  and  the  remainder  were  massa- 
cred by  the  Portuguese.  A  subsequent 
attempt,  made  under  the  same  auspices, 
to  plant  a  Protestant  colony  in  Florida, 
also  failed.     Thus,  even  assuming,  which 


294 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  VIII. 


is  not  very  evident,  that  these  attempts 
were  of  a  missionary  character,  certain  it 
is  that  the  New-England  colonies  may  be 
regarded  as  the  first  successful  enterprises 
of  the  kind. 

In  1646,  the  Massachusetts  Legislature 
passed  an  act  for  the  encouragement  of 
Christian  missions  among  the  Indians,  and 
that  same  year  the  celebrated  John  Eliot 
began  his  labours  at  Nonantum,  now  form- 
ing part  of  the  township  of  Newton,  about 
six  miles  from  Boston.  Great  success  at- 
tended this  good  man's  preaching,  and 
other  modes  of  instruction.  Nor  were  his 
labours  confined  to  the  Indians  near  Bos- 
ton. From  Cape  Cod  to  Worcester,  over 
a  tract  of  country  near  100  miles  long,  he 
made  repeated  journeys,  preaching  to  the 
native  tribes,  whose  language  he  had  thor- 
oughly mastered,  and  had  translated  the 
Scriptures  and  other  Christian  books  into 
it.  Both  editions  of  his  Indian  Bible,  the 
one  of  1500  copies  in  1663,  the  other  of 
2000  copies  in  1685,  were  printed  at  Cam- 
bridge, near  Boston,  and  were  the  only 
Bibles  printed  in  America  until  long  af- 
ter. Eliot,  who  has  ever  since  been  call- 
ed the  "Apostle  of  the  Indians,"  died  m 
1690,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five.  "  Wel- 
come joy,"  was  one  of  his  last  expres- 
sions. His  labours,  and  those  of  others 
whom  he  engaged  in  the  same  great  work, 
were  blessed  to  the  conversion  of  many 
souls,  and  many  settlements  of  "  praying 
Indians"  were  formed  in  the  country  round 
Boston. 

But  Eliot  was  not  the  first  who  preached 
the  Gospel  with  success  to  the  Indians  in 
New-England.  Thomas  Mayhew  began 
his  labours  among  them  on  the  island  call- 
ed Martha's  Vineyard,  in  1643.  In  1646 
he  sailed  for  England  to  solicit  aid  ;  but  the 
ship  was  lost  at  sea.  His  father,  Thomas 
Mayhew,  the  proprietor  of  the  island, 
though  seventy  years  of  age,  then  under- 
took the  task,  and  continued  it  till  1681, 
when  he  died,  at  the  age  of  ninety-three. 
His  grandson  succeeded  ;  and  for  five  gen- 
erations, till  the  death  of  Zachariah  May- 
hew in  1803.  aged  eighty-seven  years,  that 
family  supplied  pastors  to  the  Indians  liv- 
ing on  Martha's  Vineyard. 

In  the  Plymouth  colony  we  find  honour- 
able mention  made,  among  those  who  la- 
boured to  evangelize  the  Indians  during 
Eliot's  lifetime,  of  Messrs.  Treat,  Tup- 
per,  and  Cotton ;  while  in  Massachusetts, 
besides  Eliot,  there  were  Messrs.  (Joskin, 
Thatcher,  and  Rawson ;  and  in  Connecti- 
cut, Messrs.  Fitch  and  Pierson.  The  re- 
sult of  their  united  efforts  was  seen  in 
1675,  in  fourteen  settlements  of  "  praying 
Indians,  twenty-four  congregations,  and 
twenty-four  Indian  preachers."  Besides 
religious  instruction,  the  Indians  were 
taught  agriculture,  and  the  other  most  ne- 
cessary arts  of  civilized  life. 


But  that  very  year  (1675),  King  Philip, 
the  chief  of  the  Pokanoket  tribe,  instiga- 
ted by  his  hatred  of  Christianity,  and  still 
more,  probably,  by  jealousy  of  the  growing 
power  of  the  English  settlers,  made  an  un- 
provoked war  upon  the  colonies.  It  ended 
in  the  annihilation  of  his  party,  not,  how- 
ever, without  vast  injury  to  the  "praying 
settlements."  Still,  though  the  Gospel  ex- 
perienced a  check,  it  soon  began  again  to 
make  progress,  so  that  in  1696  thero  were 
thirty  Indian  churches  in  Massachusetts 
colony,  and,  two  years  later,  3000  reputed 
"  converts." 

In  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  and  Long 
Island,  which  belonged  to  the  province  of 
New- York,  though  its  eastern  part  was  col- 
onized by  emigrants  from  New-England, 
missionary  efforts  were  less  successful. 
Still,  the  Gospel  was  not  wholly  without 
effect,  and  portions  of  the  Narragansett, 
Pequod,  Nantick,  Mohegan,  and  Montauk 
tribes  were  converted  to  Christianity,  and 
long  formed  "  Christian  settlements,"  some 
remnants  of  which  exist  to  this  day. 

The  news  respecting  the  progress  of  the 
Gospel  among  the  Indians  in  New-Eng- 
land excited  so  much  interest  in  the  moth- 
er-country from  the  first,  that  "  The  Socie- 
ty for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  New- 
England"  was  incorporated  in  England  so 
early  as  1649,  and  though  its  charter  was 
annulled  at  the  Restoration  in  1660,  a  new 
one  was  granted  the  following  year,  reor- 
ganizing the  society,  under  the  title  of 
"  The  Society  for. Propagating  the  Gospel 
among  the  Heathen  Nations  of  New-Eng- 
land and  the  parts  adjacent  in  America." 
The  celebrated  Robert  Boyle  took  a  great 
interest  in  it,  and  was  its  "  governor"  or 
president  for  thirty  years.  The  good  Bax- 
ter was  its  friend.  In  1698,  "  The  Society 
for  promoting  Christian  Knowledge"  was 
founded  by  members  of  the  Established 
Church  in  England  ;  and  in  1701,  "  The  So- 
ciety for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign 
Parts"  was  instituted.  This  last  joined  with 
the  first  in  aiding  the  American  missions, 
as  did  also,  at  a  later  day,  "  The  Society  for 
Propagating  Christian  Knowledge,"  which 
was  founded  in  Scotland.  A  considerable 
portion  of  the  funds  expended  by  these  so- 
cieties, in  the  missions  among  the  Indians, 
was  contributed  by  the  churches  in  Amer- 
ica ;  for,  before  the  Revolution,  they  had 
no  independent  missionary  organizations 
of  their  own,  owing  to  their  dependant  con- 
dition as  colonies.  In  1762,  the  Massachu- 
setts Legislature  incorporated  a  society 
formed  at  Boston,  "for  promoting  Christian 
knowledge  among  the  Indians  in  North 
America,"  but  the  ratification  of  this  act  by 
the  crown  being  refused,  the  missions  had 
still  to  be  conducted  on  behalf  of  the  soci- 
eties in  Great  Britain,  through  American 
committees  formed  at  Boston  and  New- 
York. 


;  Chap.  U.] 


EFFORTS    TO    CONVERT   THE   ABORIGINES. 


295 


In  1734,  Mr.  John  Sergeant  began  to  la- 
bour among  some  Mohegans  whom  he  had 
gathered  round  him  at  Stockbridge,  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, whence  the  name  given  them 
ever  after  of  "  Stockbridge  Indians."  That 
good  man,  whose  labours  were  greatly 
blessed,  died  in  1749,  whereupon  these  In- 
dians passed  under  the  care  of  the  great 
Jonathan  Edwards,  who  had  been  settled  at 
Northampton.  It  was  while  labouring  as 
an  humble  missionary  at  Stockbridge  that 
he  wrote  his  celebrated  treatises  on  the 
"  Freedom  of  the  Will"  and  "  Original 
Sin." 

Having  spent  six  years  at  Stockbridge, 
he  was  called  to  be  President  of  Princeton 
College,  New-Jersey.  After  the  Revolu- 
tion, the  Stockbridge  Indians,  many  of 
them  being  Christians,  removed  to  the  cen- 
tral part  of  the  State  of  New-York,  thence 
to  Indiana,  thence  to  Green  Bay,  and  at 
last  to  their  present  settlement  on  the  east 
of  Lake  Winnebago,  where  they  have  a 
church  and  a  missionary. 

Contemporaneously  with  the  commence- 
ment of  Mr.  Sergeant's  labours  at  Stock- 
bridge  the  Moravians  began  a  mission  in 
Georgia,  whence  they  were  compelled  by 
supervening  difficulties  to  remove  soon 
after  to  Pennsylvania.  In  compliance 
with  applications  transmitted  by  them  to 
Hernnhut,  in  Germany,  the  Society  sent 
over  several  missionaries,  and  these  wor- 
thy men  began  in  1740  to  labour  very  suc- 
cessfully among  the  Mohegans  on  the  bor- 
ders of  the  States  of  Connecticut  and  New- 
York.  But  the  opposition  of  wicked  white 
men  compelled  them  at  length  to  remove, 
with  as  many  of  the  Indians  as  would  ac- 
company them,  to  the  neighbourhood  of 
Bethlehem  in  Pennsylvania,  and  there  they 
remained  for  several  years,  but  suffered 
much  in  consequence  of  the  hostilities 
between  France  and  Britain  in  1755-63. 
From  that  they  went  first  to  the  banks  of 
the  Upper  Susquehanna,  and  afterward  be- 
yond the  western  borders  of  Pennsylvania, 
where  they  joined  some  Indian  converts 
of  the  excellent  David  Zeisberger  from  the 
Alleghany  River.  These  quarters  they  ex- 
changed in  1772  for  others  on  the  Muskin- 
gum River,  in  Ohio,  where  they  enjoyed 
great  spiritual  prosperity  for  a  season. 
From  that  they  moved  afterward  to  the 
Sandusky  River,  in  the  same  state.  After 
many  calamities  and  much  suffering  du- 
ring the  Revolutionary  war,  in  which  the 
Indians  generally  took  part  against  the 
Americans,  and  after  several  changes  of 
quarters  subsequent  to  the  return  of  peace, 
they  finally  settled  on  the  River  Thames, 
in  Upper  Canada,  where  they  built  the  town 
of  Fairfield,  at  which  they  now  reside. 

David  Brainerd  commenced  his  short 
but  useful  career  in  1743  among  the  In- 
dians between  Albany  and  Stockbridge, 
.near  what  is  now  called  New-Lebanon.  He 


preached  afterward  to  the  Indians  at  the 
Forks  of  the  Delaware,  in  Pennsylvania, 
the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Easton. 
And,  finally,  he  laboured  for  a  short  time, 
but  with  amazing  success,  among  the 
New-Jersey  Indians  at  Crossweeksung. 
On  the  termination  of  his  labours  by  death, 
at  the  age  of  thirty,  his  brother  John  con- 
tinued them,  and  was  much  blessed  in  the 
attempt.  Upon  John's  death  in  1783,  his 
Indian  flock  had  the  ministrations  of  the 
Word  continued  chiefly  by  the  pastors  in 
the  neighbourhood  until  1802,  when  it  join- 
ed the  Stockbridge  Indians  at  their  settle- 
ment in  New- York. 

A  school  for  Indian  youth  was  opened  at 
Lebanon,  in  Connecticut,  in  1748,  under  the 
Rev.  EleazerWheelock,  and  there  the  well- 
known  Indian  preacher,  Mr.  Occum,  and 
the  celebrated  Mohawk  chief,  Brant,  were 
educated.  It  was  afterward  removed  to 
Hanover,  in  New-Hampshire,  where  it  is 
still  to  be  found,  and  is  nominally  connect- 
ed, I  understand,  with  Dartmouth  College. 
Its  proper  title  is  "  Moor's  Charity  School." 

One  of  the  most  useful  of  the  more  re- 
cent missionaries  among  the  Indians  was 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Kirkland,  who  began  his 
labours  with  the  Oneidas  in  the  State  of 
New- York  in  1764,  and  died  in  1808,  hav- 
ing preached  the.  Gospel  to  the  Indians, 
with  some  short  interruptions,  for  more 
than  forty  years. 

We  have  elsewhere  referred  to  some- 
thing being  done  in  the  way  of  Indian  mis- 
sions in  Virginia,  but  in  none  of  the  South- 
ern colonies  was  there  anything  of  this 
kind  accomplished  deserving  of  particular 
mention.  The  wars  between  the  Aborigi- 
nes and  the  immigrants,  that  broke  out  soon 
after  the  arrival  of  the  latter,  and  were  re- 
peatedly renewed  afterward,  extinguished 
any  little  zeal  they  may  have  ever  felt  in 
such  a  cause. 

These  notices  will,  no  doubt,  surprise 
such  of  our  readers  as  have  been  under  the 
impression  that  the  colonists  never  did 
anything  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians 
to  the  Gospel.  Still,  who  can  but  regret 
that  more  was  not  done  to  bring  the  origi- 
nal occupants  of  the  soil  to  that  knowledge 
both  of  Christianity,  and  the  arts  of  civil- 
ized life,  by  which  alone  the  gradual  ex- 
tinction of  so  many  of  their  tribes  could 
have  been  arrested?  The  efforts  of  the 
colonists,  however,  encountered  many  ob- 
stacles. The  wars  between  France,  when 
mistress  of  the  Canadas,  and  the  Brit- 
ish Empire,  of  which  the  United  States 
were  then  a  part,  invariably  drew  their  re- 
spective colonies,  together  with  the  inter- 
vening Indian  tribes,  into  hostilities.  These 
were  protracted,  bloody,  and  cruel,  so  as 
to  leave  deep  traces  of  exasperation  in  the 
minds  of  all  who  did  not  possess  a  large 
share  of  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel.  All  war 
is  dreadful,  but  Indian  warfare  is  horrible 


296 


RELIGION   IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  VIII. 


to  a  degree  altogether  beyond  the  concep- 
tion of  those  who  have  only  heard  of  it  at 
a  distance,  and  it  ultimately  begot  such  a 
spirit  of  hatred  and  revenge  among  the  col- 
onists as  proved  exceedingly  unfavourable 
to  missions.  I  stop  not  here  to  inquire 
who  was  in  the  wrong  in  the  first  instance. 
Only  let  me  remark,  in  passing,  that  they 
are  egregiously  mistaken  who  assume  that 
the  colonists  were  always  in  the  wrong. 

Again,  the  churches  in  the  colonies  were 
neither  numerous  nor  rich,  so  that,  upon 
the  whole,  those  in  New-England,  and  per- 
haps those,  also,  in  New- York  and  New- 
Jersey,  did  as  much,  probably,  in  proportion 
to  their  ability,  then  as  they  do  now. 

At  length  came  the  long  war  of  the  Rev- 
olution, and  the  still  longer  period  that  fol- 
lowed of  distraction,  confusion,  and  spirit- 
ual desolation.  Small,  indeed,  was  the 
prospect  then  of  sufficient  attention  being 
paid  to  missions  among  the  Indians,  many 
of  whose  tribes  were  far  from  being  peace- 
ably disposed  towards  the  United  States 
government.  And  no  sooner  did  the  coun- 
try and  the  government  begin  to  recover 
from  this  stale  of  moral  syncope,  than  they 
fell  into  fresh  troubles  in  consequence  of 
the  wars  between  the  British  and  French, 
following  upon  the  French  Revolution  — 
troubles  which  ultimately  brought  on  the 
war  of  1812-1815,  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain.  Thus,  it  was 
not  until  the  peace  of  1815,  and  the  general 
restoration  of  good- will  between  the  Indian 
tribes  and  the  United  States,  that  a  favour- 
able opening  for  missions  among  the  for- 
mer was  again  presented.  Blessed  be  God, 
our  churches  have  ever  since  been  becom- 
ing more  and  more  interested  every  year 
in  this  good  cause,  as  will  appear  from 
the  operations  of  our  societies  for  foreign 
missions. 

It  is  no  easy  task,  indeed,  to  Christian- 
ize and  civilize  savages  who,  from  times 
unknown,  have  been  devoted  to  hunting 
and  to  war;  and,  when  not  thus  occupied, 
lounge  like  their  dogs  about  their  miser- 
able hovels  and  tents,  clad  in  skins,  and 
leaving  to  their  women,  or  squaws,  the 
drudgery  of  cultivating  a  little  patch  of 
maize,  making  the  fires,  and  even  dressing 
the  animals  that  have  been  slain  in  the 
chase,  as  well  as  all  other  domestic  cares. 
Their  aversion  to  the  methodical  labour 
required  for  the  arts  of  civilized  life  is  such 
as  none  can  conceive  without  a  personal 
knowledge  of  them.  Not  a  single  noble 
aspiration  seems  ever  to  enter  their  souls, 
but  all  they  care  about  seems  to  be  that 
they  may  pass  away  life  as  their  fathers 
did,  and  then  die  amid  the  vague  and 
shadowy  visions  of  the  unknown  future. 
In  short,  as  long  as  their  forests  last,  and 
game  can  be  found,  they  seem  not  to  have 
a  thought  of  adopting  the  habits  of  civil- 
ized life. 


Some  persons  are  forever  indulging 
mawkish  lamentations  over  the  disappear- 
ance .of  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  North 
America,  and,  if  one  may  interpret  their 
sentimental  distress  on  this  subject,  they 
would  rather  see  this  vast  continent  oc- 
cupied by  a  few  hundred  thousand  sav- 
ages, roaming  the  forests,  and  continu- 
ally at  war  with  each  other,  than  covered 
with  a  civilized  and  Christian  population; 
either  forgetting,  or  else  never  having 
known,  that  a  state  of  savageism  is  not 
only  wretched,  but  necessarily  tends  to 
annihilation. 

But  how  civilized  men  are  to  share  the 
same  continent  with  uncivilized,  without 
the  latter  being  supplanted  and  made  to 
disappear,  is  a  question  by  no  means  of 
easy  solution.  On  a  continent  of  great 
natural  resources,  and  possessing  every- 
thing calculated  to  invite  civilized  men  to 
its  shores,  becoming  discovered,  it  is  easy 
to  see  that  the  time  cannot  be  distant 
when  civilized  men,  by  natural  increase 
and  immigration,  will  crowd  upon  and  dis- 
place the  uncivilized.  To  save  the  latter 
from  extinction,  under  such  circumstances, 
one  or  other  of  two  courses  must  be  pur- 
sued :  either  the  two  races  must  be  amal- 
gamated, which  is  next  to  impossible  while 
one  remains  uncivilized,  and  can  only  be 
done  by  reducing  one  of  them  to  a  species 
of  slavery,  and  thus  bringing  them  into  the 
bosom  of  civilized  society,  as  was  very 
much  the  course  pursued  by  the  Spaniards 
in  Mexico  and  South  America ;  or  the  un- 
civilized race  be  allowed  to  preserve  their 
natural  or  tribial  existence  in  some  distinct 
territory.  The  plan  pursued  by  the  Span- 
iards was  revolting  to  the  feelings  of  the 
English  colonists,  and  they  adopted,  ac- 
cordingly, that  of  letting  the  Indians  enjoy 
a  separate  existence. 

But  even  this,  easy  as  it  may  seem  at 
first  sight,  is  attended  with  many  difficul- 
ties. It  would  be  very  practicable  if  all 
men  were  what  they  ought  to  be  ;  for  then, 
after  the  immigrants  had  purchased  the  ter- 
ritory they  required,  the  Indians  would  be 
left  in  undisturbed  possession  of  what  they 
chose  to  reserve  to  themselves,  and  the 
two  races  would  live  in  each  other's  pres- 
ence, respecting  each  other's  rights,  and 
each  contented  with  its  own  possessions. 
But  this,  alas  !  is  not  a  likely  result  among 
fallen  men  whom  even  Christianity  has 
only  partially  restored.  As  the  civilized 
increased  in  numbers,  they  desired  more 
and  more  territory,  which  the  Indians  did 
not  hesitate  to  sell  as  long  as  their  own 
domain  seemed  almost  boundless,  and  so 
the  white  men  went  on  pushing  the  red 
farther  and  farther  towards  the  West. 
Meanwhile,  the  latter  disappointed  the  ex- 
pectations of  those  who  had  looked  for- 
ward to  their  adopting  the  manners  and 
customs  of  civilized  life.     Living  in  close 


Chap.  II.] 


EFFORTS   TO   CONVERT   THE   ABORIGINES. 


297 


proximity  to  the  white  men's  settlements, 
these  they  often  visited  with  the  skins  of 
animals  or  blankets  thrown  over  their 
shoulders,  and  their  extremities  exposed 
in  the  coldest  weather ;  and  then,  after 
lounging  about  the  houses  of  the  colonists, 
and  taking  such  presents  as  might  be  of- 
fered, they  returned  to  their  comfortless 
wigwams  without  having  acquired  the 
slightest  desire  to  exchange  their  wretch- 
ed mode  of  living  for  the  conveniences  and 
comforts  they  had  just  witnessed.  They 
Avere  too  fond  of  the  habits  ill  which  they 
had  been  nurtured,  and  too  averse  to  every- 
thing like  steady  industry,  to  seek  any 
change. 

Nor  were  the  colonists  wanting  in  ef- 
forts to  induce  their  savage  neighbours  to 
adopt  civilized  usages.  Provision  was 
made  in  almost  every  treaty  that  they 
should  be  supplied  with  articles  of  com- 
fort, and  agricultural  and  other  useful  im- 
plements. But  brandy,  alas !  was  inclu- 
ded at  times,  that  being  thought,  in  those 
days  of  ignorance,  one  of  the  first  requi- 
sites of  life — equally  necessary  to  the  civ- 
ilized and  uncivilized  man.  Addresses  with- 
out number  were  presented  to  "  chiefs" 
and  "  councils"  by  the  colonial  governors 
in  favour  of  civilization,  but  these  were  all 
in  vain.  The  little  that  was  done  must  be 
ascribed  to  the  missionaries  sent  to  them, 
chiefly  by  the  churches  in  the  colonies. 
These  succeeded,  in  several  instances,  in 
partially  civilizing  the  Indians  amongwhom 
they  laboured,  and  to  this  the  still  extant 
remnants  of  tribes  may  be  said  to  owe 
their  preservation  to  this  day,  inasmuch  as 
those  in  which  Christianity  never  gained 
any  footing,  and  in  which  agriculture  and 
the  mechanical  arts  never  made  any  prog- 
ress, almost  wholly  disappeared,  either  by 
becoming  extinct,  or  by  being  merged  in 
other  uncivilized  and  heathen  tribes. 

The  result  would,  doubtless,  have  been 
much  more  favourable  had  the  missionary 
spirit  of  the  earliest  colonists  continued 
to  distinguish  their  followers.  But,  alas  ! 
mere  cupidity  tempted  many  to  those 
shores  for  the  sole  object  of  enriching 
themselves  by  all  practicable  means,  how- 
ever unjustifiable,  and  often  by  overreach- 
ing the  poor  ignorant  savage.  Nay,  even 
good  men  suffered  themselves  to  be  too 
much  influenced  by  the  horrid  massacres 
often  committed  by  the  Indians  upon  the 
frontier  settlements  in  their  wars  with  the 
colonists.  These  atrocities  could  hardly 
fail  to  cool  the  zeal  for  promoting  the  best 
interests  of  their  barbarous  neighbours, 
which  such  men  had  previously  felt. 

Add  to  other  untoward  influences  that 
of  the  phraseology  of  the  royal  charters, 
where  what  were  called  "  rights"  to  cer- 
tain lands  were  granted,  without  the  slight- 
est reference  being  made  to  the  previous 
''rights"  of  the  uncivilized  occupants  of 


the  soil.  This  seems  to  have  suggested  al- 
most all  the  subsequent  efforts  made  to  ob- 
tain per  fas  aut  nefas,  the  territories  marked 
out  by  those  charters.  Thus  the  poor  In- 
dians had  no  certain  resting-place.  A  few 
reservations  which  certain  remnants  of 
partially  Christianized  and  civilized  tribes 
have  retained  in  some  parts  of  New-Eng- 
land and  New-York,  are  now  the  only  In- 
dian settlements  to  be  found  in  all  the  At- 
lantic States.  Had  the  wise  though  much 
vilified  plan,  pursued  for  some  years  past 
by  the  United  States  government,  been 
sooner  adopted  —  had  the  tribes  whose 
lands  were  included  in  the  royal  charters 
been  all  collected  on  one  territory,  beyond 
the  boundaries  of  any  charter,  and  ample 
enough  for  their  support  by  hunting  in  the 
first  instance,  and  afterward  by  tillage, 
even  the  limited  attempts  that  were  made 
to  civilize  them  might  have  taken  effect. 
But,  alas  !  where  was  there  a  territory 
ample  enough  to  be  found  over  which  no 
charter  extended  its  claims  ]  At  last,  by 
the  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  this  desidera- 
tum Was  supplied,  and  men,  as  benevolent 
as  America  has  ever  possessed,  soon  com- 
prehended the  important  use  that  might  be 
made  of  it,  and  pressed  it  upon  the  atten- 
tion of  the  government.  Accordingly,  the 
country  lying  between  the  present  States 
of  Arkansas  and  Missouri  and  the  Great 
American  Desert,  which  stretches  as  far 
west  as  the  Oregon  Mountains,  was  set 
apart  for  the  purpose,  being  sufficiently 
large,  and  containing  much  good  land,  and 
to  it  the  government  has  succeeded  in  re- 
moving above  twenty  tribes,  or  remnants  of 
tribes,  from  its  own  organized  States  and 
Territories.  Soon  all  that  remain  will  fol- 
low, so  that  there  will  be  an  Indian  popu- 
lation of  above  100,000  souls  on  a  compact 
territory,  stretching  about  500  or  600  miles 
from  north  to  south,  and  about  200  from 
east  to  west.  Thither,  also,  have  the  mis- 
sionaries, who  had  been  labouring  among 
those  tribes,  gone  ;  and  though  the  remo- 
val of  the  several  nations  from  their  an- 
cient homes,  and  from  the  graves  of  their 
forefathers,  has  been  followed  by  some 
years  of  that  hardship  and  suffering  which 
all  removals  from  ancient  settlements, 
whether  more  or  less  civilized,  to  the  dens- 
er forests  must  occasion,  yet  they  are  sur- 
mounting these,  and  gradually  establishing 
themselves  in  their  new  homes.  In  pro- 
cess of  time  they  .will  have  their  little 
farms  and  lots  of  ground  cleared,  comfort- 
able houses  erected,  mills  built,  and  the 
more  necessary  arts  of  civilized  life  intro- 
duced among  them.  Great  progress  is  al- 
ready making,  and  the  time,  I  trust,  will 
come  when  the  inhabitants  of  this  Indian 
territory  will  accept  the  offer  made  by  Con- 
gress to  the  Cherokees,  shortly  after  the 
Revolution,  to  receive  a  delegation  from 
them  to  the  National  Congress,  and  thus 


•298 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  VIII. 


admit  them  as  a  constituent  portion  of  the 
United  Stales,  and  subject  to  its  laws. 

As  this  removal  of  the  Indian  tribes  to  a 
territory  west  of  the  Mississippi  has  sub- 
jected the  General  Government  to  great 
misrepresentation,  and,  in  my  opinion,  to 
most  unjust  censure,  I  may  say  a  few 
words  farther  respecting  it.  What  has 
been  most  censured  is  the  removal  of  the 
Cherokees,  a  tribe  of  Indians  formerly 
situated  chiefly  in  the  State  of  Georgia, 
and  by  far  the  most  advanced  in  civiliza- 
tion of  all  the  aboriginal  race. 

By  the  charter  granted  to  Oglethorpe 
and  his  friends,  Georgia  claimed  an  exten- 
sive territory  to  the  west  of  her  present 
limits,  out  of  which  the  States  of  Alabama 
and  Mississippi  have  since  been  formed. 
This  territory  she  agreed  to  cede  to  the 
United  States,  provided  the  General  Gov- 
ernment would  buy  out  the  claims  of  the 
Indians  residing  within  her  present  limits, 
and  remove  them  elsewhere.  The  Gen- 
eral Government  accordingly  removed  the 
Creek  Indians,  after  buying  up  their  claims, 
from  the  southwestern  part  of  the  State  to 
the  west  of  the  Mississippi.  But  the 
Cherokees,  whose  lands  lay  in  the  north- 
western corner,  refused  to  sell  them,  al- 
though the  General  Government  for  years 
tried  every  method  that  it  deemed  prop- 
er to  induce  them  to  do  so.  Georgia  at 
length  resolved  to  survey  those  lands,  and 
to  extend  her  jurisdiction  over  both  their 
Indian  occupants,  and  all  who  lived  among 
them  ;  upon  which  the  missionaries  re- 
tired, with  the  exception  of  two,  who  re- 
fused to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
state,  on  the  ground  that  Georgia  had  no 
right  of  jurisdiction  over  the  Cherokee 
territory.  Being  arrested  and  thrown  into 
prison  for  this,  they  appealed  to  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  Confederation,  which 
gave  judgment  in  their  favour,  and  ordered 
them  to  be  set  at  liberty.  This  was  de- 
manded, accordingly,  by  the  marshal  of  the 
United  States  residing  in  the  State  of 
Georgia.  The  Governor  of  Georgia  re- 
fused compliance.  This  was  reported  by 
the  marshal  to  the  Supreme  Court.  Its 
next  yearly  meeting  was  now  drawing  on, 
and  the  Constitution  then  required  that  the 
chief-justice  should  call  upon  the  President 
of  the  United  States  to  enforce  compliance, 
which,  by  his  oath  of  office,  the  latter  was 
obliged  to  do.  At  this  crisis,  the  Governor 
of  Georgia,  well  aware  that  the  President 
would  do  his  duty,  first  offered  pardon  to 
the  imprisoned  missionaries,  and  as  they 
refused  to  accept  this,  as  a  last  resort  he 
convened  the  Legislature,  and  it,  on  some 
trivial  ostensible  pretext,  abolished  the 
penitentiary  or  state  prison,  and  so  turned 
the  missionaries  out  of  doors.  So  the 
affair  ended.  The  cause  of  the  Indians 
was,  in  fact,  sustained  by  the  General 
Government,   and   though   they   received 


!  much  trouble  from  their  Georgian  neigh- 
bours, they  remained  several  years  longer 
on  their  lands,  and  then  sold  them  to  the 
United  States  for  a  great  price,*  and  re- 
I  moved  west  of  the  Mississippi,  where  they 
are  now  settled.  Although  their  removal 
was  attended  with  much  hardship,  and  a 
good  deal  of  sickness,  they  are  represented 
as  doing  well  in  their  new  territory,  where 
they  are  placed  beside  the  Choctas,  Chick- 
asas,  Creeks,  and  other  tribes. 

It  is  hard  to  see  wherein  the  General 
Government  was  to  blame  in  all  this.  It 
was  in  favour  of  removing  the  Indians,  be- 
lieving that  it  would  be  best  for  them  to 
leave  a  territory  where  they  could  never 
live  in  tranquillity,  and  place  themselves  in 
another,  which,  being  the  absolute  property 
of  the  United  States,  could  not,  under  any 
pretext,  be  claimed  by  any  state.  There, 
if  anywhere,  they  can,  and,  I  have  no 
doubt,  will  be  protected. 

So,  also,  the  course  pursued  by  the  Gen- 
eral Government  in  relation  to  the  Semi- 
nole Indians  in  Florida  has  been  held  up  as 
cruel  and  unjust  in  the  highest  degree,  as 
designed  to  uphold  slavery,  &c,  &c.  Now, 
though  far  from  believing  that  in  this  mat- 
ter the  government  has  acted  wisely,  I 
think  it  obvious  that  the  situation  of  the 
long,  narrow  peninsula  in  question,  al- 
though nineteen  twentieths  of  it  are  quite 
unfit  for  any  species  of  culture,  might  make 
the  possession  of  it  desirable.  A  large 
sum,  accordingly,  was  offered  for  it  to  the 
3000  or  4000  Indians  who  roamed  over  it, 
and  whose  depredations  on  the  white  in- 
habitants of  the  country  adjoining  had  long 
been  exceedingly  vexatious.  A  treaty  was 
made,  as  the  government  thought,  with 
chiefs  having  full  authority  to  that  effect. 
But  this  the  Indians  refused  to  keep  ; 
hence  hostilities  broke  out,  which,  after 
having  lasted  for  years,  are  now  termina- 
ted. That  the  government  was  deceived 
by  its  agents  is  very  probable,  but  I  do  not 
believe  that  its  intentions  were  unjust. 

Upon  the  whole,  I  think  that  the  National 
Government,  in  its  transactions  with  the 
Indians,  has  sincerely  aimed  at  doing  them 
justice.  Its  influence  is  happily  exercised 
in  promoting  peace  among  the  tribes  of 
the  West,  the  disputes  constantly  arising 
among  which  its  officers  and  agents  do 
their  best  to  terminate  in  a  peaceful  way, 
and  by  the  influence  of  persuasion  alone. 
It  has  often,  indeed,  to  bear  the  blame  due 
only  to  unfaithful  agents,  by  whom  it  is 
sometimes  both  deceived  and  committed. 
The  General  Government  has  been  bla- 
med because  rum  and  other  ardent  spirits 
are  carried  by  unprincipled  men  to  the  In- 
dians on  the  borders,  yet  no  government 

*  Five  millions  of  dollars,  besides  the  expenses  of 
their  removal,  and  a  year's  support  in  their  new 
homes.  All  this  was  in  addition  to  the  lands  which 
they  received  in  exchange  for  their  former  country. 


Chap.  III.] 


BOARDS   FOR   FOREIGN   MISSIONS. 


299 


could  well  do  more  to  prevent  this.  It  has 
not  only  forbidden,  but  has  taken  measures 
to  prevent  all  such  traffic  ;  and  these  have 
not  been  wholly  in  vain.  But  what  govern- 
ment on  earth  could  effectually  guard  such 
an  immense  frontier  of  almost  boundless 
forests  as  that  of  the  United  States  1  Eng- 
land and  France  find  it  impossible  to  guard 
effectually  a  few  hundred  miles  of  coast 
against  smuggling ;  how  much  more  diffi- 
cult the  task  which  the  United  States  are 
blamed  for  not  accomplishing  1  But  the 
formation  of  Temperance  societies  among 
the  Indians,  and  the  passing  of  severe  laws 
among  themselves  against  every  villain, 
white  or  red,  who  may  be  found  engaged 
in  such  commerce,  will  be  a  more  effectual 
remedy. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  state  that  the 
United  States  government  has  done  much 
incidentally,  during  the  last  twenty-five 
years,  to  promote  missions  among  the  In- 
dian tribes,  by  a  yearly  grant  of  10,000 
dollars  for  the  establishment  of  schools, 
blacksmiths'  shops,  and  other  trades.  This 
sum  is  generally  expended  through  the 
several  missionary  societies,  and  of  course 
by  the  missionaries,  as  the  persons  most 
competent  for  the  task  ;  many,  if  not  all, 
of  them  being  well  acquainted  with  the 
various  handicrafts  most  necessary  to  the 
partially  civilized  people  among  whom 
they  live.  The  late  Secretary  of  War,  the 
Hon.  John  C.  Spencer,  has  spoken  in  the 
highest  terms  of  the  judicious  manner  in 
which  this  money  has  been  applied,  and 
of  the  good  which  has  been  accomplished. 
A  similar  testimony  has  recently  been 
rendered  by  a  committe  of  Congress,  to 
which  the  same  subject  had  been  referred. 
It  is  pleasant  to  state  a  fact  which  shows 
the  favourable  disposition  of  the  govern- 
ment towards  the  benevolent  enterprise 
of  Christianizing  and  civilizing  the  tribes 
on  our  borders,  to  whom  we  are  far  from 
having  done  all  our  duty.  Many  of  the 
tribes,  it  may  be  added,  appropriate  large 
sums  from  the  yearly  pensions  they  re- 
ceive from  the  United  States  government 
to  the  establishment  of  schools  and  the 
promotion  of  the  arts.* 


*  The  United  States  government  has  done  much 
to  procure  a  favourable  reception  for  the  missionaries 
among  the  Indians,  and  to  induce  the  latter  to  set 
apart  large  sums  from  the  price  paid  for  their  lands 
by  the  United  States,  and  which  is  generally  done 
in  the  shape  of  annuities,  for  the  promotion  of  educa- 
tion and  religion,  as  well  as  the  useful  arts.  These 
annuities  now  exceed  1,000,000  of  dollars.  To  pre- 
serve these  tribes,  or,  rather,  all  the  tribes  to  which 
it  can  find  access,  from  the  ravages  of  the  smallpox, 
the  United  States  government  also  sends  fit  persons 
from  time  to  time  to  vaccinate  them. 

Within  the  territory  claimed  by  the  United  States, 
there  are  now  above  fifty  missionary  stations  among 
the  Indians,  about  fifty  missionaries,  above  forty  as- 
sistant missionaries,  American  and  native,  and  not 
much  under  5000  communicants  or  members  of 
churches.  There  is  also  a  very  considerable  number 
of  schools  and  scholars. 


Several  of  the  aboriginal  nations  now 
assembled  on  the  territory  which  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  has  assigned 
them,  and  which  lies,  as  we  have  said, 
west  of  the  States  of  Arkansas  and  Mis- 
souri, are  making  astonishing  progress  in 
civilization.  As  a  proof  of  this,  the  fact 
may  be  cited  that  in  some  of  them,  partic- 
ularly the  Cherokees  and  Choctas,  many 
schools  are  now  maintained  ;  some  of  them 
by  the  several  missionary  societies  who 
employ  ministers  of  the  Gospel  and  teach- 
ers among  them,  and  others  by  the  govern- 
ments of  those  tribes.  In  some  cases,  in- 
dividual natives  bear  the  expense  of  a 
school  themselves,  for  the  benefit  of  their 
children.  Many  of  the  natives  are  suffi- 
ciently well  educated  to  be  good  teachers. 

The  Chocta  government  has  made  pro- 
vision for  the  education  of  their  youth, 
which  may  well  cause  many  nations  more 
advanced  in  civilization  to  blush.  Their 
National  Council  in  November,  1842,  re- 
solved to  establish  three  academies  for 
boys  and  four  for  girls.  For  the  former 
(one  of  which,  I  believe,  is  to  be  a  sort  of 
college)  they  made  an  annual  appropria- 
tion of  18,500  dollars,  and  for  the  latter 
7800,  making  together  the  sum  of  26,300 
dollars  as  a  public  annual  appropriation  for 
the  support  of  schools !  And  yet,  a  few 
years  ago,  these  people  were  ignorant  sav- 
ages, of  whom  not  one  could  read  !  And 
who  have,  under  God,  been  the  authors  of 
this  change  1  The  missionaries  who  are  la- 
bouring among  them,  and  who  are  all  Prot- 
estants. 

As  to  the  Cherokees,  the  progress  of 
civilization  among  them  is  not  less  won- 
derful. Very  many  of  them  can  now  read. 
A  few  years  ago,  one  of  their  men,  who 
had  been  educated  by  the  missionaries,  in- 
vented a  syllabic  alphabet,  by  which  the  art 
of  reading  has  been  wonderfully  diffused 
among  them  —  a  phenomenon  which  has 
had  no  equal  in  any  community  in  the 
whole  world  these  two  thousand  years. 
There  are  three  printing-presses  in  this 
nation,  one  of  which  has  lately  been  intro- 
duced by  their  government  for  the  purpose 
of  printing  a  Cherokee  newspaper ! 

We  now  proceed  to  give  some  notice  of 
the  various  Missionary  Societies  in  the 
United  States,  and  in  doing  so  shall  have 
occasion  to  speak  of  what  has  been  done 
since  1815  to  introduce  Christianity  among 
the  Indians. 


CHAPTER  III. 

AMERICAN  BOARD  OF  COMMISSIONERS    FOR    FOR- 
EIGN   MISSIONS. 

With  the  exception  of  that  of  the  Uni- 
ted Brethren,  the  American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners for  Foreign  Missions  is  the  old- 
est society  for  foreign  missions  in  the  Urn- 


300 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VIII. 


ted  States.  It  has  also  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  missions  and  missionaries,  and  the 
largest  amount  of  receipts.  Several  reli- 
gious denominations,  agreeing  substantial- 
ly in  their  views  of  the  Gospel,  and  in  their 
ecclesiastical  organizations,  unite  in  sus- 
taining it.  These  are  the  Congregational, 
numbering  about  1500  churches,  about  the 
same  number  of  Presbyterian  churches, 
and  the  Reformed  Dutch  and  German 
Reformed,  numbering  together  about  700 
churches  ;  though  but  a  small  number  of 
the  German  Reformed  churches  yet  take 
an  interest  in  foreign  missions.  The  great 
body  of  the  Congregational  churches  are 
in  the  New-England  States.  The  others, 
so  far  as  this  missionary  institution  is  con- 
cerned, are  almost  entirely  in  what  are  call- 
ed the  Middle  and  Western  States.  The 
number  of  congregations  which  are  really 
connected  with  it,  and  operate  through  it  on 
the  heathen  world,  is  about  3500,  in  which 
there  may  be  2,000,000  of  souls. 

Its  Origin  and  Constitution. — The  Board 
had  its  origin  in  the  following  manner.  Sev- 
eral young  men,  graduates  of  New-England 
colleges,  and  preparing  for  the  Gospel  min- 
istry at  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Ando- 
ver,  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  agreed, 
in  the  year  1809,  to  unite  their  efforts  in 
establishing  a  mission  among  the  heathen 
in  some  foreign  land.  In  this  they  were 
encouraged  by  the  Faculty  of  the  semina- 
ry. As  the  General  Association  of  Congre- 
gational ministers  in  Massachusetts  were 
to  hold  their  annual  meeting  in  June,  1810, 
these  young  men  were  advised  to  submit 
their  case  to  that  body.  This  was  done  by 
four  of  their  number — Messrs.  Mills,  Jud- 
son,  Newell,  and  Nott — in  the  following 
paper : 

"  The  undersigned,  members  of  the  Di- 
vinity College,  respectfully  request  the  at- 
tention of  their  reverend  Fathers,  conven- 
ed in  the  General  Association  at  Bradford, 
to  the  following  statement  and  inquiries. 

"  They  beg  leave  to  state,  that  their  minds 
have  been  long  impressed  with  the  duty 
and  importance  of  personally  attempting  a 
mission  to  the  heathen ;  that  the  impres- 
sions on  their  minds  have  induced  a  seri- 
ous, and,  they  trust,  a  prayerful  considera- 
tion of  the  subject  in  its  various  attitudes, 
particularly  in  relation  to  the  probable  suc- 
cess, and  the  difficulties  attending  such  an 
attempt ;  and  that,  after  examining  all  the 
information  which  they  can  obtain,  they 
consider  themselves  as  devoted  to  this 
work  for  life,  whenever  God,  in  his  provi- 
dence, shall  open  the  way. 

"  They  now  offer  the  following  inquiries. 
on  which  they  solicit  the  opinion  and  ad- 
vice of  this  Association.  Whether,  with 
their  present  views  and  feelings,  they  ought 
to  renounce  the  object  of  missions  as  either 
visionary  or  impracticable  ;  if  not,  whether 
they  ought  to  direct  their  attention  to  the 


Eastern  or  Western  world  :  whether  they 
may  expect  patronage  and  support  from  a 
missionary  society  in  this  country,  or  must 
commit  themselves  to  the  direction  of  a 
European  society  ;  and  what  preparatory 
measures  they  ought  to  take  previous  to 
actual  engagement. 

"  The  undersigned,  feeling  their  youth 
and  inexperience,  look  up  to  their  Fathers 
in  the  Church,  and  respectfully  solicit  their 
advice,  direction,  and  prayers." 

On  the  29th  of  June,  the  Association 
elected  a  Board  of  Commissioners  for  For- 
eign Missions,  consisting  of  nine  persons. 
The  Board,  at  its  first  meeting,  held  in  the 
following  September,  adopted  the  name  of 
the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  thus  recognising  its  high 
calling  to  act  for  all  in  every  part  of  the 
nation,  who  might  choose  to  employ  its 
agency  in  the  work  of  missions  among 
the  heathen.  The  transaction  of  its  ordi- 
nary business,  however,  was  delegated  to 
an  executive  commitd  e  called  the  Pruden- 
tial Committee,  the  members  of  which  re- 
side at  or  near  Boston,  where  is  the  seat 
of  its  operations.  Subsequently  it  was 
found  necessary  to  obtain  an  Act  of  Incor- 
poration from  the  Legislature  of  Massachu- 
setts, in  order  that  the  Board  might  the  bet- 
ter manage  its  financial  concerns.  This 
act,  being  respected  by  the  legal  tribunals 
of  all  the  other  States  in  the  Republic, 
has  been  found  of  great  use,  especially  in 
the  recovery  of  bequests  contested  wrong- 
fully by  heirs  at  law.  It  requires  one  third 
of  the  members  to  be  laymen,  and  one  third 
clergymen ;  the  remaining  third  may  be 
either  clergymen  or  laymen.  Members 
are  elected  by  ballot.  The  object  of  the 
Board  is  expressly  recognised  in  the  act  to 
be  "  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  hea- 
then lands,  by  supporting  missionaries  and 
diffusing  a  knowledge  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures ;"  and  full  power  is  granted  to  hold  an 
amount  of  permanently  invested  funds  suffi- 
cient for  the  purpose  of  credit  in  the  com- 
mercial world,  and  also  to  receive  and  ex- 
pend annually,  in  pursuance  of  its  object, 
any  amount  of  contributions  its  patrons 
may  think  proper  to  place  at  its  disposal. 

The  number  of  corporate  members  is 
about  175,  residing  in  nineteen  of  the 
States,  religious  men,  having  in  general  a 
high  standing  in  their  respective  profes- 
sions. These  form  the  body  corporate, 
the  Trustees  in  respect  to  the  financial  con- 
cerns of  the  institution.  But  with  these 
are  associated  a  large  body  of  honorary 
members,  amounting,  at  present,  to  more 
than  3500,  who  are  made  such  by  the  pay- 
ment of  100  dollars  if  laymen,  or  fifty  dol- 
lars if  clergymen  ;  and  who  share  equally 
in  the  deliberations  of  the  annual  meetings, 
but  do  not  vote,  as  that  would  interfere  with 
the  charter.  A  third  class  of  members  are 
called  corresponding  members ;  they  are 


Chap.  III.] 


BOARDS    FOR    FOREIGN    MISSIONS. 


301 


foreign  members,  and  are  elected  by  ballot. 
In  addition  to  the  usual  office-bearers  for 
presiding  at  the  annual  meetings,  and  re- 
cording the  proceedings  at  these  meetings, 
there  are  three  Corresponding  Secretaries 
and  a  Treasurer,  whose  time  is  fully  occu- 
pied with  the  business. 

Its  History. — The  proceedings  of  the 
."Board,  and  the  results  of  its  experience  and 
operations  for  the  thirty  years  past  of  its 
existence,  must  necessarily  be  stated  in  the 
most  comprehensive  and  summary  manner. 

It  is  among  the  remarkable  facts  in  the 
history  of  this  institution,  and  in  the  eccle- 
siastical history  of  the  country,  that,  at  the 
outset,  neither  the  Board  nor  its  Prudential 
Committee,  nor,  indeed,  any  of  the  leading 
minds  in  the  American  churches  at  that 
time,  could  see  the  way  clear  for  raising 
funds  enough  to  support  the  four  young 
men  who  were  then  waiting  to  be  sent  forth 
to  the  heathen  world.  One  of  them  was 
accordingly  sent  to  England  by  the  Pru- 
dential Committee,  mainly  to  see  whether 
an  arrangement  could  not  be  made  with 
the  London  Missionary  Society,  by  which 
a  part  of  their  support  could  be  received 
from  that  society,  and  they  yet  remain 
under  the  direction  of  the  Board.  That 
society  wisely  declined  such  an  arrange- 
ment, and  at  the  same  time  encouraged 
their  American  brethren  to  hope  for  ample 
contributions  from  their  own  churches  as 
soon  as  the  facts  should  be  generally 
known.  From  this  time  no  farther  thought 
was  entertained  of  looking  abroad  for  pe- 
cuniary aid.  Indeed,  the  largest  legacy 
the  Board  has  yet  received  was  bequeath- 
ed to  it  by  a  benevolent  lady  in  Salem, 
Massachusetts,  in  the  early  part  of  the  year 
1811.  The  first  ordination  of  American 
missionaries  to  the  heathen  in  foreign 
lands  was  in  that  place,  on  the  6th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1812.  These  were  the  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Newell,  Adoniram  Judson,  Gordon 
Hall,  Samuel  Nott,  and  Luther  Rice,  all 
from  the  little  missionary  band  in  the  The- 
ological Seminary  at  Andover.  They  pro- 
ceeded forthwith  to  Calcutta,  in  the  East 
Indies,  but  without  being  designated  to  any 
specific  field  by  the  committee.  There 
was  not  then  the  hundredth  part  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  heathen  world  in  the 
American  churches  that  there  is  now.  The 
Prudential  Committee  seem  to  have  been 
unable  to  point  to  any  one  country,  and 
tell  their  missionaries  decidedly  to  occupy 
tha*  in  preference  to  other  contiguous  coun- 
tries. The  comparative  claims  of  the  dif- 
ferent benighted  portions  of  the  unevan- 
gelical  world  was  a  subject  then  but  little 
understood.  The  missionaries  were  left  to 
decide  what  field  to  occupy  after  their  ar- 
rival in  India. 

Messrs.  Judson  and  Rice  had  not  been 
long  with  the  Baptist  missionaries  at  Se- 
rampore.  near  Calcutta,  before  they  de- 


clared themselves  converts  to  the  peculiar 
views  of  those  missionaries  in  relation  to 
Baptism.  Their  consequent  separation  from 
the  society  which  sent  them  forth,  gave 
rise  to  the  formation  of  a  Baptist  Board 
for  Foreign  Missions  in  the  United  States. 
Messrs.  Hall,  Newell,  and  Nott,  after  much 
painful  voyaging  from  place  to  place,  oc- 
casioned by  the  reluctance  of  the  East  In- 
dia Company  to  tolerate  missionaries,  and 
especially  American  missionaries,  in  India 
(the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  being 
then,  unhappily,  at  war),  at  length,  in  1813, 
found  a  resting-place  and  field  of  labour  at 
Bombay,  in  Western  India.  This  was  the 
commencement  of  the  mission  to  the  Mah- 
rattas. 

The  Mahrattas  possess  strong  traits  of 
character  as  a  people,  compared  with  oth- 
er nations  of  India,  as  is  evident  in  their 
history  for  ages  past.  The  American  mis- 
sionaries were  the  first  to  go  in  among 
them,  and  they  entered  as  the  husband- 
man would  into  an  unbroken  forest.  No 
preparatory  work  had  been  done,  except 
merely  that  of  conquest  by  a  Christian 
power,  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  few 
tangible  results  have  yet  been  witnessed 
in  that  mission.  But  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  Mahratta  people  now  stand  dif- 
ferently related  to  the  Christian  religion 
from  what  they  did  in  1813.  Much  una- 
voidable preliminary  ground  has  been  gone 
over;  the  truth  stands  nearer  to  the  na- 
tive intellect  and  heart ;  the  spiritual  con- 
quest of  the  country  is  far  easier  than  it 
was  then. 

Among  the  Tamul  people,  found  in  the 
northern  district  of  Ceylon  and  in  South- 
ern India,  there  was  some  degree  of  prep- 
aration when  the  mission  to  that  people 
was  commenced  in  1816;  in  Ceylon,  by 
means  of  the  Portuguese  and  the  Dutch ; 
and  on  the  Continent,  by  means  of  the  cel- 
ebrated missionary  Schwartz  and  his  asso- 
ciates. Hence,  through  the  blessing  of  God, 
the  obvious  results  have  been  greater  there 
than  among  the  Mahrattas.  The  syste- 
matic measures  which  were  early  adopt- 
ed by  the  Ceylon  mission  for  training  a 
native  agency,  and  the  success  attending 
them,  did  much  to  give  an  early  maturity 
to  the  plans  of  the  Board  for  raising  up  a 
native  ministry  in  connexion  with  all  its 
other  missions,  of  which  more  will  be  said 
in  the  sequel.  The  most  efficient  semi- 
nary for  educating  heathen  youths  for  help- 
ers in  the  work  of  the  Gospel,  is  believed 
to  be  the  one  connected  with  the  mission 
in  Ceylon.  The  number  of  pupils  is  160, 
all  of  whom  are  boarding  scholars,  and 
about  100  of  them  are  regarded  as  truly 
pious.  There  is  also  a  female  seminary, 
containing  more  than  100  boarding  schol- 
ars, where  the  educated  native  helpers  of 
the  mission  may  obtain  pious,  educated 
wives  ;  and  there  are  free  schools  contain- 


302 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  VIII. 


ing  3000  pupils,  which  are  a  nursery  for 
the  seminaries,  and  among  the  most  ef- 
fectwe  means  of  securing  congregations 
to  hear  the  preached  Gospel.  In  1834,  a 
branch  of  this  mission  was  formed  at  Ma- 
dura, on  the  Continent,  and  in  1836  anoth- 
er at  Madras,  with  the  special  object  of 
printing  books  in  the  Tamul  language  on 
a  large  scale. 

The  first  mission  sent  by  the  Board  to 
Eastern  Asia  was  to  China  in  1830.  A 
pious  merchant  in  New- York  city  furnish- 
ed many  of  the  facts  and  arguments  which 
justified  its  commencement,  and  then  he 
gave  two  missionaries  their  passage  to 
Canton  and  their  support  for.a  year.  One 
of  these  missionaries  subsequently  visited 
Siam,  and  opened  the  way  for  a  mission 
to  that  country ;  as  he  did  also  to  Singa- 
pore, and  to  Netherlands  India.  The  mis- 
sion to  Singapore  has  not  answered  the 
expectations  of  the  Board,  and  has  been 
almost  discontinued.  The  operations  in 
Netherlands  India  have  been  much  em- 
barrassed hitherto  by  the  restrictive  poli- 
cy of  the  Dutch  Colonial  Government. 
The  mission  in  Siam  has  had  a  prosper- 
ous commencement ;  but  its  prospects 
have  not  that  cheering  certainty  which 
animates  the  labour  of  missionaries  under 
such  a  government  as  now  rules  in  Brit- 
ish India. 

Turning  our  attention  to  Western  Asia, 
we  find  a  number  of  interesting  missions 
under  the  care  of  this  Board.  The  Greek 
mission,  commenced  in  the  year  1829, 
grew  out  of  the  sympathy  which  was  felt 
for  the  Greek  people  throughout  the  Chris- 
tian world,  in  their  struggle  for  independ- 
ence from  the  Turkish  yoke.  Dr.  King, 
who  commenced  it,  had  previously  been 
connected  with  the  Palestine  mission.  It 
was  to  the  Holy  Land,  in  fact,  that  the 
first  mission  in  the  series  was  sent,  in  the 
year  1821.  Messrs.  Fiske  and  Parsons 
were  the  pioneers  in  the  enterprise.  In 
1828,  after  their  decease,  war,  and  the  hos- 
tilities of  the  Maronites  towards  the  mis- 
sion, compelled  the  surviving  missionaries 
to  retire  from  Syria  for  a  season ;  and  it 
is  to  this  occurrence,  in  the  developments 
of  Providence,  we  trace  the  establishment 
of  the  mission  among  the  Armenians  of 
Constantinople  and  Asia  Minor,  which  has 
been  so  signally  useful  to  that  people. 
Two  missionaries  of  the  Board  had,  indeed, 
gone  to  Asia  Minor  as  early  as  1826,  but 
their  mission  was  to  the  Greeks.  In  the 
year  1830,  Messrs.  Smith  and  Dwight 
were  sent  on  an  exploring  tour  into  Arme- 
nia, and  were  instructed  to  visit  the  Nes- 
torians  in  the  Persian  province  of  Ader- 
baijan.  This  visit  brought  that  remnant 
of  the  most  noted  missionary  church  of 
ancient  times  to  light,  and  induced  the 
Board  to  send  a  mission  to  restore  the 
blessings  of  the  Gospel  to  that  people. 


The  mission  was  commenced  on  the  plain 
of  Ooroomiah,  and  has  recently  been  ex- 
tended to  the  independent  Nestorian  tribes 
among  the  Koordish  Mountains.  The  lead- 
ing object  of  the  mission  is  to  educate 
the  clergy,  and  by  reviving  among  them, 
through  the  blessing  of  God,  the  spirit  of 
the  Gospel,  to  induce  them  to  resume  the 
preaching  of  it  with  more  than  their  an- 
cient zeal.  The  press  has  been  intro- 
duced. More  than  400  Nestorians  are  in 
free  schools,  supported  by  the  mission,  and 
taught  by  eighteen  priests  and  sixteen  dea- 
cons ;  and  upward  of  sixty  are  boarding 
scholars  in  seminaries.  There  is  also  a 
class  of  about  a  dozen  in  theology,  instruct- 
ed by  the  missionaries.  We  already  begin 
to  witness  the  gradual  reviving  of  preach- 
ing among  the  ecclesiastics.  The  great 
thing  wanting  among  this  people  is  spiritu- 
al life.     They  number  about  100,000  souls. 

The  Syrian  mission  has  for  some  years 
past  been  cultivating  an  acquaintance  with 
the  Druzes  of  Mount  Lebanon.  These 
are  about  as  numerous  as  the  Nestorians, 
and  resemble  them  in  the  mountaineer 
traits  of  courage  and  enterprise.  The  Dru- 
zes are  a  sort  of  heretical  Mohammedans. 
Recently  those  inhabiting  the  mountains 
of  Lebanon  have,  as  a  community,  placed 
themselves  under  the  religious  instruction 
of  the  missionaries.  Their  motive  may 
be  the  improvement  of  their  civil  condi- 
tion, by  becoming  Protestant  Christians, 
but  the  fact  of  their  permitting  the  mission 
to  open  a  seminary  at  the  seat  of  their 
government,  and  to  preach  the  Gospel, 
and  introduce  schools  freely  among  them, 
should  be  acknowledged  with  gratitude  to 
God. 

The  Armenian  Church  has  proved  to  be 
scarcely  less  interesting  as  a  field  for  mis- 
sionary labours  than  the  Nestorian.  It 
has  even  afforded  more  abundant  spiritual 
fruit.  An  evangelical  influence  is  strongly 
developed  among  the  Armenian  clergy ; 
and  in  many  instances,  where  they  have 
had  no  personal  communication  with  mem- 
bers of  the  mission,  but  only  with  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  or  with  some  of  the  books  pub- 
lished by  the  mission,  there  are  hundreds 
of  Armenians,  it  is  thought,  whose  minds, 
rejecting  the  corruptions  and  superstitions 
of  their  church,  have  come  under  the  salu- 
tary influence  of  a  Gospel  that  looks  for 
justification  only  through  faith  in  Christ. 
In  short,  the  grand  principles  by  means  of 
which  the  Spirit  of  grace  wrought  out  the 
Reformation  in  Europe,  are  seen  to  be  op- 
erating in  Western  Asia,  and  their  progress 
ought  to  engage  the  prayerful  interest  of 
all  Christians. 

A  mission  was  sent  to  South  Africa  in 
1836,  and  high  hopes  were  entertained  of 
a  prosperous  issue.  But  these  hopes  have 
been  in  great  measure  blasted  by  the  sin- 
gular immigration  of  the  Dutch  Boers  from 


Chap.  III.] 


BOARDS    FOR   FOREIGN   MISSIONS. 


the  English  colony,  and  their  consequent 
wars  upon  the  Zulus.  The  mission  to 
Western  Africa,  though  commenced  in 
1834,  has  not  yet  advanced  beyond  Cape 
Palmas,  where  it  has  a  very  interesting 
seminary  for  Grebo  youth  ;  but  its  ultimate 
destination,  as  soon  as  the  way  is  opened 
up  the  Niger,  is  to  the  populous  and  health- 
ful countries  of  the  interior.  Along  the 
coast,  however,  eastward  of  Cape  Palmas, 
there  is  work  for  many  missionaries. 

The  results  of  the  mission  of  the  Board 
in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  a  group  of  islands 
in  the  North  Pacific  Ocean,  constitute  one 
of  the  great  moral  wonders  of  the  age. 
The  first  missionaries  landed  on  those 
islands  in  the  year  1820.  At  that  time  the 
natives  were  savage  and  pagan,  without 
letters,  without  a  ray  of  Gospel  light ; 
though  they  had  just  before  strangely 
burned  their  idols — a  fact  unknown  in  the 
United  States  when  the  missionaries  em- 
barked on  their  errand  of  mercy.  In  1840, 
after  the  lapse  of  only  twenty  years,  this 
same  people  might  properly  have  claimed 
the  title  of  a  Christian  people.  Though 
necessarily  destitute  in  great  measure, 
owing  to  their  poverty,  of  the  more  impo- 
sing insignia  of  civilization,  they  then  had 
the  elements  and  basis  of  it  in  Christian 
institutions,  schools,  a  written  language, 
the  press,  and  books,  and  in  the  extensive 
prevalence  of  pious  dispositions  and  habits. 
Within  this  space  of  time  their  language 
had  been  reduced  to  writing,  and  about 
100,000,000  of  pages  had  been  printed  by 
the  mission  in  the  native  language.  As 
the  alphabet  contains  but  twelve  letters, 
and  each  letter  has  but  a  single  sound,  it 
is  easy  learning  to  read.  One  third  of  the 
population  can  read.  The  children  of  the 
chiefs  are  educated  by  a  member  of  the 
mission  in  a  boarding-school  designed  for 
them  alone,  which  the  chiefs  support :  this 
is  at  Honolulu,  in  the  island  of  Oahu.  At 
Lahainaluna,  on  the  island  of  Maui,  there 
is  a  seminary,  for  which  a  large  stone  ed- 
ifice has  been  erected,  containing  nearly 
100  boarding  pupils ;  and  at  Wailuku,  on 
the  same  island,  there  is  a  corresponding 
female  institution,  containing  about  fifty. 
At  Waialua,  on  Oahu,  there  is  a  manual 
labour  or  self-supporting  school.  Two 
other  boarding-schools  are  at  Hilo,  on  the 
island  of  Hawaii,  which  are  supported 
chiefly  by  the  natives.  The  free  schools 
number  about  14,000  pupils.  Laws  have 
been  passed  by  the  government  defining 
and  securing  the  rights  of  property  to  the 
people,  and  taking  the  power  of  imposing 
taxes  from  the  individual  chiefs,  and  vest- 
ing it  exclusively  in  the  National  Council, 
which  is  to  assemble  annually.  But  the 
most  remarkable  fact  of  all,  is  the  extra- 
ordinary outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
the  years  1838  and  1839,  in  consequence 
of  which  many  thousands  of  the  natives 


were  hopefully  converted  to  God.  The 
number  of  church  members  (who  are  ad- 
mitted to  that  relation  only  after  a  cred- 
ible profession  of  real  piety)  increased  in 
that  space  of  time  from  5000  to  more 
than  18,000.  The  natives  have  erected 
many  houses  for  public  worship,  and  a 
still  greater  number  of  schoolhouses,  and 
on  the  Sabbath-day,  which  is  generally 
observed  by  abstaining  from  labour  and 
amusements,  the  sound  of  the  church-go- 
ing bell  is  heard  in  not  a  few  of  their  val- 
leys. 

The  Board  has  very  properly  spent  a 
portion  of  its  funds  in  missions  to  the 
more  important  and  influential  tribes  of 
the  North  American  Indians.  It  be- 
gan with  the  Cherokees  and  Choctas,  in 
1816-18,  who  then  inhabited  a  tract  of 
country  within  the  chartered  limits  of 
some  of  the  Southwestern  States.  These 
two  missions,  for  more  than  ten  years,  had 
great  success.  The  poor  Indians  were 
then  driven  almost  to  desperation  by  those 
who  wished  for  their  lands,  and  were  bent 
on  inducing  them  to  remove  beyond  the 
Mississippi  River.  These  efforts  had  a 
cruel  success.  The  missionaries  have  fol- 
lowed the  two  tribes  above  mentioned  in 
their  exile.  Missions  were  also  instituted 
at  different  times  among  the  Creeks  and 
Chickasas,  eastward  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  among  the  Osages  westward  ;  but 
they  have  been  discontinued.  Subsequent 
to  the  year  1830,  missionaries  were  sent 
to  the  savage,  wandering  Ojibwas,  Sioux, 
and  Pawnees,  in  the  vast  territory  north- 
west of  the  United  States ;  and  in  1835 
they  were  sent  across  the  continent,  be- 
yond the  Rocky  Mountains,  to  the  Indians 
in  the  Oregon  Territory.  There  are  sev- 
eral missions  among  the  feeble  remnants 
of  the  once  powerful  Six  Nations,  found 
on  the  borders  of  Lake  Erie,  in  the  State 
of  New-York. 

The  following  is  a  summary  view  of 
what,  through  the  Divine  favour,  has  been 
accomplished  by  this  Board.  The  amount 
received  into  the  treasury  of  the  Board  du- 
ring the  year  ending  on  the  31st  of  July, 
1843,  was  $244,224  43  ;  and  the  amount 
of  payments  was  $257,247  25  ;  leaving 
the  treasury  indebted  to  the  amount  of 
$13,022  82. 

The  number  of  missions  sustained  du- 
ring the  year  was  26 ;  connected  with 
which  are  86  stations,  at  which  were  la- 
bouring 131  ordained  missionaries,  eight 
of  whom  were  physicians,  eight  other  phy- 
sicians, 15  teachers,  10  printers  and  book- 
binders, six  other  male,  and  178  female  as- 
sistant missionaries  —  making  the  whole 
number  of  missionary  labourers  sent  from 
this  country  and  sustained  by  the  Board 
348,  which  is  eight  less  than  the  number 
last  year.  If  to  these  be  added  14  native 
preachers  and  116  other  native  helpers, 


304: 


RELIGION  IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VIII. 


the  whole  number  of  missionary  labourers 
connected  with  the  missions,  and  sustained 
from  the  treasury  of  the  Board,  will  be 
478,  which  is  10  less  than  were  reported 
last  year.  Of  these  missionary  labourers, 
four  ordained  missionaries,  and  two  male 
and  nine  female  assistant  missionaries,  in 
all  15,  were  sent  forth  during  the  last  year, 
being  the  least  number  of  preachers,  and 
the  least  number,  including  all  classes  of 
labourers,  that  has  been  sent  forth  during 
any  year  since  1831. 

Organized  by  these  missions,  and  under 
their  pastoral  care,  are  62  churches,  to 
which  have  been  received  during  the  last 
year  2690  converts,  and  which  now  em- 
brace, in  regular  standing,  20,797  mem- 
bers. This  number  does  not  include  some 
hundreds  of  hopeful  converts  among  the 
Armenians,  Nestorians,  and  other  commu- 
nities in  Western  Asia. 

The  number  of  printing  establishments 
connected  with  the  missions  is  16,  with 
four  type  foundries,  43  founts  of  type,  and 
30  presses.  Printing  has  been  executed 
for  the  missions  in  33  languages,  exclusive 
of  the  English,  15  of  which  were  first  re- 
duced to  a  written  form  by  the  missiona- 
ries of  this  Board.  The  copies  of  works 
printed  at  the  mission  presses  during  the 
past  year  exceed  600,000,  and  the  number 
of  pages  is  about  56,383,000 ;  making  the 
total  number  of  pages  printed  for  the 
missions  since  they  commenced  about 
442,056,185. 

In  the  department  of  education  the  mis- 
sionaries have  under  their  care  seven  sem- 
inaries for  educating  preachers  and  teach- 
ers, in  which  are  524  pupils,  besides  22 
other  boarding-schools,  in  which  are  699 
pupils,  more  than  400  of  whom  are  girls. 
Of  free  schools  the  number  is  610,  contain- 
ing 30,778  pupils  ;  making  the  whole  num- 
ber of  pupils  under  the  care  of  the  mis- 
sions 32,000. 

Of  the  32,000  youth  in  the  mission 
schools  of  this  Board,  somewhat  more 
than  1200  are  boarding  scholars,  in  schools 
where  the  leading  object  is  to  train  up  a 
native  ministry.  Five  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-four are  in  seminaries  designed  exclu- 
sively for  males,  where  the  course  of  study 
is  as  extensive  as  it  can  be,  while  the  lan- 
guages of  the  several  countries  where  they 
exist  are  no  better  furnished  with  works  of 
sound  literature  and  science.  In  general, 
the  text-books  for  all  the  schools  have  to 
be  prepared  by  the  missionaries,  and  a  very 
great  progress,  on  the  whole,  has  been 
made  in  this  department,  especially  in  ge- 
ography, arithmetic,  geometry,  sacred  his- 
tory, and  the  first  principles  of  religion  and 
morals. 

About  442,000,000  of  pages  have  been 
printed  at  the  sixteen  printing  establish- 
ments connected  with  the  missions  of  this 
Board.   These  establishments  have  printed 


books  and  tracts  in  thirty-three  different 
languages,  spoken  by  more  than  450,000,000, 
exclusive  of  the  English.  These  langua- 
ges are  the  Zulu,  Grebo,  Italian,  Greek, 
Armenian,  Turkish  (in  the  Armenian  char- 
acter), Arabic,  Mahratta,  Portuguese,  Goo- 
jurattee,  Hindosthanee,  Latin,  Tamul,  Te- 
loogoo,  Siamese,  Chinese,  Japanese,  Ma- 
lay, Bugis,  Hawaiian,  Cherokee,  Choctaw, 
Seneca,  Abenaquis,  Ojibwa,  Ottawa,  Creek, 
Osage,  Sioux,  Pawnee,  and  Nez  Perces  ; 
fifteen  of  which  were  first  reduced  to  wri- 
ting by  missionaries  of  the  Board. 

The  sixty-two  churches  which  have  been 
gathered  among  the  heathen  are  formed 
as  nearly  on  the  Congregational  or  Pres- 
byterian model  for  such  ecclesiastical  or- 
ganizations as  the  nature  of  the  case  would 
permit.  None  but  converts  who  have  been 
received  as  members  of  the  church,  after 
giving  credible  evidence  of  piety,  are  al- 
lowed to  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
The  spiritual  fruits  of  the  missions  to  the 
Oriental  churches  are,  of  course,  not  in- 
cluded in  this  number,  such  not  having 
been  gathered  into  distinct  and  separate 
churches,  the  effort  there  having  been  to 
infuse  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  into  those 
religious  communities  as  they  now  are. 

Theoky  of  the  Missions  of  the  Board. 
— The  Board  does  not  regard  any  of  its 
missions  as  being  permanent  institutions. 
Their  object  is,  through  the  grace  of  God, 
to  impart  the  spirit  and  plant  the  institu- 
tions of  the  Gospel  where  they  do  not 
exist,  and  then  to  leave  them  to  the  con- 
servative influences  that  shall  have  been 
gathered  about  them.  This  is  true  theo- 
retically, and  it  will  come  out  in  fact  as 
soon  as  the  means  are  furnished  for  pros- 
ecuting the  work  with  becoming  vigour. 
The  missionary  is  emphatically,  in  the  es- 
sential principle  of  his  calling,  a  sojourner, 
pilgrim,  stranger,  having  no  continuing  city. 

The  leading  object  of  its  missions, 
therefore,  is  the  training  and  employment 
of  a  native  ministry,  as  the  only  way  in 
which  the  Gospel  can  soon  become  indi- 
genous to  the  soil,  and  the  Gospel  institu- 
tions acquire  a  self-supporting,  self-propa- 
gating energy.  And  the  fact  is  important 
to  be  noted,  that  the  elders,  or  pastors, 
whom  the  apostles  ordained  over  the 
churches  they  gathered  among  the  hea- 
then, were  generally,  if  not  always,  natives 
of  the  country.  While  the  apostles  had 
not  the  facilities  of  the  present  day  for 
training  men  for  this  office  by  education, 
they  had  not  the  necessity  for  so  doing. 
Among  their  converts  at.  Ephesus,  Berea, 
Corinth,  Rome,  and  elsewhere,  they  had 
no  difficulty  in  finding  men  who  only  re- 
quired some  instruction  in  theology,  and 
scarcely  that  when  endowed  with  miracu- 
lous gifts,  to  be  prepared  for  the  pastoral 
office.  How  they  did,  or  would  have  done, 
beyond  the  Roman  Empire  and  the  bounds 


Chap.  VIII.] 


BOARDS   FOR   FOREIGN   MISSIONS. 


305 


jf  civilization,  we  are  not  informed ;  but 
in  the  use  they  made  of  a  native  ministry, 
we  recognise  one  of  the  grand  principles 
of  their  missions,  and  also  the  true  theory 
of  missions — simple,  economical,  practical, 
Scriptural,  mighty  through  God. 

The  manner  in  which  the  Board  is  en- 
deavouring to  carry  out  this  theory  in  prac- 
tice has  perhaps  been  sufficiently  indicated. 
But  the  subject  is  one  of  so  much  impor- 
tance, that  it  will  be  worth  while  to  quote 
part  of  an  article  upon  it,  which  was  sub- 
mitted by  the  Prudential  Committee  of  the 
Board,  at  the  annual  meeting  in  the  year 
1841. 

I.  On  the  maimer  of  raising  up  a  native 
ministry. 

"  1.  This  must  be  by  means  of  semina- 
ries, schools  of  the  prophets,  such  as,  in 
some  form  or  other,  the  Church  has  al- 
ways found  necessary.  There  should  be 
one  such  seminary  in  each  considerable 
mission.  It  is  an  essential  feature  of  the 
plan  that  the  pupils  be  taken  young,  board 
in  the  mission,  be  kept  separate  from  hea- 
thenism, under  Christian  superintendence 
night  and  day.  In  general,  the  course  of 
study  should  embrace  a  period  of  from 
eight  to  ten  or  twelve  years,  and  even  a 
longer  time  in  special  cases.  Pupils  can 
be  obtained  for  such  a  course  of  education 
in  most  of  the  missions  ;  but,  as  a  nursery 
for  them,  it  is  expedient  to  have  a  certain 
number  of  free  schools,  which  also  greatly 
aid  in  getting  audiences  for  the  preachers. 

"  2.  There  will  be  but  partial  success  in 
rearing  a  native  ministry,  unless  the  semi- 
nary be  in  the  midst  of  a  select  and  strong 
body  of  missionaries,  whose  holy  lives, 
conversation,  and  preaching  shall  cause 
the  light  of  the  Gospel  to  blaze  intensely 
and  constantly  upon  and  around  the  insti- 
tution. Experience  shows  that  in  such 
circumstances  we  are  warranted  to  expect 
a  considerable  proportion  of  the  students 
to  become  pious. 

"3.  The  student,  while  in  the  seminary, 
should  be  trained  practically  to  habits  of 
usefulness.  But  this  requires  caution,  and 
must  not  be  attempted  too  soon.  Those 
set  apart  for  the  sacred  ministry  might 
remain  as  a  class  in  theology  at  the  semi- 
nary, after  completing  the  regular  course 
of  study  ;  or,  according  to  the  old  fashion 
in  this  country,  which  has  some  special 
advantages,  they  might  pursue  their  theo- 
logical studies  with  individual  missiona- 
ries, and,  under  such  superintendence,  ex- 
ercise their  gifts  before  much  responsibil- 
ity is  thrown  upon  them. 

"  4.  The  contemporaneous  establishment 
of  female  boarding-schools,  where  the  na- 
tive ministers  and  other  educated  helpers 
in  the  mission  may  obtain  pious  and  intel- 
ligent partners  for  life,  is  an  essential  fea- 
ture in  this  system.  A  native  pastor,  with 
an  ignorant,  heathen  wife,  would  be  great- 
U 


ly  embarrassed  and  hindered  in  his  work. 
In  this  manner  Christian  families  are 
formed,  and  at  length  Christian  communi- 
ties, and  there  is  a  race  of  children  with 
Christian  ideas  and  associations,  from 
among  whom  we  may  select  our  future 
pupils  and  candidates  for  the  ministry." 

II.  On  the  employment  of  this  native  mm  ■ 
is  try. 

"  The  pupils  in  the  seminaries  will  have 
different  gifts,  and  the  same  gifts  in  very 
different  degrees.  All  the  pious  students 
will  not  do  for  preachers.  Some  may  be 
retained  as  tutors  in  the  seminary,  others 
may  be  employed  as  school  teachers,  oth- 
ers as  printers,  bookbinders,  etc.  Those 
set  apart  for  the  ministry,  while  they  are 
taught  the  way  of  the  Lord  more  perfectly, 
can  be  employed  as  catechists,  tract  dis- 
tributers, readers,  or  superintendents  of 
schools,  and  thus  gain  experience  and  try 
their  characters.  In  due  time  they  may  be 
licensed  to  preach,  and,  after  proper  trial, 
receive  ordination  as  evangelists  or  pastors. 

"  While  care  should  be  taken  to  lay  hands 
suddenly  on  no  man,  there  is  believed  to 
be  danger  of  requiring  too  much  of  native 
converts  before  we  are  willing  to  intrust 
them  with  the  ministry  of  the  word.  Gen- 
erations must  pass  before  a  community, 
emerging  from  the  depths  of  heathenism, 
can  be  expected  to  furnish  a  body  of  min- 
isters equal  to  that  in  our  country. 

"  Could  the  present  native  church  mem- 
bers at  the  Sandwich  Islands  be  divided  into 
companies  of  180  each,  100  churches  would 
be  constituted.  Native  pastors  should  be 
in  training  for  these  churches,  and  evan- 
gelists for  the  numerous  districts  where 
churches  are  not  yet  formed,  and  where 
the  people  are  consequently  exposed  to  the 
inroads  of  the  enemy.  In  the  other  mis- 
sions the  chief  employment,  at  present, 
must  be  that  of  evangelists.  In  the  Tamul 
missions  hundreds  might  find  ample  em- 
ployment ;  and  in  the  Oriental  churches, 
our  leading  object  should  be  to  bring  for- 
ward an  able  evangelical  native  ministry 
with  the  least  possible  delay." 

III.   On  the  power  and  economy  of  the  plan. 

"  In  most  of  our  missions  we  are  oppo- 
sed by  these  formidable  obstacles,  namely, 
distance,  expense,  and  climate.  England  was 
opposed  by  the  same  obstacles  in  her  con- 
quest of  India.  And  how  did  she  overcome 
them  ?  By  employing  native  troops  ;  and 
it  is  chiefly  by  means  of  them  she  now 
holds  that  great  populous  country  in  sub- 
jection. We,  too,  must  have  native  troops 
in  our  spiritual  warfare.  Why  not  have 
an  army  of  them  ?  Why  not  have  as  nu- 
merous a  body  of  native  evangelists  as  can 
be  directed  and  employed? 

"  Such  a  measure  would  effect  a  great 
saving  oitime.  Indeed,  we  can  never  leave 
our  fields  of  labour  till  this  is  done.  Our 
mission  churches  must  have  native  pastors, 


306 


RELIGION  IN  AMERICA. 


[Book  VIIL 


and  pastors  of  some  experience,  who  can 
stand  alone,  before  we  can  leave  them.  Be- 
sides, we  should  make  far  greater  progress 
than  we  do  had  we  more  of  such  helpers. 

"  And  what  economy  of  money  there 
would  be  in  the  operation  of  this  plan  ! 
The  cost  of  a  ten  years'  course  of  educa- 
tion for  five  natives  of  India  would  not  be 
more  than  the  outfit  and  passage  of  one 
married  missionary  to  that  country.  And 
when  a  company  of  missionaries  is  upon 
the  ground,  it  costs  at  least  five  times  as 
much  to  support  them  as  it  would  to  sup- 
port the  same  number  of  native  preachers. 
The  former  could  not  live,  like  the  latter, 
upon  rice  alone,  with  a  piece  of  cotton  cloth 
wrapped  about  their  bodies  for  clothing, 
and  a  mud-walled,  grass-covered  cottage, 
without  furniture,  for  a  dwelling;  nor  could 
they  travel  on  foot  under  a  tropical  sun. 
They  could  not  do  this,  and  at  the  same 
time  preserve  health  and  life. 

"  The  cost  of  educating  1000  youth  in 
India,  from  whom  preachers  might  be  ob- 
tained, and  afterward  of  supporting  200  na- 
tive preachers  and  their  families,  would  be 
only  about  25,000  dollars,  which  is  but  little 
more  than  the  average  expense  in  that  coun- 
try of  twenty-five  missionaries  and  fami- 
lies. Now,  if  the  preaching  of  two  well- 
educated  native  preachers,  labouring  under 
judicious  superintendence,  may  be  expect- 
ed to  do  as  much  good  as  that  of  one  mis- 
sionary, we  have  in  these  200  native  preach- 
ers the  equivalent,  in  instrumental  preach- 
ing power,  for  100  missionaries,  and  at  an 
expenditure  less  by  nearly  75,000  dollars  a 
year.  And  then,  too,  the  native  preacher 
is  at  home  in  the  country  and  climate,  not 
subject  to  a  premature  breaking  down  of 
his  constitution,  not  compelled  to  resort 
for  health  to  the  United  States,  or  to  send 
his  children  thither  for  education.  Besides, 
the  native  churches  and  converts  might 
gradually  be  brought  to  assume  a  part  or 
the  whole  of  the  support  of  the  native  min- 
istry ;  while  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  it 
will  ever  be  expedient  for  the  missionary 
to  receive  his  support  from  that  quarter. 

"  One  hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year 
would  board  and  educate  4000  native  youth. 
That  sum  would  support  500  or  600  native 
ministers  with  their  families  ;  and  if  the 
value  of  this  amount  of  native  preaching 
talent  equalled  that  of  only  200  missiona- 
ries, the  annual  saving  of  expense  would 
be  at  least  125,000  dollars.  But  it  would 
in  the  end  be  worth  much  more  ;  so  that 
we  see,  in  this  view,  how  our  effective  force 
among  the  heathen  may,  in  a  few  years,  be 
rendered  manifold  greater  than  it  is  at  pres- 
ent, without  even  doubling  our  annual  ex- 
penditure. Some  progress  has  even  now 
been  made  towards  this  result.  We  al- 
ready have  500  male  youth  in  our  seven 
seminaries ;  and  a  still  greater  number, 
male  and  female,  in  our  other  twenty-sev- 


en boarding-schools.  But  the  scheme,  how- 
ever promising  and  indispensable,  cannot 
be  carried  into  effect  without  a  large  addi- 
tion of  first-rate  men  to  the  company  of  our 
missionaries." 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  how  the  at- 
tention of  Protestant  missionaries  from 
Europe,  as  well  as  the  United  States,  has 
been  drawn  of  late  to  the  importance  of  a 
native  ministry  as  a  means  of  carrying  on 
the  work  of  missions  among  the  heathen. 
There  can,  however,  be  no  doubt  that 
this  Board  has  taken  the  lead  of  all  other 
missionary  societies  in  giving  that  subject 
the  prominence  practically  which  it  de- 
serves in  the  great  system  of  missionary 
operations. 

The  Annual  Meetings  of  the  Board. — 
The  annual  meetings  of  the  Board  must 
receive  a  brief  notice.  They  are  held  in 
the  month  of  September,  in  some  one  of  the 
more  important  cities  of  the  Eastern  or 
Middle  States,  and  occupy  three  days. 
The  session  is  for  deliberation  and  busi- 
ness. The  annual  meeting  for  the  year  1841 
is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  usual  attendance 
of  members.  There  were  56  corporate, 
and  102  honorary  members  present.  Of 
the  corporate  members  five  were  heads  of 
colleges  (there  are  thrice  that  number  be- 
longing to  the  corporation)  ;  thirty-one 
were  pastors  of  churches,  or  otherwise 
employed  in  the  Christian  ministry  ;  ten 
were  civilians ;  and  the  remaining  ten  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  or  medical  pursuits. 

The  first  day  of  the  session  is  employed 
in  bringing  forward  the  business  of  the 
meetings,  so  far  as  the  Prudential  Com- 
mittee is  concerned,  which  is  done  in  wri- 
ting. This,  including  the  different  parts 
of  the  annual  report,  is  usually  referred  to 
some  fifteen  or  more  committees,  who  re- 
port during  the  session.  Their  reports 
often  give  rise  to  friendly  discussions, 
which  are  always  interesting,  and  often 
eloquent.  All  the  meetings  are  open  tc« 
the  public,  and  are  usually  held  in  a 
church,  that  there  may  be  room  for  those 
friends  and  patrons  who  wish  to  attend. 
Tn  the  evening  of  the  first  day  a  sermon  is 
preached  before  the  Board  by  a  member 
appointed  to  the  service  at  the  previous 
meeting,  and  the  members  unite  in  cele- 
brating the  Lord's  Supper  during  the  ses- 
sion. A  meeting  for  popular  addresses  is 
held  in  the  evening  of  the  second  or  third 
day.  The  last  day  of  the  session  is  gen- 
erally the  great  day  of  the  feast  in  point 
of  interest ;  and  it  may  truly  be  said  that 
the  annual  meeting  of  this  Board,  as  a 
whole,  has  for  several  years  past  exerted 
a  great  and  good  influence  on  the  commu- 
nity, its  proceedings  being  more  exten- 
sively and  carefully  reported  in  the  reli- 
gious newspapers  than  those  of  any  other 
religious  or  charitable  institution  in  the 
country. 


Chap.  IV.] 


BOARD   FOR  PRESBYTERIAN   MISSIONS. 


307 


Publications. — The  publications  issued 
by  the  Board  directly  are,  1.  The  "  Mis- 
sionary Herald,"  published  monthly  in  about 
24,000  copies  ;  2.  The  "  Day  Spring,"  a 
monthly  publication  just  commenced  in 
the  form  of  a  small  newspaper;  3.  The 
"  Annual  Report,"  a  document  of  about 
200  pages,  of  which  4000  or  5000  copies 
are  issued  annually  ;  and,  4.  The  "  Annual 
Sermon,"  and  occasional  missionary  pa- 
pers of  various  descriptions. 

Among  the  numerous  works  which  have 
been  occasioned  more  or  less  directly  by 
its  missions,  though  not  published  by  it  or 
at  its  expense,  the  following  may  be  men- 
tioned : 

Memoir  of  Mrs.  Harriet  Newell,  by 
Rev.  Leonard  Woods,  D.D.,  1815.  Memoir 
of  the  Rev.  Levi  Parsons,  by  Rev.  Daniel 
O.  Morton,  1824.  Memoir  of  the  Rev. 
Pliny  Fisk,  by  Rev.  Alvan  Bond.  1828. 
Memoir  of  Catharine  Brown,  a  Christian 
Indian  of  the  Cherokee  nation,  by  Rev. 
Rufus  Anderson,  1824.  Memoir  of  Rev. 
Gordon  Hall,  by  Rev.  Horatio  Bardwell, 
1834.  Memoir  of  Mrs.  Harriet  L.  Wins- 
low,  by  Rev.  Miron  Winslow,  1835.  Me- 
moir of  Mrs.  Myra  W.  Allen,  by  Rev.  Cy- 
rus Mann,  1834.  The  Little  Osage  Cap- 
tive, by  Rev.  Elias  Cornelius,  1822.  Me- 
moir of  Mrs.  Sarah  Lanman  Smith,  by 
Rev.  Edward  W.  Hooker,  D.D.,  1839,  Syr- 
ian Mission.  Memoir  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  D. 
Dwight  and  Mrs.  Judith  S.  Grant,  1840. 
The  Christian  Brahmin,  or  Memoirs  of  the 
Life,  Writings,  and  Character  of  the  Con- 
verted Brahmin,  Babajee,  by  Rev.  Hollis 
Read,  2  vols.,  1836.  Memoirs  of  Ameri- 
can Missionaries,  formerly  connected  with 
the  Society  of  Inquiry  respecting  Missions 
in  the  Andover  Theological  Seminary, 
1832.  Tour  around  Hawaii  (one  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands),  by  Rev.  William  Ellis, 
1826.  A  Residence  in  the  Sandwich  Isl- 
ands, by  Rev.  Charles  Samuel  Stewart, 
1828.  History  of  the  Sandwich  Islands' 
Mission,  by  Rev.  Sheldon  Dibble,  1839. 
Observations  on  the  Peloponnesus  and 
Greek  Islands,  by  Rev.  Rufus  Anderson, 
1830.  Researches  in  Armenia,  by  Rev.  E. 
Smith  and  Rev.  H.  G.  O.  Dwight,  1833. 
Residence  at  Constantinople,  by  Rev.  Jo- 
siah  Brewer,  1830.  The  Nestorians,  or  the 
Lost  Tribes,  by  Asahel  Grant,  M.D.,  1841. 
Missionary  Sermons  and  Addresses,  by 
Rev.  Eli  Smith,  1833.  Journal  of  a  Mis- 
sionary Tour  in  India,  by  Rev.  William 
Ramsey,  1836.  Journal  of  a  Residence  in 
China  and  the  Neighbouring  Countries,  by 
Rev.  David  Abeel,  1834.  The  Missionary 
Convention  at  Jerusalem,  or  an  Exhibition 
of  the  Claims  of  the  World  to  the  Gospel, 
by  Rev.  David  Abeel,  1838.  Journal  of 
an  Exploring  Tour  beyond  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  by  Rev.  Samuel  Parker,  1838. 
Essays  on  the  Present  Crisis  in  the  Con- 
dition of  the  American  Indians,  first  pub- 


lished in  the  National  Intelligencer  under 
the  signature  of  William  Penn,  1829,  by 
Jeremiah  Evarts.  Speeches  on  the  Pas- 
sage of  the  Bill  for  the  Removal  of  the  In- 
dians, delivered  in  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  1830.  History  of  the  Amer- 
ican Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions,  by  Rev.  Joseph  Tracy,  1840. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BOARD  OF    FOREIGN   MISSIONS    OF   THE    PRESBY- 
TERIAN   CHURCH. 

We  have  gone  into  considerable  detail 
in  the  preceding  chapter  in  order  to  exhibit, 
once  for  all,  the  grand  principles  of  our 
American  missions — the  establishment  of 
schools  for  the  Christian  instruction  of 
youth,  and  especially  for  raising  a  native 
ministry  among  the  heathen  themselves, 
and  the  employment  of  that  most  impor- 
tant auxiliary,  the  press.  The  views  of 
the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions  on  these  points  are  held, 
I  believe,  without  exception,  by  all  our 
other  missionary  associations,  so  that  we 
may  dispense  with  going  into  the  recon- 
sideration of  them  in  the  notices  that  are 
to  follow. 

We  turn  next  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church's  Board  for  Foreign  Missions,  not 
because  next  in  point  of  date  or  extent  of 
operations,  but  simply  because  it  derives 
its  support  from  a  member  of  the  same 
great  Presbyterian  family  of  churches,  of 
certain  other  branches  of  which  the  Amer- 
ican Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions  is  the  missionary  organ.  The 
two  societies,  in  fact,  comprise  nearly  all 
that  is  now  done  for  the  conversion  of  hea- 
thens, Mohammedans,  and  Jews,  by  Pres- 
byterians of  all  shades, in  the  United  States. 

The  Board  of  which  we  have  now  to 
speak  was  constituted  only  in  1837,  the 
congregations  which  it  represents  having 
before  that  combined  with  others  in  sup- 
porting the  American  Board,  and  many  of 
them,  indeed,  with  a  truly  liberal  spirit, 
now  support  both.  The  latter  of  the  two 
Boards  arose  from  a  conviction  which  had 
long  been  gaining  ground,  that  the  Presby- 
terians as  a  Church,  and  by  the  medium  of 
their  supreme  ecclesiastical  judicature, 
ought,  like  the  Church  of  Scotland,  to 
undertake  foreign  as  well  as  domestic 
missions. 

As  the  Old  School  Presbyterian  Church, 
which  appointed  and  supports  this  Board, 
numbers  1409  pastors  and  2088  churches, 
and  as  nearly  all  these  have  it  in  their 
power  to  aid  the  cause,  there  is  every 
prospect  of  its  becoming  in  a  few  years  a 
very  efficient  association.  Its  receipts  for 
the  year  ending  May  1st,  1843,  were  64,734 
dollars,  and  it  had  expended  about  65  dol- 
lars more  than  this.    In  this  statement  are 


308 


RELIGION  IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VIII. 


included  the  sum  of  3000  dollars  from  the 
American  Bible  Society  for  the  printing 
and  circulation  of  the  Scriptures,  and  2200 
from  the  American  Tract  Society  for  the 
publication  of  tracts.  It  has  the  following 
missions  : 

Iowa,  or  Sac  Indians  in  the  Indian  ter- 
ritory westward  of  the  Missouri.  Here  it 
employs  a  minister,  a  teacher,  and  a  farm- 
er, and  their  wives,  with  an  encouraging 
prospect  of  good  being  done  by  preaching, 
and  still  more  by  schools.  Intemperance 
is  found  the  greatest  bar  to  the  progress  of 
the  Gospel  among  the  Indians. 

Chippewa  and  Ottawa  tribes.  —  One 
missionary  and  a  teacher,  with  their  wives, 
are  labouring  with  considerable  and  en- 
couraging success  among  these  two  tribes, 
which  are  still  in  the  western  part,  of  Mich- 
igan, not  having  been  yet  removed  to  the 
west  of  the  Mississippi. 

Creek  Indians. — These  form  a  powerful 
tribe  of  above  21,000  souls,  in  the  Indian 
territory  to  the  west  of  the  States  of  Ar- 
kansas and  Missouri.  Until  of  late,  they 
have  been  averse  to  receiving  missionaries, 
but  the  Board  has  now  taken  measures, 
with  the  consent  of  their  chiefs,  for  sus- 
taining a  mission  among  them,  and  a  min- 
ister, with  his  wife,  have  entered  upon 
their  work. 

Texas. — One  missionary  and  his  wife 
have  been  stationed  on  the  western  border 
of  Texas,  but  as  this  mission  is  intended  for 
the  benefit  of  Mexico,  they  remain  where 
they  are  only  until  the  door  is  opened  for 
their  admission  into  the  latter  country. 

Western  Africa. — The  Board  has  four 
missionaries,  with  their  wives,  and  one 
coloured  female  teacher,  sent  frOm  the 
United  States,  and  two  male  native  teach- 
ers, at  Cape  Palmas,  the  site  of  a  colony 
of  coloured  people  from  America.  The 
mission  bids  fair  to  be  eminently  useful. 

The  Chinese. — This  mission  was  at  first 
established  at  Singapore.  Two  mission- 
aries, one  of  whom  is  married,  and  a  phy- 
sician and  his  wife,  were  employed  in 
preaching  and  in  the  education  of  youth 
among  the  Chinese,  who  either  permanent- 
ly reside  at  that  port  or  occasionally  visit  it. 
But  now  that  the  door  is  open  for  the  en- 
trance of  the  Gospel  into  that  great  empire, 
the  Board  has  lost  no  time  in  turning  their 
attention  to  it.  Last  year  they  sent  two 
ordained  ministers,  one  physician,  and  one 
teacher  to  this  important  field. 

Siam. — In  this  kingdom  the  Board  main- 
tains one  missionary  and  his  wife,  who  are 
preparing  themselves  for  their  future  work 
by  acquiring  the  language  of  the  country, 
and  making  themselves  useful,  in  the  mean 
time,  by  an  abundant  distribution  of  portions 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  Tracts. 

Northern  India. — Here  it  is  that  the 
Board  has  its  most  extensive  missions, 
having  at  its  different  stations  at  Lodiana, 


Sabathu,  Saharunpur,  Allahabad,  and  Fut- 
tegurh,  no  fewer  than  fifteen  ordained  mis- 
sionaries, most  of  whom  are  married,  one 
printer,  three  teachers,  one  physician,  and 
one  catechist,  all  Americans,  besides  two 
native  catechists,  and  one  native  assist- 
ant. This  mission  has  been  remarkably 
successful,  considering  how  lately  it  was 
commenced.  Schools  have  been  estab- 
lished at  the  different  stations,  and  a  con- 
siderable number  of  publications,  including 
parts  of  the  Bible,  have  been  issued  in  the 
Hindustani,  Persian,  Panjabi  or  Gurmukhi, 
and  Hindi  languages.  To  this,  preaching 
in  the  native  languages  at  the  different 
stations  is  now  added,  and  in  English,  also, 
at  one  or  more  of  these,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  British  officers  and  other  foreign  resi- 
dents, some  of  whom,  we  rejoice  to  say, 
have  shown  much  kindness  to  the  mis- 
sionaries, and  have  liberally  contributed 
to  the  support  of  the  schools. 

The  missionaries  in  this  quarter  have 
lately  formed  themselves  into  three  Pres- 
byteries, and  these  have  been  organized  as 
the  Synod  of  Northern  India  by  the  General 
Assembly  in  America,  to  which  it  is  sub- 
ordinate. 

The  Board  takes  a  deep  interest  in  China, 
and  looks  forward  to  the  day  when  the 
truth  may  find  an  effectual  entrance  into 
that  populous  empire.  It  has,  at  a  great 
expense,  had  3326  matrices  made  in  Paris 
for  the  casting  of  as  many  different  types, 
which,  by  their  combinations,  can  produce 
above  14,000  different  characters :  a  num- 
ber, according  to  the  report  for  1841,  amply 
sufficient  for  missionary  purposes.  Hence 
it  would  seem  that  the  question,  how  far 
the  Chinese  language  may  be  printed  with 
movable  type,  is  about  to  be  resolved  by 
this  Board ;  and  it  is  a  striking  fact,  that 
solely  to  its  liberality  the  ingenious  French 
printer,  M.  Marcellin-Legrand,  under  the 
direction  of  M.  Ponthieu,  who  discovered 
this  method  of  printing  Chinese,  and  of 
Walter  Lowrie,  Esq.,  Secretary  to  the 
Board,  and  himself  an  excellent  Chinese 
scholar,  owes  his  having  been  enabled  to 
make  so  much  progress  in  preparing  a 
complete  fount  of  type  in  that  important 
but  difficult  tongue. 

The  Board  is  annually  appointed  by  the 
General  Assembly,  and  to  that  body  it 
makes  its  report.  The  business,  however, 
is  mainly  conducted  by  a  very  efficient 
committee  subject  to  its  supervision,  and 
through  this  committee  as  its  organ  it  is- 
sues a  monthly  publication,  called  The 
Foreign  Missionary  Chronicle,  presenting 
not  only  full  accounts  of  its  own  missions, 
but  summaries  also  of  what  is  done  by 
other  missionary  societies.  From  5000  to 
6000  copies  of  this  valuable  periodical  are 
circulated  through  the  churches. 

The  Board  has  now  under  its  direction, 
sent  out  by  the  Church  that  appoints  it, 


Chap.  V.] 


BOARD  FOR  BAPTIST   MISSIONS. 


309 


more  than  seventy  labourers  at  foreign 
stations,  of  whom  twenty-eight  are  minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel.  It  has,  besides,  eight 
native  assistants,  some  of  whom  are  learn- 
ed persons,  and  all  of  them  hopefully  pi- 
ous, and  in  different  stages  of  trial  and 
preparation  for  labouring  among  their  be- 
nighted fellow-countrymen.  Through  the 
stations  occupied  by  these  missionaries, 
the  Presbyterian  Church  is  brought  into 
contact  with  five  different  heathen  nations, 
estimated  to  comprise  two  thirds  of  the 
whole  human  race. 


CHAPTER  V. 

MISSIONARY  BOARD  OF  THE  BAPTIST  CHURCHES. 

The  operations  of  this  Board  now  ex- 
tend over  thirty  years.  It  was  first  com- 
stituted  in  1814,  by  the  Baptist  General 
Convention  for  Foreign  Missions,  which 
meets  triennially,  and  is,  in  fact,  a  mission- 
ary society.  To  it  the  Board  makes  a 
regular  Report  of  its  proceedings. 

This  association  has  from  small  begin- 
nings advanced  from  year  to  year  in  re- 
sources and  efficiency,  until,  through  God's 
blessing,  it  embraces  all  the  four  great  con- 
tinents within  the  sphere  of  its  operations. 
These  have  been  conducted  with  singular 
wisdom,  zeal,  and  perseverance,  and  have 
been  crowned  with  remarkable  success. 

Its  history  shows  how  wonderfully  God, 
in  his  providence,  orders  and  overrules 
events  while  enlisting  new  agencies  for 
the  accomplishment  of  his  purposes.  In 
1812,  the  American  Board  of  Commission- 
ers for  Foreign  Missions,  a  Paedobaptist 
society,  sent  several  missionaries  to  Ben- 
gal. On  their  voyage  thither,  two  of  these, 
the  Rev.  Messrs.  Judson  and  Rice  and  their 
wives,  changed  their  views  and  became 
Baptists  ;  an  event  that  not  only  gave 
much  distress  to  the  other  members  of  the 
mission,  but  produced,  perhaps,  for  a  time, 
other  feelings  besides  disappointment  in 
the  minds  of  the  members  of  the  Board 
that  had  sent  them  out.  On  their  arrival, 
they  found  that  the  British  East  India 
Company  would  not  permit  them  to  labour 
within  its  territories  ;  so  that  after  a  few 
weeks'  stay  they  had  to  leave  Calcutta. 
Messrs.  Judson  and  Rice,  however,  with 
their  wives,  were  received  with  great  kind- 
ness by  the  excellent  Dr.  Carey  and  his 
associates,  Baptist  missionaries  from  Eng- 
land, settled  at  Serampore,  a  small  Danish 
possession  not  many  miles  above  Calcutta. 
There  was  no  Baptist  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  at  that  time  in  the  United  States, 
but  as  Messrs.  Judson  and  Rice  had  be- 
come Baptists,  were  now  in  India,  and 
wished  to  remain  and  preach  the  Gospel 
there  to  the  heathen,  their  case  drew  the 
attention  of  the  Baptist  churches  in  Amer- 
ica, and  a  society  was  organized  for  their 


support.  Meanwhile,  Mr.  Judson  withdrew 
into  the  Burmese  territory,  and  there  com- 
menced a  mission  which  has  been  signally 
blessed.  The  society,  which  they  were  the 
means  of  originating,  is  now  a  great  insti- 
tution, with  no  fewer  than  nineteen  mis- 
sions in  various  parts  of  the  world.  How 
wonderful  are  the  ways  of  God !  bringing 
good  from  what  seems  to  man,  for  a  time 
at  least,  to  be  evil.  Had  not  the  two  mis- 
sionaries become  Baptists,  where  would 
have  been  the  blessed  mission  to  Burmah, 
and  how  many  years  might  have  elapsed 
before  the  American  Baptists  entered  on 
the  prosecution  of  foreign  missions  ?  And 
had  not  the  Governor-general  of  India  ex- 
cluded American  missionaries  from  Ben- 
gal, where  would  have  been  the  promising 
American  missions  in  Ceylon,  in  the  south- 
ern part  of  Hindostan,  and  on  the  western 
side  of  the  Indian  Peninsula'! 

Such  was  the  origin  of  the  Baptist  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions  ;  let  us  now  glance  at 
its  various  enterprises  as  reported  for  1843. 

Missions  in  North  America. — These  are 
eight  in  number,  and  embrace  the  follow- 
ing tribes  :  the  Ojibwas,  Ottawas,  Oneidas, 
and  Tuscaroras,  Otoes,  Shawanoes,  and 
others,  Cherokees,  Creeks,  and  Choctas, 
the  last  three  residing  on  the  Indian  Ter- 
ritory. Among  these  various  tribes  the 
Board  has  eighteen  stations  and  out-sta- 
tions, thirty-two  American  missionaries 
and  assistants,  and  eight  Indian  assistants. 

In  Europe. — In  France,  the  Board  has 
seven  stations  and  six  out-stations,  one 
missionary  and  his  wife,  and  ten  native 
preachers  and  assistants.  In  Germany 
and  Denmark  it  has  nine  stations,  and  thir- 
teen native  preachers  and  assistants.  In 
Greece,  two  stations,  two  preachers,  three 
female  assistants,  and  one  native  assistant. 

In  West  Africa,  the  Board  has  two  sta- 
tions, three  preachers,  one  printer,  one  fe- 
male assistant,  one  native  assistant,  and 
fifteen  churches  among  the  Bassas,  a  na- 
tive tribe  near  the  colony  of  Liberia. 

In  Asia,  the  Board  has  missions  among 
the  Karens  on  the  borders  of  Burmah,  in 
Siam,  in  China,  in  Arracan,  in  Assam,  and 
at  Madras  and  Nellore  and  British  India. 
These,  forming  eight  distinct  missions, 
comprehended  in  1843  thirty-five  stations 
and  out-stations,  fifty-six  missionaries  and 
assistant  missionaries,  and  about  seventy 
native  assistants. 

The  total  numbers,  including  all  the  mis- 
sions, were,  according  to  the  Report  for 
1843,  as  follows; 

19  Missions. 

80  Stations  and  out-stations. 
103  Missionaries  and  assistant  missionaries  (Amer- 

cans),  of  whom  44  are  ordained. 
115  Native  preachers  and  assistants. 
77  Churches,  comprehending  more  than  2000  mem- 
bers. 
898  Baptisms  in  the  course  of  the  year  reported  on. 
4000  Members  in  native  churches. 


310 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VIII. 


The  receipts  for  that  year  had  amounted 
to  47,151  dollars,  and  the  disbursements  to 
55,138  dollars.  In  addition  to  its  regular 
receipts,  the  Board  had  received  6000  dol- 
lars from  the  American  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society  for  the  publication  of  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  2200  dollars  from  the  American 
Tract  Society  for  the  publication  of  Tracts ; 
and  4400  dollars  from  the  United  States 
Government  towards  the  support  of  schools 
among  the  Indians.* 

This  brief  notice  will  give  the  reader 
some  idea  of  this  excellent  society's  opera- 
tions, and  of  the  good  that  it  is  doing.  A 
detailed  account  of  its  missions,  particu- 
larly of  those  among  the  Burmans  and  the 
Karens,  would  be  interesting,  but  would 
far  exceed  the  limits  of  this  work.  It  is 
delightful  to  see  how  much  interest  in  the 
cause  of  missions  has  sprung  up  in  this 
numerous  and  important  branch  of  the 
Church  in  the  United  States.  May  God 
grant  that  it  and  every  other  may  soon 
come  up  to  the  full  measure  of  their  ability 
and  duty  in  this  great  work. 

Let  me  add,  in  conclusion,  that  the  Mis- 
sionary Magazine,  an  able  and  interesting 
monthly  publication,  has  long  been  the  or- 
gan of  the  Society,  and  has  a  wide  circula- 
tion among  the  Baptist  denomination. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FOREIGN   MISSIONS   OF   THE   METHODIST   EPISCO- 
PAL  CHURCH. 

The  Missionary  Society  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  was  formed  in  1819, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence, but  for  many  years  its  efforts  were 
chiefly  directed  to  domestic  missions,  in- 
cluding those  to  the  slaves  in  the  Southern 
States,  and  to  the  aboriginal  tribes  within, 
or  adjacent  to,  the  western  frontier  of  the 
United  States.  It  afterward  directed  its 
attention  to  the  colonies  of  free  coloured 
Americans  on  the  Western  coast  of  Afri- 
ca, and,  at  a  still  later  period,  it  establisbed 
missions  on  the  territory  to  the  west  of  the 
Oregon  Mountains,  and  at  some  important 
points  in  South  America.  The  German  im- 
migrants found  swarming  in  our  principal 
cities,  at  the  same  time  engaged  much  of 
its  attention.  Its  efforts  in  behalf  of  these 
and  of  the  slaves,  as  properly  falling  under 
the  head  of  home  missions,  we  have  al- 
ready noticed,  and  will  now  give  some  ac- 
count of  what  are,  properly  speaking,  its 
foreign  missions. 

North  American  Indians. — The  Society 
in  1843  had  twenty-five   missionaries  la- 


*  After  the  account  for  the  year  was  closed,  $2000 
additional  were  received  from  the  American  and  For- 
eign Bible  Society,  and  an  equal  sum  from  the  Amer- 
ican Tract  Society.  To  this  must  be  added  £500 
from  the  Committee  of  the  English  Baptist  Mission- 
ary Society,  as  an  expression  of  fraternal  interest. 


bouring  within  or  beyond  the  western 
frontier  of  the  United  States  among  the 
following  tribes,  or  remnants  of  tribes  :  the 
Wyandols,  Oneidas,  Shawnees,  Delawares, 
Kickapoos,  Pottawottamies,  Chippewas, 
Choctas,  Cherokees,  &c,  &c.  The  Re- 
port for  that  year  states  the  Indian  mem- 
bers of  the  mission  churches  gathered  from 
these  tribes  to  have  amounted  to  3851. 

Texas  Mission. — The  Society  had  no 
fewer  than  thirty-six  missionaries  station- 
ed in  the  Republic  of  Texas  in  1843  ;  these 
had  laboured  with  much  success  ;  and  they 
now  form  an  Annual  Conference,  which, 
by  conducting  its  own  affairs,  will  probably 
do  away  with  the  necessity  of  having  any 
independent  mission  in  that  country.  This 
conference  comprehends  three  Presiding 
Elders'  districts,  thirty-six  travelling  min- 
isters, forty  local  preachers,  3698  mem- 
bers, of  whom  536  are  coloured  people.  A 
college,  also,  has  been  established  under  its 
auspices. 

Liberia  Mission,  at  and  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  American  colony  on  the  west  coast 
of  Africa,  was  commenced  in  1833  by  the 
late  Rev.  Melville  B.  Cox,  an  excellent  man, 
who  fell  a  victim  to  the  climate  a  few 
months  after  liis  arrival.  With  his  dying 
breath  he  exclaimed,  "  Though  a  thousand 
fall,  Africa  must  not  be  given  up."  He 
was  succeeded  by  others,  and  they,  too, 
sank  under  a  climate  so  fatal  to  white 
men.  At  length  the  Rev.  John  Seys  was 
sent  out,  and  he,  through  God's  blessing, 
has  been  preserved  to  this  day.  He  was 
greatly  successful  in  putting  the  affairs  of 
the  mission  in  order,  and  superintending 
the  labours  of  coloured  preachers  from  the 
United  States,  the  Society  having  to  de- 
pend chiefly  on  these.  Last  year  he  was 
succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Chase.  The 
mission  now  includes  an  Annual  Confer- 
ence, consisting  of  twenty  preachers,  all 
coloured,  with  the  exception  of  the  super- 
intendent and  one  other. 

Of  the  church  members,  about  900  in 
all,  150  are  native  Africans,  who,  within 
the  last  four  years,  were  worshipping  gods 
of  wood,  stone,  leather,  anything,  in  short, 
that  their  imagination  could  fashion  into  a 
god! 

South  American  Mission. — In  1841  the 
Society  had  five  missionaries  at  Rio  Ja- 
neiro, Monte  Video,  and  Buenos  Ayres, 
labouring,  not  unsuccessfully,  to  introduce 
the  Gospel  to  those  cities,  now  so  ignorant 
of  the  truth.  These  worthy  men,  how- 
ever, the  pressure  of  the  times  obliged  the 
Society  to  recall.  Within  a  few  months 
the  Society  has  resumed  its  labours  at 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  their  faithful  mission- 
ary is  at  his  post  again. 

Oregon  Mission. — Both  in  its  origin  and 
its  success  this  has  been  one, of  the  most 
remarkable  of  all  the  missions  of  the  Amer- 
ican Churches.     About  the  year  1828,  the 


Chap.  VII.]    BOARD   FOR   PROTESTANT   EPISCOPAL   MISSIONS. 


311 


tribe  of  Indians  called  Flat  Heads,  living 
to  the  west  of  the  Oregon  Mountains, 
prompted,  probably,  by  what  they  had  seen 
and  heard  of  the  Christian  religion  among 
the  trappers  of  the  American  and  Hud- 
son's Bny  Fur  Companies,  sent  some  of 
their  chiefs  into  the  United  States  to  in- 
quire as  to  the  various  forms  of  religious 
worship  observed  here,  and  to  decide  upon 
which  to  recommend.  After  a  long  and 
painful  journey  they  reached  St.  Louis, 
and  stated  the  object  of  their  coming  to 
the  late  General  Clarke,*  then  Govern- 
ment Agent  for  Indian  Affairs  in  that  dis- 
trict, by  whom  it  was  communicated  to 
the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  in  the  place. 
A  great  sensation  was  naturally  produced. 
The  Methodist  Missionary  Society  was  the 
first  that  took  the  matter  up,  and,  desiring 
to  act  with  prudence,  sent  two  judicious 
and  experienced  persons  across  the  Ore- 
gon Mountains  to  visit  the  Indians,  ascer- 
tain their  present  position,  and  choose  a 
proper  situation  for  a  mission.  On  their 
arrival  they  found  the  way  wonderfully 
prepared  by  the  Lord's  providential  dis- 
pensations, so  that  after  their  return,  a 
mission  on  a  large  scale  left  New-York 
for  the  Oregon  country.  After  a  journey 
of  some  months  it  reached  the  place  of  its 
destination,  and  was  welcomed  by  the  In- 
dians and  the  Agents  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  stationed  in  that  region. 

This  mission,  which  from  the  first  has 
been  remarkably  blessed,  consisted,  in 
1841,  of  no  fewer  than  sixty-eight  persons, 
including  teachers,  farmers,  mechanics  of 
all  kinds,  women,  and  children,  all,  of 
course,  connected  with  the  society.  It  is 
designed,  in  fact,  to  be  in  a  great  measure 
a  self-supporting  mission.  Its  object  part- 
ly is,  by  exhibiting  the  advantages  of  civ- 
ilization, to  induce  the  Indians  to  engage 
in  tillage,  and  to  adopt  the  other  arts  and 
usages  of  civilized  life,  in  all  which  the 
mission  has  succeeded  much  beyond  ex- 
pectation. Its  spiritual  success  was  still 
more  remarkable,  for  the  Indian  converts 
amounted,  two  years  ago,  to  no  fewer 
than  1000.  The  mission,  upon  the  whole, 
is  an  experiment  of  the  most  interesting 
kind. 

The  total  number  of  this  society's  for- 
eign missionaries  amounted  in  1843  to  115, 
of  whom  probably  eighty  were  ordained. 
The  number  of  members  in  the  mission 
churches  was  8936.  Its  total  income  for 
that  year  was  $109,452;  its  disbursements 
$145,035,  of  which  probably  90,000  were 
for  home,  and  55,035  for  foreign  mis- 
♦sions.f 

*  The  name  of  this  gentleman  is  well  known  in 
connexion  with  that  of  the  late  Governor  Lewis, 
from  the  Exploring  Tour  they  made  in  company 
■across  the  Oregon  Mountains  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
during  Mr.  Jefferson's  presidency. 

t  It  is  Drobable  that  1  have  not  apportioned  with 


CHAPTER  VII. 


BOARD   OF  MISSIONS    OF  THE  PROTESTANT  EPIS- 
COPAL  CHURCH. 

This  Board  was  constituted  in  1835.  Its 
domestic  operations  we  have  noticed  in 
another  place,  and  have  now  to  speak  of 
its  foreign  missions,  which  extend  to  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  world. 

Western  Africa. — It  has  a  very  flour- 
ishing mission  at  Cape  Palmas,  and  at  two 
or  three  stations  a  few  miles  distant  in  the 
interior.  In  1843  it  comprised  five  ordain- 
ed ministers,  together  with  three  white 
and  ten  coloured  teachers  and  assistants. 
The  place  has  been  well  chosen,  for  Cape 
Palmas  is  one  of  the  healthiest  spots  on 
that  notoriously  unhealthy  coast.  Several 
American  ladies  have  resided  there  in  the 
enjoyment  of  good  health  for  some  years. 
Attached  to  the  mission  there  are  several 
schools,  partly  for  the  colonists,  partly  for 
the  natives,  and  attended  by  above  100 
scholars,  youths  and  adults.  The  preach- 
ing of  the  missionaries  is  well  attended, 
and  has  been  blessed  to  the  salvation  of 
souls. 

China. — The  Board  has  commenced  a 
mission  under  favourable  auspices  in  Chi- 
na. It  has  one  labourer  on  this  field,  and 
is  about  to  send  others. 

Greece. — The  Board  has  a  mission  at 
Athens.  There  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hill,  with  his 
wife  (who  is  a  remarkably  efficient  per- 
son), are  stationed,  and  several  American 
ladies  as  teachers,  besides  whom  there  are 
about  twelve  native  teachers.  Mr.  Hill 
has  been  very  successful  in  raising  and 
supporting  schools  for  infants,  for  boys 
and  for  girls,  attended  by  about  800  schol- 
ars. He  preaches,  also,  on  the  Sabbath 
and  other  occasions,  in  Greek,  to  a  con- 
gregation of  young  and  old.  Yet,  owing 
to  the  perpetual  jealousy  of  the  Greek  cler- 
gy, and  their  influence  with  the  govern- 
ment, the  missionaries  find  themselves  ex- 
posed to  many  difficulties. 

Crete. — In  this  island,  also,  there  is  a 
mission  conducted  by  one  ordained  mis- 
sionary, assisted  by  his  wife  and  one  or 
two  natives  engaged  as  teachers.  This 
mission  has  succeeded  as  well  as  its  friends 
and  projectors  had  hoped. 

Mission  in  the  East. — The  Board  sus- 
tained a  mission  for  some  years  at  Con- 
stantinople. But  it  seems  probable  that  it 
will  be  removed  to  Mardin  or  Mosul,  in 
order  to  reach  more  effectually  the  Syrian 
churches,  in  whose  behalf  the  Society  has 
taken  much  interest.    The  Rev.  Mr.  South- 


perfect  exactness  the  disbursements  of  the  Society. 
The  Report  does  not  separate  the  domestic  from 
the  foreign  expenditures.  The  whole  number  of 
missionaries,  domestic  and  foreign,  employed  by  the 
Society  in  1843,  was  325,  ordained  and  unordained, 
and  the  members  in  the  churches  gathered  were 
39,684. 


312 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VIIL 


gate,  who  has  travelled  much  in  Asia  Mi- 
nor and  the  adjacent  parts  of  the  East, 
and  has  given  the  results  of  his  observa- 
tions in  his  interesting  journals,  is  the  So- 
ciety's missionary  in  this  field.  Two  oth- 
ers have  been  appointed  to  join  him. 

Texas. — In  this  Republic  the  Board  last 
year  employed  three  missionaries,  who 
were  labouring  with  some  success  at  Hous- 
ton, Matagorda,  and  Galveston. 

It  hence  appears  that  the  whole  num- 
ber of  the  Board's  ordained  missionaries 
amounted,  in  1843,  to  eleven,  labouring  in 
seven  distinct  missions,  besides  whom 
mere  were  several  American  ladies,  chief- 
ly engaged  in  teaching,  and  no  fewer  than 
twenty  native  teachers.  The  receipts,  ex- 
clusive of  $200  from  the  American  Tract 
Society,  amounted,  last  year,  to  $35,197; 
the  disbursements  exceeded  the  receipts 
by  $4494.  The  Board  issues  an  interest- 
ing publication  entitled  "The  Spirit  of  Mis- 
sions," for  the  diffusion  of  missionary  in- 
telligence among  the  churches. 


CHAPTER  VHI. 

foreign  missions  of  other  denominations. 

Missions  of  the  Free-Will  Baptist 
Churches. — The  Free-Will  Baptist  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  was  organized  in  1833, 
and  originated  in  the  correspondence  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Sutton,  of  the  English  Gen- 
eral Baptist  Mission,  with  Elder  Buzzel,  a 
Free-Will  Baptist  minister  in  the  United 
States.  Mr.  Sutton  wrote  in  1831,  repre- 
senting the  deplorable  state  of  the  heathen 
in  India,  and  calling  on  his  American  breth- 
ren to  come  up  to  the  help  of  the  Lord 
against  the  mighty.  Returning  to  Eng- 
land in  1833,  Mr.  Sutton  went  from  that 
to  America,  there  spent  several  months 
preaching  to  the  churches  ;  then,  after  an- 
other short  visit  to  his  native  land,  he  made 
an  extensive  tour  in  1834  through  the  Free- 
Will  Baptist  churches  in  the  United  States, 
preaching  to  them  on  the  subject  of  mis- 
sions, and  acting  as  the  corresponding  sec- 
retary of  a  missionary  society  which  had 
been  formed  the  preceding  year.  Having 
succeeded  in  rousing  these  churches  to  a 
sense  of  their  duty,  he  sailed  in  1835  for  In- 
dia with  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Noyes  and  Phil- 
lips and  their  wives,  being  the  first  mission- 
aries from  the  new  society.  On  their  ar- 
rival they  went  with  Mr.  Sutton  to  Orissa, 
a  province  lying  on  the  western  shore  of 
the  Bay  of  Bengal,  some  hundred  miles 
southwest  from  Calcutta.  They  have  been 
labouring  chiefly  at  Balasore  with  much 
faithfulness  and  success.  The  Rev.  Messrs. 
Bachelor  and  Dow  have  since  joined  these 
brethren,  and  are  zealously  prosecuting 
their  work.  The  Society  owes  much,  we 
understand,  to  subscriptions  and  collections 


at  monthly  prayer-meetings.  The  Rev.  Lu- 
ther Palmer,  of  Norwalk,  Ohio,  a  Free-Will 
Baptist  pastor,  some  time  ago  gave  himself 
and  alibis  property,  valued  at  $5000,  to  the 
Society,  wishing  the  latter  to  be  applied  to 
the  support  of  the  press  in  India.  Such 
liberality  reminds  us  of  Pentecostal  days. 
The  receipts  of  the  Society  were,  in  1843, 
$3502  ;  its  expenditures  were  $2679. 

Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  Lu- 
theran Church  in  the  United  States. — 
This  society,  which  dates  from  1837,  origi- 
nated in  an  appeal  from  the  German  mis- 
sionaries in  India,  Mr.  Rhenius  and  his  as- 
sociates, to  their  brethren  in  the  United 
States,  for  the  assistance  they  required  in 
consequence  of  their  separation  from  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  of  England,  on 
account  of  certain  of  its  views  and  meas- 
ures which  they  disapproved,  after  having 
laboured  for  several  years  in  its  service. 
In  answer  to  their  appeal,  a  convention  of 
Lutheran  ministers  and  lay  members  was 
held  at  Hagerstown,  in  Maryland,  and  the 
society  was  organized.  But  these  mission- 
aries having  renewed  their  connexion  with 
the  English  Church  Missionary  Society, 
the  American  Lutherans  have  resolved  to 
send  out  missionaries  from  their  own 
churches,  and  now  have  two  labouring  in 
India. 

Foreign  Missions  of  the  Moravians,  or 
United  Brethren. — The  Moravian  Breth- 
ren in  the  United  States  formed  a  society 
for  propagating  the  Gospel  among  the  hea- 
then in  1787;  an  act  for  incorporating  it 
was  passed  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  ; 
and  it.  has  been  actively  employed  ever 
since  in  promoting  missions.  This  socie- 
ty sustains  two  missions  among  the  In- 
dians (the  one  among  the  Delawares,  the 
other  among  the  Cherokees),  and  eight 
missionaries.  Its  receipts  last  year  were 
8364  dollars.  Some  years  ago  it  received 
a  handsome  legacy  from  a  gentleman  at 
Philadelphia.  Its  organ  is  "  The  United 
Brethren's  Missionary  Intelligencer,  and 
Religious  Miscellany." 

Foreign  Missions  of  the  Scottish 
Churches. — The  reader  has  remarked 
that  in  our  notices  of  the  Associate,  As- 
sociate Reformed,  and  Reformed  Presby- 
terian Churches,  we  mentioned  that  they 
have  undertaken  foreign  missions,  either 
in  connexion  with  the  Board  of  the  Old 
School  Presbyterians  or  independently, 
within  the  last  few  years. 

Such  are  the  societies  in  the  United 
States  which  have  been  expressly  formed 
for  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  pagan 
countries,  although  some  of  them  have 
missions  in  countries  nominally  Christian. 

Let  me  add,  that  the  American  Bible  So- 
ciety, and  the  American  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society  supported  by  the  Baptists,  have 
been  making  large  yearly  donations  to- 
wards the  circulation  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 


Chap.  X.] 


FOREIGN    EVANGELICAL    SOCIETY. 


313 


tures  in  foreign,  and  especially  pagan 
lands.  Some,  also,  of  the  State  and  other 
local  Bible  Societies,  such  as  those  of  Mas- 
sachusetts and  Philadelphia,  have  done 
something  in  this  way.  The  American 
Tract  Society  has  likewise  made  yearly 
grants  of  from  10,000  to  40,000  dollars  for 
the  publication  and  distribution  of  religious 
tracts  in  foreign,  and  chiefly  in  heathen 
lands.  The  American  Sunday-school 
Union,  too,  has  granted  both  books  and 
money  for  promoting  its  objects  abroad. 
I  am  unable  to  state  the  yearly  amount  of 
all  these  donations  with  perfect  accuracy, 
but  believe  that,  taking  the  average  of  the 
last  ten  years,  they  have  exceeded  50,000 
dollars. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

AMERICAN     SOCIETY     FOR     AMELIORATING     THE 
CONDITION    OF    THE    JEWS. 

This  society  was  formed  in  1820,  for 
the  purpose  of  providing  an  asylum,  and 
the  means  of  earning  a  comfortable  live- 
lihood in  America,  for  Jews  whose  con- 
version to  Christianity  exposed  them  to 
persecution  and  the  loss  of  the  means  of 
living.  A  farm,  accordingly,  of  about  500 
acres  was  purchased,  on  which  it  was  pro- 
posed to  have  a  colony  of  converted  Jews, 
who,  by  tillage  and  other  useful  arts,  might 
support  themselves  and  their  families. 
Somehow  or  other  this  project  did  not  an- 
swer the  expectations  of  its  projectors, 
and  so  much  did  the  Society  lose  the  con- 
fidence of  the  Christian  public,  that  for  a 
while  it  seemed  quite  lost  sight  of.  A 
year  or  two  ago,  however,  the  impulse  giv- 
en in  Scotland  and  other  European  coun- 
tries to  the  work  of  converting  the  Jews, 
led  some  of  the  old  friends  of  the  Ameri- 
can Society  to  think  of  reviving  it,  and  di- 
recting its  efforts  to  the  employment  of  mis- 
sionaries among  the  Jews,  either  in  Ameri- 
ca or  elsewhere.  As  the  Society  is  incor- 
porated, and  has  property  to  the  amount,  I 
believe,  of  from  15,000  to  20,000  dollars, 
it  may  commence  its  operations  immedi- 
ately among  the  Jewish  people,  of  whom 
there  are  said  to  be  about  50,000  in  the 
United  States,  whose  conversion  has  nev- 
er, it  must  be  confessed,  called  forth  the 
interest  and  the  efforts  that  it  ought  to 
have  done. 


CHAPTER  X. 

FOREIGN    EVANGELICAL    SOCIETY    OF    THE    UNI- 
TED   STATES. 

This,  which  is  the  latest  in  its  origin  of 
all  the  foreign  missionary  societies,  was 
formed  in  1839,  for  promoting  evangelical 
religion  in  all  nominally  Christian  coun- 


tries, and  was  suggested  by  the  growing 
conviction  of  many  persons  in  the  United 
States,  that  until  pure  Christianity  be  re- 
stored in  nominal  Christendom,  the  con- 
version of  the  heathen  world  can  hardly 
be  looked  for.  There  are  millions  of  Prot- 
estants, and  tens  of  millions  of  Romanists, 
so  manifestly  ignorant  of  the  great  doc- 
trines of  the  Gospel,  as  to  prove  by  their 
lives  that  they  are  little  better  than  bap- 
tized heathen.  Hundreds  of  thousands 
professing  Christianity  may  be  found  in 
some  countries  who  have  actually  never 
read  a  page  of  the  book  which  God  intend- 
ed should  be  emphatically,  the  people's 
Book,  but  which  those  who  put  themselves 
forward  as  their  guides  have  kept  from 
them,  either  from  ignorance  of  its  value, 
or  from  a  dread  of  its  influence  when  read. 

Now,  while  many  societies  seek  to  pro- 
mote true  religion  in  the  United  States, 
and  many  also  to  send  the  Gospel  to  the 
heathen,  the  Foreign  Evangelical  Society 
makes  it  its  peculiar  province  to  cultivate 
that  great  intermediate  field,  presented  by 
professedly  Christian  countries  in  which, 
whatever  may  be  their  civilization,  the 
Gospel  is  really  almost  as  little  known  as 
it  is  to  the  very  heathen ;  some  being 
buried  in  the  darkness  of  Romanism,  and 
others  in  the  still  worse  darkness  of  Ra- 
tionalism. In  many  such  countries  God, 
in  his  holy  Providence,  has  been  evident- 
ly opening  the  way  for  the  admission  of 
the  long-excluded  light.  Stupendous  rev- 
olutions have  in  the  course  of  the  last  fif- 
ty years  shaken,  for  a  time  at  least,  the 
spiritual  despotism  that  had  reigned  so 
long  over  a  great  part  of  Christendom, 
both  in  Europe  and  America ;  and  the  bit- 
ter fruits  of  infidelity,  in  all  its  forms,  have 
disposed  many,  in  countries  where  it  had 
sapped  the  foundations  of  faith,  to  return 
to  the  simple  truths  of  the  Gospel,  unper 
verted  by  human  speculation  and  "  philos- 
ophy falsely  so  called."  The  last  revolu- 
tions in  France  and  Belgium,  in  particu- 
lar, seemed  to  lay  those  countries  more 
open  to  evangelical  effort ;  and  it  was 
hoped  that,  at  no  distant  day,  Spain  and 
Portugal  also  would  be  found  accessible 
to  the  Word  of  God. 

After  much  inquiry,  partly  conducted  by 
an  agent  sent  expressly  to  France  and  oth- 
er countries  of  Europe,  an  association  was 
formed  in  1836,  which,  three  years  after,, 
took  the  form  of  a  regular  society ;  not, 
however,  for  sending  missionaries  from 
America  to  Europe,  but  for  assisting  the 
friends  of  evangelical  religion  in  France, 
Belgium,  and  other  countries  similarly  cir- 
cumstanced. It  has  accordingly  aided  the 
evangelical  societies  of  France  and  Gene- 
va, and,  though  not  to  the  same  extent, 
some  other,  and  more  local  associations. 
Gradually  extending  the  range  of  its  ef- 
forts, it  has  also  promoted  the  same  cause 


314 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


[Book  VIII. 


by  the  distribution  of  tracts  in  Germany, 
and  has  even  aided  the  friends  of  the  truth 
in  Sweden  in  what  they  are  doing  to  com- 
municate the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  more 
effectually  to  the  Laplanders.  As  the  So- 
ciety's Executive  Committee  is  not  re- 
stricted to  any  particular  method  of  effect- 
ing its  objects,  it  has  turned  its  attention 
to  a  variety  of  ways  of  procedure. 

While  making  these  efforts  in  Europe, 
the  Society  has  found  among  the  Roman 
Catholic  population  of  Lower  Canada, 
which  is  almost  wholly  of  French  ori- 
gin, an  important  and  providentially-pre- 
pared field,  which  is  now  occupied  by  a 
very  prosperous  mission.  As  this  mission 
originated  with  some  friends  of  the  Gos- 
pel in  Switzerland,  it  is  supported  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  by  an  association  at  Lausanne. 
Attached  to  it  there  is  a  large  mission- 
house,  in  which  above  twenty  Canadian 
converts  are  preparing  for  future  labours 
as  teachers,  colporteurs,  evangelists,  preach- 
ers, &c.  There  are  no  fewer  than  eight  or 
nine  missionaries,  all  but  one  or  two  of 
whom  are  natives  of  France  or  Switzer- 
land :  all  have  been  accustomed  to  the 
French  tongue  from  childhood,  and  several 
speaking  no  other.  No  one  can  foresee 
what  may  be  the  results  of  this  auspi- 
cious commencement  among  a  people  with 
whom  all  previous  attempts  of  a  like  kind 
had  failed. 

The  society  contemplates  commencing 
operations  at  several  points  of  South 
America,  as  soon  as  persons  fitted  for  the 
work  can  be  found. 

The  receipts  of  this  society  for  the  year 
ending  on  the  1st  of  May  last  (1843)  were 
about  15,000  dollars ;  and  the  number  of 
labourers,  in  various  fields,  whom  it  sup- 
ported, was  about  eighty. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

Finally,  we  propose  to  say  a  few  words 
respecting  the  American  Colonization  So- 
ciety, because  of  its  connexion  with  mis- 
sions in  Western  Africa,  and  its  bearings 
upon  the  general  interests  of  humanity, 
though  not  a  missionary  society  itself. 

Though  originating  in  a  sincere  desire 
to  promote  the  benefit  of  the  African  race, 
on  the  part  of  some  of  the  best  men  that 
America  has  ever  seen,  this  society  has 
for  many  years  past  been  much  decried  in 
America,  and  misrepresented  to  some  ex- 
tent in  Europe.  The  three  persons  who 
may  be  regarded  as  its  founders  have  all 
passed  from  the  present  scene  to  their  re- 
ward above.  These  were  the  late  Rev. 
i)r.  Finlay,  of  New-Jersey,  the  Rev.  Sam- 
uel J.  Mills,  of  Connecticut,  and  the  Hon. 
Elias   B.  Caldwell,   of  Washington   City, 


Clerk  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States.  The  Society  was  organized  in 
1817,  and  its  objects  are  expressed  as  fol- 
lows, in  the  second  article  of  its  constitu- 
tion :  "  To  promote  and  execute  a  plan  of 
colonizing  (with  their  consent)  the  free 
people  of  colour  residing  in  our  country, 
in  Africa,  or  such  other  place  as  Congress 
shall  deem  most  expedient."  The  primary 
motive  of  its  founders  was  to  place  the 
coloured  man  in  circumstances  in  which 
he  might  acquire  that  real  independence 
of  station  and  character,  and,  consequently, 
that  equality  in  social  life  which  they  sup- 
posed that  he  cannot  reach  in  the  midst  of 
a  white  population. 

Soon  after  the  Society  was  constituted, 
the  Rev.  Messrs.  Mills  and  Burgess  were 
sent  as  commissioners  to  explore  the  west 
coast  of  Africa,  and  select  a  site  for  the 
proposed  colony.  The  first  expedition 
was  sent  over  in  1820,  under  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Bacon,  who  was  appointed  gov- 
ernor ;  but  he  and  many  of  the  colonists 
were  cut  off  by  the  fever  of  the  country, 
in  attempting  to  form  a  settlement  at  Sher- 
bro,  which  consequently  failed.  Another 
attempt  followed  a  year  or  two  afterward, 
and  though  the  site  was  not  so  good  as 
might  have  been  found,  it  proved  far  better 
than  the  former,  and  is  now  called  Liberia, 
lying  between  the  8th  and  11th  degrees  of 
north  latitude.  No  great  extent  of  coun- 
try was  bought  at  first,  but  other  parcels 
have  been  added  since,  and  the  Society 
hopes  before  long  to  obtain  the  entire  coast 
from  Cape  Mount  on  the  north  to  Cape 
Palmas  on  the  south,  and  extending  to 
about  300  miles  in  length.  Its  chief  pos- 
sessions at  present  are  about  Cape  Messu- 
rado  in  the  north,  and  Cape  Palmas  in  the 
south  ;  a  large  part  of  the  intervening 
coast  is  now  in  the  possession  of  native 
chieftains,  and  on  purchasing  it,  which  the 
Society  hopes  soon  to  be  able  to  do,  it  pro- 
poses to  plant  colonies  at  different  points, 
for  the  double  purpose  of  extending  the 
present  settlements  and  of  abolishing  the 
slave-trade,  still  vigorously  prosecuted  at 
two  or  three  points  on  this  part  of  the 
coast. 

Monrovia,  the  chief  town  in  the  northern 
cluster  of  colonies,  has  a  convenient  port, 
and  is  of  considerable  extent.  There  the 
Governor  of  Liberia  resides.  There  are 
eight  or  ten  villages,  also,  to  the  north  and 
south,  and  in  the  interior,  settlements  hav- 
ing been  made  on  the  Stockton  and  St. 
Paul's  Rivers,  as  well  as  at  other  points  to 
the  distance  of  eight  or  ten  miles  from 
Monrovia.  A  colony  planted  at  Cape  Pal- 
mas by  the  Maryland  Auxiliary  Coloniza- 
tion Society,  consists  of  about  550  or  600 
colonists  from  America.*     Many  natives, 


*  It  is  an  interesting  fact,  that  the  governor  at 
Cape  Palmas,  Mr.  Rushworm,  is  a  gentleman  of  col- 
our, brought  up  in  America  as  a  printer,  and  who 


Chap.  XL] 


AMERICAN    COLONIZATION    SOCIETY. 


315 


however,  live  both  there  and  in  Liberia  on 
lands  of  their  own,  but  within  the  limits  of 
the  colony,  and  subject  to  its  laws  ;  in  fact, 
they  form  an  integral  part  of  the  popula- 
tion. 

These  colonies  have  been  of  slow  growth, 
for  the  Society,  unaided  by  the  General 
Government,  has  been  unable  to  conduct 
the  enterprise  on  a  large  scale.  Inexperi- 
ence, too,  has  led  to  several  blunders  in  the 
first  years,  to  which  must  be  added  want 
of  union  and  energy  on  the  part  of  the  Na- 
tional Society,  aud  the  loss  of  the  confi- 
dence of  part  of  the  public,  particularly  of 
the  members  of  the  Anti-slavery  and  Abo- 
lition Societies.  Notwithstanding  all  this, 
the  Society  has  been  gradually  advancing. 
Its  yearly  income  has  for  some  time  past 
been  about  50,000  dollars,*  and  its  colonies, 
now  supposed  to  number  about  4000  emi- 
grants, are  in  a  tolerably  thriving  state. 
Fatal  as  the  climate  of  Liberia  is  to  white 
men,  the  coloured  find  it  so  much  other- 
wise, that  the  mortality  among  them  has 
not  been  greater  than  was  to  be  expected 
— not  more  than  what  was  experienced  by 
the  first  settlers  in  Virginia  and  Massachu- 
setts. Cape  Palmas,  from  its  elevated  po- 
sition, has  been  found  remarkably  healthy, 
and  not  oppressive  even  to  the  missiona- 
ries, though  whites. 

It  has  been  well  ascertained  that,  at  the 
distance  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  miles 
the  country  rises  in  the  interior,  and  at  no 
great  distance  farther  becomes  even  mount- 
ainous. Hence  it  is  inferred  that  the  cli- 
mate there  is  salubrious.  A  few  more 
years  of  success  will  enable  the  colonies  to 
purchase  the  lands  east  of  the  "  back  set- 
tlements," and  to  open  a  way  to  the  hilly 
country.  Already,  in  fact,  they  are  ma- 
king a  road  from  Monrovia  into  the  interi- 
or, so  as  to  have  a  highway  for  trade  in 
camwood  and  other  productions  of  the 
country.  The  soil  is  almost  everywhere 
fertile,  and  vegetation  luxuriant,  so  that  a 
large  population  might  be  abundantly  pro- 
vided for.  Instead  of  a  single  crop  in  a 
year,  as  in  colder  climates,  two  may  be  had 
of  many  vegetable  productions.  The  sweet 
potato,  rice,  sugar-cane,  the  coffee  plant, 
and  other  tropical  produce,  can  be  raised 
with  ease.  The  grand  difficulty  in  agri- 
culture lies  in  the  want  of  good  fences,  and 
the  destruction  of  posts  and  rails  by  insects. 
This  must  be  overcome  by  making  hedges 
of  the  sour  orange,  or  by  employing  shep- 
herds, herdsmen,  and  boys. 

Many  of  the  colonists  have  now  their 


ably  conducted  for  several  years  the  Liberia  Herald, 
a  newspaper  of  respectable  character,  established  at 
Monrovia  ten  or  twelve  years  ago. 

*  But  this  is  exclusive  of  that  of  some  State  soci- 
eties which  manage  their  own  affairs,  like  that  of 
Maryland,  to  which  the  state  of  that  name  granted 
200,000  dollars,  payable  in  ten  yearly  instalments. 
The  colony  established  by  that  society,  it  will  be  seen, 
is  at  Cape  Palmas. 


little  farms.  Others,  and  perhaps  too  many, 
are  more  occupied  in  trading  with  the  na- 
tives. They  keep  a  quantity  of  small  craft 
for  trading  along  the  coast,  and  carry  on  a 
brisk  barter  with  numerous  vessels,  Amer- 
ican, British,  &c,  &c,  touching  from  time 
to  time  at  Monrovia. 

It  appears  from  the  testimony  of  impar- 
tial men,  with  good  opportunities  of  infor- 
mation, that  these  colonies  have  had  a  ben- 
eficial influence  on  that  coast,  and  have 
tended  to  repress  the  slave-trade.  <  Such 
was  that  of  Captains  Bell  and  Paine  of  the 
United  States  navy,  who  were  there  in 
1840,  and  who  both  vindicate  the  colonies 
from  many  charges  equally  false  and  ab- 
surd: among  others,  that  of  conniving  at 
that  infamous  trade.  That  plantations 
mainly  composed  of  liberated  slaves  should 
be  altogether  immaculate,  no  man  of  sense 
would  expect  or  require.  But  that  they 
are,  as  communities,  thriving  well,  and  that 
they  are  also  exerting  a  happy  influence 
on  the  natives,  is  what.  I  for  one  must  be- 
lieve, from  the  abundant  testimony  of  cred- 
ible witnesses  ;  among  others,  of  several 
excellent  missionaries,  with  whom  I  have 
been  long  and  intimately  acquainted.* 

I  have  remarked  that  the  Society  has 
been  much  opposed,  especially  by  the 
friends  of  the  anti-slavery  societies  in  the 
United  States.  This  opposition  has  arisen 
from  the  manner  in  which  the  Society  has 
been  advocated.  Its  friends  have  been  apt 
to  recommend  it  as  presenting  the  sole 
method  of  ridding  the  United  States  of  sla- 
very. This  is  absurd.  It  has  diverted  the 
minds  of  slaveholders  in  the  South  from 
the  duty  of  universally  emancipating  their 
slaves,  whether  they  shall  remain  in  the 
country  or  not ;  and  in  this  way  has  done 
mischief.  Its  friends  have  said  too  much, 
also,  about  the  impossibility  of  the  coloured 
population  rising  to  respectability  and  po- 
litical equality  in  the  United  States.  The 
difficulties  are  indeed  great,  but  good  men 
should  never  lend  their  aid  in  fostering  the 
unreasonable  prejudices  against  the  colour- 
ed race,  entertained  by  too  large  a  part  of 
our  people. 

Notwithstanding  these  and  some  other 
errors  which  might  be  mentioned,  I  cannot 
but  feel  the  deepest  interest  in  the  cause 
of  African  colonization ;  first,  because  it 
may  be  advocated  even  before  slavehold- 
ers in  such  a  way  as  to  favour  emancipa- 
tion, a  thing  which  cannot  be  done  at  pres- 
ent by  the  agents  of  our  "  Abolition"  and 
"  Anti-slavery  Societies ;"  secondly,  be- 
cause it  provides  slaveholders  who  wish 
to  emancipate  their  slaves,  and  who,  by 


*  This  applies  chiefly  to  Liberia.  I  regret  to  say,' 
that  very  recent  information  makes  me  fear  that  the 
Maryland  colony  at  Cape  Palmas  is  not  acting  so  fa- 
vourably on  the  mission  there  as  it  ought  to  do.  It 
is  to  be  hoped  that  the  society  at  home  will  see  the 
necessity  of  directing  it  to  alter  its  policy. 


316 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


[Book  VIIL 


certain  State  laws,  are  obliged  to  remove  j 
them  out  of  the  state  when  so  emancipa- 
ted, with  an  opportunity  of  sending  them 
to  a  country  which  does  afford  the  pros- 
pect of  their  rising  to  independence  and 
comfort ;  thirdly,  because  the  colonization 
of  Africa,  in  one  way  or  other,  presents 
the  sole  effectual  method  of  breaking  up 
the  slave-trade  :  and,  lastly,  because  it  is 
the  surest  way  of  introducing  civilization 
into  Africa,  and  also  furnishes  a  point  cfap- 
pui  for  the  prosecution  of  Christian  mis- 
sions. Such  is  the  opinion  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Philip,  the  distinguished  and  judicious 
superintendent  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society's  missions  in  South  Africa,  as  ably 
maintained  in  a  letter  addressed  by  him, 
eight  or  ten  years  ago,  to  the  students  at 
the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton, 
New-Jersey. 

The  Presbyterians,  Baptists,  Episcopali- 
ans, and  Methodists  have  all,  as  we  have 
seen,  flourishing  missions  in  these  colo- 
nies.* The  numbers  of  evangelical  preach- 
ers, of  all  denominations,  is  no  less  than 
forty.  God  has  greatly  blessed  his  Word 
in  these  communities,  which,  considering 
the  recent  servitude  and  ignorance  of  most 
of  the  colonists,  are  said  to  exhibit  an  ex- 
traordinary prevalence  of  morality. 

I  know  not  how  any  person  can  read 
without  interest  the  following  statement, 
contained  in  the  Report  of  the  Methodist 
Missionary  Society,  read  at  the  annual 
meeting  in  May,  1842  : 

"  The  Liberia  mission  includes  an  Annu- 
al Conference  of  seventeen  preachers,  all 
coloured  except  the  superintendent  and 
the  two  brethren  lately  sent  out.  It  has  a 
membership  of  nearly  one  thousand  indi- 
viduals, of  whom  150  are  natives,  who, 
until  the  last  two  years,  were  worshipping 
gods  of  wood,  and  stone,  and  clay. 

"  There  are  thirteen  day-schools  within 
the  bounds  of  the  mission,  in  which  from 
550  to  600  children  receive  daily  instruc- 
tion ;  fourteen  churches,  some  of  which 
are  very  neat,  and  one  built  of  stone,  in 
size  forty  by  sixty  feet.  There  are  also 
eight  mission-houses  or  parsonages,  four 
school-houses,  one  of  which  (the  academy) 
is  a  stone  building  twenty  by  forty  feet ; 
and  a  large  printing-office,  also  of  stone, 
with  an  excellent  press.  In  the  schools 
there  are  upward  of  forty  native  children 
and  youth,  who  are  preparing  for  future 
usefulness.  Many  of  them  read  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  write  well,  and  are  burning  with 
zeal  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  regions  yet  be- 
yond them. 

"  Tribes  at  a  distance  have  sent  for  mis- 
sionaries, and  the  board  is  anxious  to  push 

*  The  Roman  Catholics  have  also  commenced  a 
mission  at  Cape  Palmas,  and  will  doubtless  do  the 
same,  ere  long,  at  Liberia.  The  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Bar- 
ron and  Patrick  Kelly,  priests,  were  sent  in  the  year 
1842  to  Cape  Palmas. 


the  victories  of  the  cross  still  farther  into 
the  interior.  If  means  can  be  furnished, 
the  Board  expect  a  vast  amount  of  native 
agency  will  be  called  into  operation.  If 
the  society  were  able  to  thrust  forth  but  a 
few  scores  of  such  young  men  of  Africa  as 
Simon  Peter,*  who  recently  visited  this 
country,  the  Liberia  mission  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  would  be  rendered 
a  blessing  to  thousands  of  the  African  race 
yet  unborn.  In  view  of  the  success  which 
has  attended  this  mission,  the  report  ex- 
horted the  church  to  adhere  to  the  motto  of 
the  dying  and  lamented  Cox:  'Though  a 
thousand  fall,  Africa  must  not  be  given  up.'" 

The  chairman  introduced  the  Rev.  John 
Seys,  superintendent  of  the  African  mis- 
sion, who  rose  and  spoke  substantially  as 
follows  : 

"Mr.  Chairman,  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  res- 
olution given  to  me  for  presentation  to 
the  Society,  with  a  request  that  I  would 
make  some  remarks  in  sustaining  it." 

He  then  read  the  f  llowing  resolution : 
<; '  Resolved,  That  the  Liberia  mission,  inclu- 
ding as  it  does  a  portion  of  the  interior  of 
Western  Africa,  constitutes  one  of  the  most 
promising  fields  for  missionary  enterprise  ; 
and  that  the  touching  appeals  from  the  half- 
awakened  natives  of  different  tribes  which 
have  reached  us  through  our  missionaries, 
while  they  proclaim  the  ripeness  of  the  har- 
vest, imperatively  call  upon  the  Church  for 
the  requisite  supply  of  efficient  labourers.' 

"  I  presume  this  resolution  was  assigned 
to  me  on  account  of  my  connexion  with 
the  Liberia  mission.  I  can  say  it  affords 
me  much  pleasure  to  present  such  a  reso- 
lution. Years  have  now  elapsed  since  I 
stood  among  you — since  I  was  sent  by  you 
as  an  almoner  of  the  Gospel  to  poor,  long- 
neglected  Africa. 

"  The  resolution  speaks  of  Africa  as  one 
of  the  most  promising  fields  of  missionary 
enterprise.  Is  it  so  1  Yes,  sir,  it  is  so.  And 
if  the  missionary  sickle  be  but  applied,  the 
field  will  yield  a  rich  and  noble  harvest  to 
the  Church.  Out  of  1000  church  members, 
150  are  native  converts.  But  two  years 
ago  I  found  them  bowing  down  to  images 
of  wood,  and  clay,  and  stone,  and  leather, 
and  everything  which  their  fancy  could 
make  into  a  god.  These  idols  they  placed 
about  their  persons,  put  them  in  their 
houses,  and  carried  about  with  them  wher- 
ever they  went. 

"  Soon  after  a  number  of  them  had  been 
converted,  they  appointed  a  day  for  meet- 
ing, when  they  were  admitted  to  the  Church. 
And  what  a  scene  !  Bonfires  were  kindled 
in  the  town  of  Heddington,  and  the  praises 
of  Immanuel  ascended  with  the  smoke  of 
the  burning  idols.  At  the  same  time,  the 
hearts  of  these  young  converts  were  burn- 
ing with  desire  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  the 
tribes  beyond  them. 


*  Since  dead. 


Chap.  XII.] 


THE    SUMMARY. 


317 


"  Western  Africa  is  a  most  promising 
field,  because  her  native  converts  are  eager 
to  carry  the  Gospel  to  the  country  in  the 
interior.  The  boys  at  the  love-feasts  tell 
the  tale  of  their  conversion,  pray  God  to 
keep  them  good,  to  make  them  grow  up 
men,  and  be  missionaries  to  '  the  tothef 
people.'  The  natives  will  prove  themselves 
doubly  qualified  for  the  missionary  work, 
as  they  have  less  fear  of  the  peculiar  dis- 
eases of  the  climate,  can  be  supported  with 
less  means,  and  understand  the  language 
of  the  country." 

Nor  is  the  interest  which  the  converted 
colonists  and  natives  feel  in  missions  un- 
fruitful, if  we  may  judge  from  the  fact  men- 
tioned in  the  "  Africa's  Luminary,"  the  val- 
uable and  well-conducted  journal  of  the 
colony,  that  the  sum  of  208  dollars  has 
been  collected  at  a  meeting  of  the  mission- 
ary society  of  the  Conference. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    SUMMARY. 

Thus  it  will  be  perceived  that  almost  eve- 
ry evangelical  church  in  the  United  States 
is  doing  more  or  less  for  the  propagation 
of  the  Gospel  in  foreign,  and  especially  in 
heathen  lands.  I  know  not,  indeed,  that 
there  is  a  single  exception,  unless  it  be 
among  some  of  the  smaller  German  de- 
nominations, or  some  branches  of  the  Meth- 
odist and  Presbyterian  churches.  Even 
these,  however,  seem  almost  all  to  con- 
tribute towards  this  great  object  through 
societies  or  boards,  either  belonging  to 
other  denominations,  or  common  to  sev- 
eral. Thus  the  Reformed  Presbyterians  or 
Covenanters  support  a  missionary  in  the 
East  Indies,  in  connexion,  I  believe,  with 
the  Presbyterian  Church's  Board  of  Mis- 
sions ;  the  Associate  Reformed  churches 
so  far  aid  the  same  board ;  the  Associate 
churches  have  a  mission  in  the  island  of 
Trinidad,  and  one  branch  of  the  Covenant- 
ers or  Reformed  Presbyterians  are  project- 
ing a  mission  in  the  same  quarter  of  the 
world  ;  and  some  of  the  German  Reform- 
ed churches  aid  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  as 
do,  also,  some  of  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian churches. 

This  is  a  gratifying  fact,  whether  we  re- 
gard it  as  a  sign  of  life,  or  an  earnest  of  its 
still  farther  increase  in  the  churches.  Not 
that  these  have  done  all  that  their  glorious 
Lord  may  justly  look  for  at  their  hands ; 
but  that  what  they  have  hitherto  done  is 
but  the  promise  of  much  greater  things  for 
the  future,  we  may  reasonably  infer  from 
the  comparatively  recent  period  that  either 
domestic  or  foreign  missions  began  seri- 
ously to  interest  the  Christian  public  of  the 
United   States.      Previous  to  1812,  there 


was  not  a  single  foreign  missionary  soci- 
ety in  the  country,  with  the  exception  of 
that  of  the  Moravian  Brethren,  and  not  till 
long  after  did  the  churches  do  anything 
worth  mention  in  that  field.  The  last 
twenty  years,  or,  rather,  the  last  ten  years, 
have  witnessed  much  improvement  in  this 
respect,  and  we  pray  that  it  may  go  on  in 
a  far  greater  ratio  until  every  church  shall 
have  come  up  to  the  full  demands  of  its 
duty. 

It  is  difficult  to  present  at  one  view  the 
statistics  of  all  these  missionary  efforts 
with  perfect  accuracy,  at  least  if  we  would 
include  all  the  particulars  upon  which  the 
reader  may  think  information  desirable. 
On  the  main  points  we  may  obtain  pretty 
accurate  results.  Including  the  missions 
of  the  evangelical  churches  alone,  and 
those  of  the  others  are  hardly  of  sufficient 
importance  to  call  for  notice,  the  receipts 
from  all  sources  for  propagating  the  Gos- 
pel in  foreign,  and  chiefly  heathen  lands, 
for  the  year  ending  August  1st,  1843,  may 
safely  be  reckoned  at  $510,424.*  This  is 
exclusive,  also,  of  the  income  of  the  coloni- 
zation societies,  amounting,  say,  to  $60,000, 
these  not  being  missionary  societies. 

The  number  of  distinct  missions  prose- 
cuted by  the  United  States  churches  is  at 
least  sixty-five ;  that  of  stations  and  out- 
stations  exceeds  200.  These  employed  in 
1841-42  at  least  375  preaching  American 
missionaries,  who,  with  few  exceptions, 
were  ordained  ministers,  and  above  seven- 
ty American  laymen,  chiefly  physicians, 
printers,  teachers,  and  catechists.  The 
American  females,  chiefly  wives  of  mis- 
sionaries and  teachers,  amounted  to  420, 
making  a  total  of  875  persons  from  the 
United  States  connected  with  these  mis- 
sions, and  all  labouring,  in  one  way  or  an- 
other, to  promote  the  Gospel  among  the 
heathen.  The  natives  who  assist  as  min- 
isters, evangelists,  teachers,  distributors  of 
tracts,  &c,  &c,  amounted  at  least  to  375. 


*  The  following  table  gives  the  details  on  this  point : 
The  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 

Missions    ...:...        $244,224 
Board  of  Foreign   Missions  of   the  Presbyterian 

Church 59,534 

Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Baptist  Churches    47,  J  51 
Foreign  Missions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church    39,452 
Foreign  Missions  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church    35,197 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  Free- Will  Bap- 
tists (about) 3,502 

Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  Lutheran  Church 

(about) 3,000 

Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  United  Brethren 

(about) 8,364 

Foreign  Evangelical  Society     .....     15,000 

Other  Societies 5,000 

Grants  from  American  Bible  Society,  the  American 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  and  the  American 
Tract  Society,  estimated  to  be  at  least    .        .     50,000 

Total  ....  $510,424 
Nor  does  this  statement  include  the  annual  grant 
of  the  general  government  of  10,000  dollars  for  the 
support  of  schools  among  the  Indian  tribes,  which 
is  laid  out  through  the  missionary  societies.  I  have 
not  been  able  to  obtain  the  exact  amount  raised  by 
two  or  three  of  the  societies  ;  but  the  supposed  sums 
cannot  be  far  from  the  truth. 


318 


RELIGION  IN   AMERICA. 


CONCLUSION. 


In  the  foregoing  pages  I  proposed  to  treat 
of  the  origin,  history,  economy,  action,  and 
influence  of  religion  in  the  United  States 
of  America,  and  in  the  execution  of  this 
task  I  have  endeavoured  to  omit,  nothing 
that  seemed  requisite  to  a  full  elucidation 
of  the  subject.  The  extent  of  ground  ne- 
cessarily traversed  has  rendered  it  indis- 
pensable that  I  should  lay  before  the  read- 
er very  numerous  details  ;  but  these,  I 
trust,  he  has  found  at  once  pertinent  and 
interesting.  Here  the  work  properly  ends  ; 
but  I  am  desirous  of  recalling  the  attention 
of  the  reader  to  a  few  of  the  most  impor- 
tant facts  which  it  brings  to  light,  and  brief- 
ly to  remark  upon  them,  in  order,  if  pos- 
sible, to  render  them  more  useful  to  those 
who  may  be  led  to  contemplate  them.  I 
wish,  also,  to  make  a  reply  to  several 
charges  against  my  country,  and  especial- 
ly against  its  religious  institutions,  which 
1  have  heard  in  certain  parts  of  Europe. 

I.  The  progress  of  Religious  Liberty 
in  America. — On  this  subject  so  much  has 
been  said  in  the  second  and  third  books  of 
this  work,  that  I  need  do  no  more  than  be- 
stow a  very  brief  review  upon  it.  In  no 
part  of  the  world,  I  apprehend,  can  we 
find  any  progress,  in  this  respect,  which 
can  be  compared  with  what  has  taken 
place  in  the  United  States. 

In  the  year  1607,  the  plantation  of  the 
Southern  group  of  colonies  was  commen- 
ced within  the  settlement  of  Jamestown. 
In  1620,  that  of  the  Northern  was  begun  in 
the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth. 
Though  originating  in  motives  as  widely 
different,  almost,  as  possible,  and  having 
in  view  the  diffusion  of  forms  of  Protest- 
antism, so  far  as  ecclesiastical  organization 
is  concerned,  as  completely  antipodal  as 
can  be  conceived,  both  were  founded  in 
that  spirit  of  intolerance  which  prevailed 
at  that  day  throughout  the  Old  World,  and 
which,  alas !  reigns  even  yet  in  so  large  a 
portion  of  it.  All  that  the  Puritans  who 
settled  in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut 
expected  to  accomplish  was  the  planting 
of  colonies  in  which  they  and  their  chil- 
dren might  profess  and  practise  the  reli- 
gion which  they  preferred.  The  tolera- 
tion of  other  doctrines  and  other  forms  of 
worship  formed  no  part  of  their  desire  or 
design.  Nor  was  there  a  better  spirit  in 
Virginia.  In  both,  the  narrow  bigotry  of 
Europe  struck  deep  its  roots,  soon  attained 
a  vigorous  growth,  and  brought  forth  its 
appropriate  fruits. 

In  the  year  1634,  the  colony  of  Mary- 
land was  founded,  and  two  years  later,  that 


of  Rhode  Island,  the  one  by  Roman  Cath- 
olics, who  enjoyed  their  religious  rights  at 
that  epoch  in  no  Protestant  country,  and 
the  other  by  a  sect  of  Protestants,  who 
could  find  no  toleration  either  in  Massa- 
chusetts or  Virginia.  Nearly  fifty  years 
later,  Pennsylvania  was  planted  as  an  asy- 
lum for  persecuted  Quakers,  who,  till  then, 
had  no  place  of  assured  protection  and  re- 
pose in  the  whole  world.  The  influence  of 
these  three  asylum-colonies,  one  in  the 
north,  one  in  the  south,  and  one  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  entire  series  of  plantations,  where 
perfect  religious  liberty  was  established  at 
the  very  outset,  and  in  two  of  which  its 
reign  was  never  interrupted,  though  silent, 
was  powerful.  The  complete  demonstra- 
tion which  they  furnished — in  the  internal 
tranquillity  which  prevailed,  so  far  as  reli- 
gious questions  were  concerned,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  all  unhappy  collisions  between, 
the  Church  and  the  State,  and  of  corroding 
jealousies  and  attritions  between  the  vari- 
ous sects — not  only  of  the  justice,  but  also 
of  the  wisdom  of  giving  to  all  men  the 
fullest  possession  of  the  rights  of  con- 
science and  of  worship,  could  not  be  lost 
upon  the  other  colonies. 

Its  influence  concurred  with  the  many 
long  -  protracted  and  severe  discussions 
which  took  place  in  them,  to  bring  about 
ultimately  the  triumph  of  better  principles. 
And  what  is  now  the  state  of  things  in 
the  United  States,  as  regards  religious 
liberty  1  It  is  that  of  the  universal  enjoy- 
ment of  this  liberty.  The  Christian — be 
he  Protestant  or  Catholic — the  infidel,  the 
Mohammedan,  the  Jew,  the  Deist,  has  not 
only  all  his  rights  as  a  citizen,  but  may 
have  his  own  form  of  worship,  without  the 
possibility  of  any  interference  from  any 
policeman  or  magistrate,  provided  he  do 
not  interrupt,  in  so  doing,  the  peace  and 
tranquillity  of  the  surrounding  neighbour- 
hood. Even  the  Atheist  may  have  his 
meetings  in  which  to  preach  his  doctrines, 
if  he  can  get  anybody  to  hear  them.* 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  the  United 
States  and  Texas  are  the  only  countries 


*  Even  as  it  regards  the  holding  of  political  offi- 
ces, while  the  Constitutions  of  almost  all  the  states, 
as  we  have  shown  in  the  third  book,  are  founded  on 
Christianity,  in  a  certain  sense,  and  at  present  make 
no  distinction  between  Protestants  and  Roman  Cath- 
olics, the  Jew  is,  with  one  exception,  nowhere  de- 
barred from  any  civil  privilege.  There  is,  I  am  sor- 
ry to  say  it,  one  state,  that  of  North  Carolina,  where 
the  Israelite  is  still  excluded  from  political  privileges ; 
and  this,  too,  under  her  new  Constitution.  But  it  is 
the  only  relic  of  this  species  of  barbarism  which  re- 
mains among  us. 


CONCLUSION. 


319 


in  all  Christendom  where  perfect  religious 
liberty  exists,  and  where  the  government 
does  nothing,  by  "  favour"  or  otherwise,  to 
promote  the  interests  of  any  one  religion, 
or  of  any  one  sect  of  religionists,  more 
than  another.  And  I  cannot  but  think 
that  the  very  freedom  from  a  thousand 
perplexing  and  agitating  collisions,  from 
which  one  sees  the  governments  of  other 
countries  in  the  Christian  world  to  be  con- 
tinually suffering,  furnishes  one  of  the 
most  powerful  arguments  which  can  be 
conceived  in  favour  of  leaving  religion  to 
its  own  resources,  under  the  blessing  of 
its  adorable  Author.  Whatever  diversity 
of  opinion  may  exist  among  Christians  in 
America  on  other  subjects,  there  is  none 
on  this  subject.  They  would  all  acknowl- 
edge, without  a  moment's  hesitation,  the 
views  expressed  in  the  following  para- 
graphs, which  were  uttered  lately  by  a 
gifted  and  elegant  writer.* 

"  Almost  every  sect  in  turn,  when  tempt- 
ed by  the  power,  has  resorted  to  the  prac- 
tice of  religious  persecution  ;  but  to  the 
credit  of  Rome  it  must  be  said  that  the 
baptism  of  fire  is  almost  exclusively  her 
sacrament  for  heretics.  Good  men  of  al- 
most all  persuasions  have  been  confined 
in  prison  for  conscience1  sake.  Bunyan 
was  the  first  person  in  the  reign  of  Charles 
II.  punished  for  the  crime  of  nonconformi- 
ty. Southey*s  own  language  has  the  word 
punished ;  it  should  have  been  persecuted 
for  the  virtue ;  for  such  it  was  in  Bunyan  ; 
and  any  palliation  which  could  be  resorted 
to  for  the  purpose  of  justifying  an  English 
hierarchy  for  shutting  up  John  Bunyan  in 
prison,  would  also  justify  a  Romish  hie- 
rarchy for  burning  Latimer  and  Ridley  at 
the  stake.  Strange  that  the  lesson  of 
religious  toleration  should  be  one  of  the 
last  and  hardest,  even  for  liberal  minds,  to 
learn.  It  cost  long  time,  instruction,  and 
discipline  even  for  the  disciples  of  Christ 
to  learn  it ;  and  they  never  would  have 
learned  it  had  not  the  infant  Church  been 
cut  loose  from  the  State,  and  deprived  of 
all  possibility  of  girding  the  secular  arm 
with  thunder  in  its  behalf.  John  had  not 
learned  it  when  he  would  have  called 
down  fire  from  heaven  to  destroy  the  Sa- 
maritans ;  nor  John,  nor  his  followers, 
when  they  forbade  a  faithful  saint  (some 
John  Bunyan  of  those  days,  belike)  from 
casting  out  devils,  because  he  followed 
not  them.  And  they  never  would  have 
learned  it  had  the  union  of  Church  and 
State  been  sanctioned  by  the  Saviour. 
Whenever  one  sect  in  particular  is  united 
to  the  State,  the  lesson  of  religious  tolera- 
tion will  not  be  perfectly  learned ;  nay, 
who  does  not  see  that  toleration  itself,  ap- 
plied to  religion,  implies  the  assumption 

*  Rev.  George  B.  Cheever,  of  New- York,  in  a 
Lecture  on  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress. 


of  a  power  that  ought  not  to  exist,  that  in 
itself  is  tyranny.  It  implies  that  you,  an 
earthly  authority,  an  earthly  power,  say 
to  me,  so  condescendingly,  I  permit  you 
the  exercise  of  your  religion.  You  per- 
mit me  1  And  what  authority  have  you  to 
permit  me,  any  more  than  I  to  permit  you  I 
God  permits  me,  God  commands  me,  and 
do  you  dare  to  say  that  you  tolerate  me  ? 
Who  is  he  that  shall  come  in  between  me 
and  God  either  to  say  yea  or  nay  1  Your 
toleration  itself  is  tyranny,  for  you  have 
no  right  to  meddle  with  the  matter.  But 
whenever  Church  and  State  are  united, 
then  there  will  be  meddling  with  the  mat- 
ter ;  and  even  in  this  country,  if  one  par- 
ticular sect  were  to  get  the  patronage  of 
the  State,  there  would  be  an  end  to  our 
perfect  religious  freedom. 

"  In  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  the 
poet  Southwell,  who  wrote  one  of  the 
most  exquisitely  beautiful  death-hymns  in 
our  language,  and  who  seems  to  have  been 
truly  a  devout  man,  was  put  to  death  vio- 
lently and  publicly,  no  other  crime  being 
proved  against  him  but  what  he  honestly 
and  proudly  avowed,  that  he  had  come 
over  into  England  simply  and  solely  to 
preach  the  Catholic  religion.  And  he 
ought  to  have  been  left  at  liberty  to  preach 
it ;  for  if  the  Protestant  religion  cannot 
stand  against  Catholic  preaching,  it  ought 
to  go  down.  No  religion  is  worth  having, 
or  worth  supporting,  that  needs  racks,  or 
Inquisitions,  or  fires  and  fagots,  to  sus- 
tain it ;  that  dare  not  or  cannot  meet  its  ad- 
versaries on  the  open  battle-field  of  Truth  ; 
no  religion  is  worth  supporting  that  needs 
anything  but  the  truth  and  Spirit  of  God  to 
support  it ;  and  no  establishment  ought  to 
be  permitted  to  stand  that  stands  by  per- 
secuting others,  nor  any  church  to  exist 
that  exists  by  simply  unchurching  others. 
So,  if  the  English  Church  Establishment 
dared  not  consider  herself  safe  without 
shutting  up  John  Bunyan  and  sixty  other 
dissenters  (several  of  whom  were  also, 
like  himself,  clergymen)  with  him  in  pris- 
on, the  English  Church  Establishment  was 
not  worthy  to  be  safe  ;  the  English  Church 
Establishment  was  a  disgrace  and  an  in- 
jury to  the  Gospel,  and  a  disgrace  and  an 
injury  to  a  free  people.  No  church  is 
worth  saving  from  destruction,  if  it  has  to 
be  saved  by  the  destruction  of  other  men's 
religious  liberties  ;  nay,  if  that  be  the  case 
with  it,  it  ought  to  go  down,  and  the  soon- 
er the  better.  No  church  is  worthy  to 
stand  that  makes  nonconformity  to  its 
rites  and  usages  a  penal  crime  ;  it  becomes 
a  persecuting  church  the  moment  it  does 
this  ;  for,  supposing  that  every  man,  wom- 
an, and  child  in  the  kingdom  is  kept  from 
nonconformity  simply  by  that  threat,  and 
that,  through  the  power  of  such  terror, 
there  comes  to  be  never  the  need  to  put 
such  penal  laws  in  execution,  and  so  never 


320 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


a  single  subject  really  molested  or  punish- 
ed, still  that  church  is  a  persecuting  church, 
and  that  people  a  persecuted  people,  a  ter- 
rified people,  a  people  cowed  down,  a  peo- 
ple in  whose  souls  the  sacred  fire  of  liber- 
ty is  fast  extinguishing,  a  people  bound  to 
God's  service  by  the  fear  of  men's  racks. 
Such  a  people  can  never  be  free ;  their 
cowardice  will  forge  their  fetters.  A  peo- 
ple who  will  sell  themselves  to  a  church 
through  fear  of  punishment,  will  sell  them- 
selves to  any  tyrant  through  the  same 
fear ;  nay,  a  people  who  will  serve  God 
through  fear  of  punishment,  when  they 
would  not  serve  him  otherwise,  will  serve 
Satan  in  the  same  way. 

"  If  you  make  nonconformity  a  crime, 
you  are  therefore  a  persecuting  church, 
whether  your  name  be  Rome,  or  England, 
or  America,  even  though  there  be  not  a 
single  nonconformist  found  for  you  to  ex- 
ercise your  wrath  upon,  not  one  against 
whom  you  may  draw  the  sword  of  your 
penalty.  But  it  is  drawn,  and  drawn  against 
the  liberty  of  conscience,  and  every  man 
whom  in  this  way  you  keep  from  noncon- 
formity, you  make  him  a  deceiver  to  his 
God  ;  you  make  him  barter  his  conscience 
for  an  exemption  from  an  earthly  penalty  ; 
you  make  him  put  his  conscience,  not  into 
God's  keeping,  but  into  the  keeping  of 
your  sword ;  you  dry  up  the  life-blood  of 
liberty  in  his  soul;  you  make  him  in  his 
inmost  conscience  an  imprisoned  slave,  a 
venal  victim  of  your  bribery  and  terror; 
and  though  he  may  still  walk  God's  earth 
as  others,  it  is  with  the  iron  in  his  soul,  it 
is  with  your  chain  about  his  neck,  it  is  as 
the  shuffling  fugitive  from  your  penalties, 
and  not  as  a  whole-souled  man,  who,  fear- 
ing God  religiously,  fears  nothing  else. 
There  may,  indeed,  be  no  chain  visible, 
but  you  have  wound  its  invisible  links 
around  the  man's  spirit ;  you  have  bound 
the  man  within  the  man ;  you  have  fet- 
tered him,  and  laid  him  down  in  a  cold, 
dark  dungeon,  and  until  those  fetters  are 
taken  off,  and  he  stands  erect  and  looks 
out  from  his  prison  to  God,  it  is  no  man, 
but  a  slave  that  you  have  in  your  service  ; 
it  is  no  disciple,  but  a  Simon  Magus  that 
you  have  in  your  church." 

But  though  with  us  "  heresy"  is  no- 
where considered  to  be  "  treason,"  and  all 
enjoy  equal  religious  liberty,  neither  the 
General  Government,  nor  those  of  our  in- 
dividual states,  are  indifferent  to  religion. 
One  of  the  most  striking  proofs  of  this  is 
to  be  found  in  the  fact,  that  every  year — 
almost  without  exception  in  the  autumn — 
*he  governors  of  a  large  majority  of  our 
spates  recommend  and  name  a  day  to  be 
observed  as  a  Day  of  Thanksgiving  to  Al- 
mighty God  for  his  mercies,  and  of  sup- 
plication for  their  continuance.  And  such 
days  are  generally  observed  by  Christians 
of  every  name.     Business  is  suspended, 


the  churches  are  open,  at  least  in  the  fore- 
noon, and  sermons  are  preached  through- 
out the  limits  of  the  Commonwealth.* 

II.  The  True  Causes  of  Success. —  But 
our  religious  liberty,  unbounded  and  pre- 
cious as  it.  is,  is  not  the  cause  of  the  suc- 
cess which  has  attended  the  Gospel  in 
America.  It  is  only  the  occasion,  if  I  may 
so  express  myself,  not  the  means,  by  which 
the  Church  of  Christ  has  made  so  great  ad- 
vances in  the  United  States.  It  has  won- 
derfully opened  the  way  for  this  blessed 
prosperity  ;  it  has  removed  hinderances,  al- 
layed prejudices,  and  placed  the  country 
in  a  true  position  in  regard  to  Christianity. 
It  has  created  an  open  field,  in  which  Truth 
may  contend  with  Error,  clad  in  her  own 
panoply,  and  relying  on  her  own  weapons. 

Much  as  I  love  the  perfect  liberty  of  con- 
science and  of  worship  which  we  enjoy  in 
America,  there  are  other  things  which,  to 
my  mind,  must  be  regarded  as  the  causes 
of  the  success  which  has  attended  the  ef- 
forts of  God's  people  among  us  to  promote 
his  kingdom.  Let  us  notice  these  for  a 
few  moments. 

1.  There  is  the  grouping  of  our  children, 
rich  and  poor,  in  the  Sunday-schools,  ar- 
ranging them  in  small  classes,  and  bring- 
ing their  young  minds  and  hearts  into  con- 
tact with  the  Word  of  God. 

2.  There  is  the  continuation  of  this  good 
work  in  the  Bible- class.     What  a  powerful 


*  The  European  reader  of  this  work  may  be 
pleased  to  see  one  of  the  proclamations  issued  on 
such  occasions  ;  we  subjoin  that  of  the  Governor  of 
New- York  for  the  year  1843. 

"  In  obedience  to  that  high  sense  of  gratitude 
due  the  Almighty  Ruler  of  the  Universe,  I  do  hereby 
designate  Thursday,  the  fourteenth  day  of 
December  next,  to  be  observed  by  the  people  ot 
this  state  as  a  day  of  Prayer,  Praise,  and  Thanks- 
giving to  Almighty  God  for  the  numerous  and 
unmerited  blessings  of  the  year. 

"I  feel  assured  that  this  act  of  public  duty  is  in 
accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  people,  and  will 
meet  with  universal  acquiescence. 

"  As  a  people,  we  have  great  reason  to  be  thank- 
ful, and  to  praise  the  Almighty  Dispenser  of  all  Good 
for  the  continued  smiles  of  His  providence  on  our 
state  and  nation. 

"  During  the  past  year  we  have  been  permitted 
to  enjoy  our  religious  and  political  privileges  unmo- 
lested. We  have  been  exempt  from  those  ravages 
of  malignant  disease  which  sometimes  afflict  a  peo- 
ple. The  season  has  been  highly  propitious,  and 
seldom  has  the  harvest  been  more  abundant.  As  a 
crowning  blessing,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  has  re- 
vived the  hearts  of  Christians,  and  brought  to  a  sa- 
ving knowledge  many  that  knew  not  God. 

'■  For  the  distinguished  blessings  we  have  enjoyed, 
we  should  raise  our  hearts  in  humble  adoration  to 
our  Father  in  heaven,  thereby  presenting  to  the 
world  the  imposing  spectacle  of  the  entire  popula- 
tion of  a  great  stale  abstaining  from  all  secular  en- 
gagements on  the  day  designated,  and  devoting  them- 
selves to  the  service  of  the  Almighty.  We  should 
always  remember  that  'righteousness  exalteth  a  na- 
tion.' 

"Given  under  my  hand,  and  the  privy  seal  of  the 
state,  at  the  city  of  Albany,  this  tenth  day  of 
[L.  S.]  November,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  fortv-three. 

"  Wm.  C.  Bouck." 


CONCLUSION. 


321 


means  of  doing  good !  and  how  well  cal- 
culated to  follow  up,  or  prepare  the  way 
for  the  instruction  around  the  family  altar! 

3.  There  are  our  societies  for  educating 
in  a  thorough  manner  young  men  of  piety 
and  talents  for  the  work  of  preaching  the 
Gospel.  And  many  hundreds  of  young 
men  of  promise,  whom  God's  Spirit  urges 
to  preach  salvation  to  their  dying  fellow- 
men,  are  thus  every  year  brought  forward 
for  the  work. 

4.  Next  come  the  Home  Missionary  Soci- 
eties and  Boards,  which  send  forth  these 
young  men,  when  prepared  to  preach,  to 
the  new  and  destitute  portions  of  the  coun- 
try, and  help  the  people  to  sustain  them. 

5.  In  connexion  with  these,  the  Mater- 
nal Associations,  and  other  means  for  im- 
pressing on  parents  the  duty  of  bringing 
up  their  children  for  the  Lord,  and  for  aid- 
ing them  in  the  attempt,  must  not  be  over- 
looked ;  nor  those  efforts  which  are  made 
to  disseminate  the  Sacred  Scriptures  and 
religious  tracts  and  books.  These  are  si- 
lent but  efficient  means  of  co-operation  in 
this  blessed  work. 

6.  And,  lastly  and  chiefly,  there  remains 
the  preaching  of  the  Word,  the  most  effect- 
ive of  all  instrumentalities  for  the  conver- 
sion and  sanctification  of  men.  There  is 
nothing  which  may  supplant  this.  And 
here  we  have  abundant  occasion  for  thank- 
fulness. We  have  a  great  many  thousands 
of  pious  and  faithful  preachers  ;  very  many 
of  whom  are  able,  skilful,  and  successful 
labourers  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord. 

Let  the  reader  review  what  has  been 
said  on  all  these  points  in  the  portions  of 
this  work  which  treat  of  them,  and  he  will 
discover  the  true  causes,  under  God,  of  the 
progress  which  religion  has  made  in  Amer- 
ica from  the  first,  and  especially  within  the 
present  century. 

III.  The  True  Source  of  all  Success. — 
Still,  these  must  all  be  considered  as  only 
means  ;  the  success  is  of  God.  "  It  is  not 
by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  my  Spirit, 
saith  the  Lord."  Here  is  all  our  hope  ; 
even  Truth  itself  is  impotent  to  renovate 
the  heart  of  man,  depraved  and  debased  as 
he  is,  without  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  It  is  the  province  of  this  blessed 
Agent  to  take  the  things  of  Christ  and 
show  them  unto  men.  It  is  He  alone  who 
can  open  the  blind  eyes,  and  cause  them 
to  see  the  beauty  and  fitness  of  the  glori- 
ous plan  of  salvation  through  the  crucified 
Son  of  God.  It  is  he  alone  who  can  ren- 
der the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  "  the  pow- 
er of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  God  to  the 
salvation  of  men."  And  He,  blessed  be 
God,  can  as  easily  render  the  same  pres- 
entation of  the  glorious  Gospel  effectual 
to  the  salvation  of  many  as  of  few — of 
hundreds  and  thousands,  as  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  as  of  one. 

But,  alas !  when  shall  the  Spirit  be  ap- 


i  predated,  honoured,  sought  by  the  Church 
!  as  He  ought  to  be  ]     Oh,  when  shall  Chris- 
j  tians  awake  to  a  proper  sense  of  the  desi- 
!  rableness,  yea,  the  absolute  necessity  of 
His  glorious  effusion  upon  the  world,  in 
order  to  its  conversion,  and  which  is  the 
subject  of  so  many  and  so  remarkable  pre- 
dictions '?     Many  who  profess  the  name  of 
Christ  seem  almost  not  to  know  whether 
there  be  a  Holy  Ghost ! 

Now,  though  the  churches  in  America, 
taken  as  a  whole,  are  very  far  from  a 
proper  appreciation  of  this  subject;  though 
even  the  best  of  them  are  far  from  hav- 
ing attained  such  views,  and  from  having 
put  forth  such  action  respecting  it  as  they 
ought  to  do,  yet  there  is,  in  all  evan- 
gelical and  truly  converted  Christians 
among  us,  some  sense  of  their  dependance 
upon  the  Spirit  for  success  in  their  efforts 
to  grow  in  grace,  as  well  as  to  turn  sin- 
ners unto  righteousness.  There  is,  also, 
much  earnest  prayer  for  the  outpouring  of 
the  Spirit  upon  their  souls,  and  upon  all 
those  who  hear  or  read  the  Gospel. 

There  is  no  one  thing  which  has  more 
decidedly  characterized  the  preaching  of 
our  best  and  most  successful  divines,  or 
the  feelings  of  our  most  devoted  Chris- 
tians, than  the  doctrine  of  the  existence, 
the  personality,  the  offices,  and  the  saving 
operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  has  been 
the  great  dominant  idea,  if  I  may  so  term 
it,  which  has  pervaded  and  influenced  the 
Church  of  Christ  in  America  during  the 
last  hundred  years.  Hence  the  esteem  in 
which  revivals  of  religion  are  held. 

To  this  great  subject  I  cannot  but  en- 
treat the  religious  reader  to  direct  his  most 
serious  attention.  It  is  one  of  vital  impor- 
tance. Surely  God  has  led  his  people  to 
expect  a  great  outpouring  of  his  Spirit  in 
the  latter  days.  And,  surely,  the  world,  as 
well  as  the  Church,  has  seen  the  need  of 
such  an  influence,  if  it  is  ever  to  be  brought 
under  the  renovating  influences  of  the  Gos- 
pel to  a  degree  corresponding  with  its  ne- 
cessities. And  whatever  importance  the 
author  may  attach  to  other  portions  of  this 
work,  beyond  all  comparison  he  is  desi- 
rous that  the  portion  of  it  which  relates  to 
revivals  may  be  most  deeply  pondered  by 
every  reader. 

IV.  Grounds  of  Hope  in  relation  to 
the  Churches  in  America. — I  know  of  no- 
thing which  is  so  well  calculated  to  inspire 
hope  in  relation  to  our  American  churches 
as  the  extensive  diffusion  of  the  spirit  of 
missions  among  them  within  the  last  few 
years,  for  it  is  the  spirit  of  Christ.  Let 
us  look  at  this  fact  for  a  moment. 

Twenty-five  years  ago,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  what  was  doing  by  a  Committee  or 
Board  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  the  missionary 
societies  of  some  of  the  New-England 
States — and  this  did  not  amount  to  very 


322 


RELIGION   IN   AMERICA. 


much — there  was  nothing  doing  in  behalf 
of  domestic  missions.  But  within  that  pe- 
riod have  been  formed  the  American  Home 
Missionary  Society,  which  unites  all  the 
evangelical  Congregational  churches  in 
the  land,  together  with  the  New  School 
Presbyterians  ;  the  Board  of  Domestic 
Missions  of  the  Old  School  Presbyterians, 
the  Home  Missionary  Societies  of  the  Bap- 
tists, Methodists,  and  Free-Will  Baptists  ; 
and  the  Boards  for  Domestic  Missions  of 
the  Reformed  Dutch,  Lutheran,  German 
Reformed,  Associate,  Associate  Reformed, 
Reformed  Presbyterian,  Protestant  Episco- 
pal, Cumberland  Presbyterians,  and  Sev- 
enth-day Baptist  churches.  No  denomi- 
nation is  too  insignificant  to  have  its  Soci- 
ety or  its  Board  of  Domestic  Missions. 
And  what  do  we  see  1  Nearly  two  thou- 
sand ordained  ministers  are  labouring  in 
new  and  destitute  neighbourhoods,  in  the 
East  and  the  West,  to  gather  congrega- 
tions and  build  up  churches.  What  a 
change  !     And  what  a  ground  of  hope  ! 

Moreover,  thirty-four  years  ago  there 
was  not  one  Missionary  Society  in  the 
United  States  for  the  promotion  of  foreign 
missions,  save  the  small  one  of  the  Mora- 
vians. But  now  the  Old  and  New  School 
Presbyterians,  Congregationalists,  Metho- 
dists, Baptists,  Episcopalians,  Reformed 
Dutch,  Lutherans,  Free-Will  Baptists,  As- 
sociate, Associate  Reformed,  and  Reform- 
ed Presbyterians,  and  perhaps  some  others, 
as  well  as  the  United  Brethren,  have  their 
Foreign  Missionary  Societies  or  Boards, 
and  sustain  a  greater  or  less  number  of 
men  on  the  foreign  field.  It  cannot  be 
said  that  they  have  done  all  that  they 
might.  But  it  may  be  said  that  they  have 
made  a  good  beginning,  and  that  what  they 
have  done  is  nothing  in  comparison  with 
what  they  will  do,  with  God's  blessing. 
That  they  should  have  nearly  400  preach- 
ers abroad,  besides  other  labourers,  and 
raise  more  than  half  a  million  of  dollars 
for  the  extension  of  the  Gospel  in  that  direc- 
tion, is  a  subject  which  calls  for  thanks  to 
God.  It  is  the  wide  diffusion  of  the  spirit 
of  missions  through  our  churches,  rather 
than  its  positive  and  present  results,  which 
I  am  here  holding  up  as  a  ground  of  hope. 
And  in  that  light  I  am  sure  it  may  fairly  be 
regarded.  It  is  the  best  omen  for  good 
both  to  the  Church  and  the  nation.  It  is 
our  great  palladium.  It  is  also  our  best 
pledge,  and  even  our  most  certain  means, 
of  prosperity  to  all  the  interests  of  Truth. 
As  long  as  the  spirit  of  missions  is  exist- 
ent and  efficient  in  our  churches  of  every 
name,  we  may  venture  to  hope  that,  what- 
ever may  go  wrong  in  our  political  organ- 
ization, or  however  wickedness  may  aug- 
ment, God  will  regard  us  in  mercy,  and 
say  of  us  as  a  nation,  "  Spare  it,  for  there 
is  a  blessing  in  it." 

V.  Efficiency  of  the  Voluntary  Prin- 


ciple in  America  in  raising  up  an  adequate 
Ministp.y. — That  the  Voluntary  Principle 
has  not  been  inefficient  in  America,  in  this 
respect,  will  readily  appear  from  a  simple 
statement  of  facts. 

If  the  reader  will  recur  to  chapter  i. 
of  book  iii.,  he  will  learn  that,  at  the  epoch 
of  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution 
in  1775,  the  number  of  ministers  of  the 
Gospel,  of  all  denominations,  including 
even  the  Roman  Catholic  priests,  did  not 
exceed  1441.  Indeed,  I  am  sure  this  esti- 
mate is  too  high.  But  let  us  suppose  it  to 
be  correct.  Now,  if  the  population  of  the 
country  was  then  three  millions  and  a  half, 
there  was  one  minister  of  the  Gospel  for 
about  2428  souls.  But  if  the  population 
then  was  only  three  millions,  which  I  ap- 
prehend to  be  an  estimate  nearer  the  truth, 
then  there  was  one  minister,  on  an  aver- 
age, for  nearly  2082  souls.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  population  of  the  country  at  the 
commencement  of  1844  maybe  fairly  es- 
timated at  18,500,000  souls.  And  if  the 
reader  will  refer  to  what  we  have  said  in 
chapter  xvii.  of  book  vi.,  he  will  see  that 
the  number  of  ordained  evangelical  or  or- 
thodox Protestant  ministers  alone,  exclu- 
sive of  the  local  preachers  of  the  Metho- 
dist churches  (not  far,  in  all,  from  8500), 
exclusive,  also,  of  the  German  United 
Brethren,  and  several  other  little  German 
sects,  as  well  as  two  or  three  small  Meth- 
odist secessions,  was,  in  the  year  1843, 
sixteen  thousand  three  hundred.  That  is, 
on  an  average,  one  evangelical  Protestant 
minister  of  the  Gospel  for  rather  less  than 
1135  souls. 

It  is  not  here  asserted  that  all  these 
ministers  are  pastors,  or  that  they  all 
have  congregations  to  which  they  statedly 
preach.  It  is  certain  that  a  good  many 
are  teachers  and  professors,  secretaries 
and  agents  of  religious  and  benevolent  so- 
cieties, who,  nevertheless,  preach  a  great 
deal ;  and  many,  who  are  not  pastors, 
preach  to  churches  which  are  for  a  time 
destitute  of  pastors.  But  what  is  here 
meant  is  simply  to  show  the  increase  of 
evangelical  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and 
its  decided  gain  upon  the  increase  of  tha 
population.  The  fact  is  clear  and  striking ; 
there  is  at  present  one  evangelical  Prot- 
estant minister  in  the  United  States  for 
less  than  1100  souls;  in  1775  there  was 
one  minister  of  the  Gospel,  of  every  name, 
for  about  2428  souls,  or,  at  best,  for  2082. 
On  the  one  supposition,  the  number  of 
evangelical  ministers  is  more  than  twice 
as  great,  in  proportion  to  the  population, 
as  was  that  of  the  ministers,  both  Protest- 
ant and  Catholic,  in  1775,  and,  on  the  oth- 
er, it  is  nearly  twice  as  great.* 


*  If  we  were  to  include  the  Roman  Catholic 
priests,  and  the  Unitarian,  Universalist,  and  other 
heterodox  preachers,  we  should  have  at  this  time 
one  preacher  for  every  800  souls. 


CONCLU  SI  ON. 


323 


I  do  not  design  here  to  assert  the  suffix 
ciency  of  the  evangelical  ministry  in  the 
United  States  to  meet  the  wants  of  the 
population  ;  it  will  readily  be  admitted  that 
it  is  not  sufficient.  If  the  evangelical  Pro- 
testant ministers  were  twice  as  numer- 
ous as  they  are ;  if,  in  other  words,  there 
was  on  an  average  one  such  minister  for 
every  500  souls,  instead  of  one  for  1135,  it 
would  not  be  too  many,  when  we  consider 
the  sparseness  of  the  population  in  certain 
districts,  which  renders  it  impossible  for 
one  minister  to  look  after  more  than  500 
or  600  souls  ;  the  number  of  denominations, 
which  renders  the  number  of  ministers  in 
many  places  greater  than  the  amount  of 
the  population  demands  ;  and  the  fact  that 
a  goodly  number  will  always  be  engaged 
in  our  academies,  colleges,  and  theological 
seminaries  as  professors,  and  in  our  reli- 
gious and  benevolent  societies  as  secre- 
taries and  agents.  But  if  the  Voluntary 
Principle  has  been  so  efficient  as  to  double 
the  number  of  evangelical  Protestant  min- 
isters since  the  year  1775  (and  the  greater 
portion  of  this  success  has  accrued  since 
1815,  and  can  in  no  sense  be  attributed  to 
the  influence  of  the  ancient  establish- 
ments),* there  is  every  reason  to  expect 
that  it  will,  in  the  course  of  a  far  shorter 
period,  again  cause  the  number  of  the 
evangelical  Protestant  ministers  to  double 
upon  the  population.  If  we  may  judge 
from  the  progress  of  the  last  three  years, 
it  will  not  be  more  than  twenty-five  or 
thirty  years  until  this  desirable  result  will 
have  been  reached. 

VI.  Efficiency  of  the  Voluntary  Prin- 
ciple in  the  United  States  in  supporting 
the  Ministry  of  the  Gospel. — In  this  re- 
spect, the  Voluntary  Principle  has  not 
been  destitute  of  considerable  efficiency 
in  America.  It  is  not  pretended  that  in  a 
new  country,  where  wealth  may  indeed 
be  much  more  equally  distributed  than  in 
the  old  countries  of  Europe,  but  where  its 
aggregate  is  not  to  be  compared  with  that 
of  England,  Scotland,  Holland,  Germany, 
or  France,  the  sum  raised  upon  the  vol- 
untary plan  is  likely  to  be  as  large  as  that 
which  is  raised  in  Great  Britain,  and  some 
countries  on  the  Continent,  from  tithes, 
united  with  the  revenues  of  ancient  reli- 
gious foundations.  We  have  as  yet  few 
such  foundations^  and  must,  therefore, 
depend  upon  the  voluntary  offerings  of  the 


*  With  the  exception  of  Connecticut  and  Massa- 
chusetts, the  union  of  Church  and  State,  which 
once  existed  in  many  of  the  states,  came  to  an  end 
during  or  shortly  after  the  Revolution ;  and  in  Con- 
necticut it  terminated  in  1816.  In  Massachusetts  it 
lasted,  as  we  have  elsewhere  stated,  till  1833. 

+  By  far  the  most  important  of  all  such  founda- 
tions, with  us,  is  that  of  Trinity  Church  (belonging 
to  the  Episcopal  denomination)  in  the  city  of  New- 
York,  which  is  said  to  be  as  much  as  fifteen  or 
twenty  millions  of  dollars,  and  has  furnished  the 
means  of  building  many  Episcopal  churches  in  that 
state. 


people.  I  say  voluntary  offerings,  for, 
whatever  may  be  the  mode  of  raising  the 
salaries  of  our  ministers,  they  are,  in  real- 
ity, derived  from  the  spontaneous  contribu- 
tions of  the  people.  No  man  is  compelled 
to  pay  a  cent  for  the  maintenance  of  reli- 
gious worship.  Whatever  he  gives  is  deci- 
dedly by  his  own  will.  Every  one  is  free  to 
go  to  church  or  stay  away  ;  and  if  he  goes, 
he  may,  in  many  of  our  churches,  avoid  giv- 
ing all  his  life  ;  this  is  true  especially  of 
those  churches  whose  sittings  are  public, 
that  is,  do  not  belong  to  particular  individ- 
uals. Whatever  a  man  engages  to  pay 
towards  the  support  of  the  institutions  of 
the  Gospel  he  is  expected  to  pay,  and 
may  be  required,  according  to  law,  to  pay. 
Seldom  indeed,  however,  is  there  a  resort 
to  legal  enforcement  of  the  payment  of 
pew-rents  and  subscriptions.  But  let  us 
see  what  the  voluntary  principle  does  ac- 
complish. 

The  total  amount  of  money  raised  in  the 
United  States  for  the  support  of  the  minis- 
try in  the  evangelical  denominations  may 
be  calculated  as  follows  : 

I.  Episcopal    ministers,    as   stated    in 
chap,  xvii.,  book  vi.      ...  1203 
Deduct   for    missionaries   and 
professors,  say 48 

Tl55 
Total  salaries  of  1155  ministers,  say 

at  an  average  of  $500  each  .  .  .  $577,500 
II.  Ministers  of  the  Presbyterian  family 
of  churches,  including  Congrega- 
tionalists,  Lutherans,  &c,  as  in  the 
summary  above  referred  to  .  5756 
Deduct  foreign  missiona- 
ries      171 

Deduct  professors  in  col- 
leges   141— _312 

5444 
Total  salaries  of  5444  ministers,  say 

at  an  average  salary  of  $400      .     .    2,177,600 

III.  The  Baptist  ministers,  according  to 

the  same  summary,  amount  to  4850 

Deduct    for   missionaries    and 

professors,  say 133 

4720 

As  a  considerable  number  of  the  Bap- 
tist ministers  receive  small  sala- 
ries, and  some  none  at  all,  we  can 
allow  $250  only  as  the  average  of 
their  salaries.    This  gives    .    .    .    1,100,000 

IV.  Ministers  of  the  Methodist  group,  ex- 

clusive of  local  preachers,  amount, 
according  to  the  summary,  to  4870 
Deduct   for   missionaries    and 
professors 118 

4752 
Supposing  their  salaries  to  be  on  an 
average  $300  each,*  the  result  is     1,425,600 


*  In  some  parts  of  the  country  it  is  certain  that 
the  Methodist  ministers  do  not  receive  as  great  a 
salary  as  that  mentioned  in  the  text ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  salaries  of  their  ministers  in  many 
parts  of  the  country  exceed  it.  In  the  Conferences 
of  the  states  of  New-England  and  of  that  of  New- 
York,  they  are  probably,  as  a  body,  better  supported 
than  those  of  any  other  denomination.  In  those 
parts  of  the  land  their  salaries,  including  perquisites 
of  all  sorts,  exceed,  on  an  average,  500  dollars. 
The  Episcopal  ministers,  being  stationed  chiefly  in 
our  cities  and  large  towns,  receive,  as  a  body,  larger 


324 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


This  gives  us  a  grand  total  of  5,280,700 
dollars,  as  the  amount  paid  for  the  person- 
nel, as  the  French  would  call  it,  of  our  pub- 
lic worship.  It  is  possible  that  I  have  es- 
timated the  average  of  the  salaries  of  the 
Baptist  ministers  a  little  too  high.  Some 
may  think  that  200  dollars  would  be  nearer 
the  truth.  I  do  not  think  so  myself,  from 
what  I  know  of  the  whole  country.  As  to 
the  other  denominations,  I  am  quite  sure 
that  I  have  not  placed  them  too  high, 
especially  if,  as  ought  to  be  done,  all  the 
perquisites  which  may  attach  to  the  minis- 
terial and  pastoral  office  among  them  be 
taken  into  the  account.  We  have,  then, 
the  sum  of  5,280,700  dollars  as  contributed 
by  the  evangelical  denominations  alone  to 
support  the  ministry.  And  I  am  of  opinion 
that  if  we  were  to  add  the  amount  con- 
tributed by  the  omitted  small  Methodist 
branches,  the  Orthodox  Quakers,  and  some 
little  German  denominations,  we  might 
well  give  the  sum  of  5,500,000  dollars  as 
a  quite  moderate  estimate  of  the  support 
given  to  the  evangelical  ministry  of  the 
United  States. 

VII.  Efficiency  of  the  Voluntary  Prin- 
ciple in  the  United  States  in  the  erec- 
tion of  Church  Edifices.  —  The  church 
edifices  which  are  annually  erected  in  the 
United  States,  according  to  the  best  infor- 
mation which  I  have  been  able  to  obtain, 
from  much  personal  observation  and  in- 
quiry, may  be  stated  at  about  920,  rating 
them  as  follows  : 

Among  the  Episcopal  Methodists,  according  to  a  good 

authority,  "from  250  to  300"— say 250 

The  Baptists  fully  as  many  as  the  Methodists  (their 
own  reports  some  years  show  between  260  and  270), 

say 250 

The    Presbyterians   and   Congregationalists   together 
build   at  "least  200  (the  Old    School   Presbyterians 

alone  reported  more  than  eighty  last  year) 200 

The    Lutheran  Almanac    mentions  76   new  churches 
erected  in  the  year  1841.     An  imperfect  report  for 

1840  mentions  47,  say 60 

The  German  Reformed  may  be  fairly  estimated  at. . . .     30 

The  Protestant  Methodists  at 20 

The  Episcopalians  at 50 

The  Cumberland  Presbyterians  at 30 

The  Reformed  Dutch  at 10 

The  Scotch  Presbyterians,  of  all  kinds,  at 20 

Total  of  new  churches  annually  erected  among  the 
above  mentioned  denominations 920 

It  may  be  that  the  last  mentioned  but 
one,  and  possibly  that  also,  may  be  too 
high  ;  but  the  new  churches  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterians,  Protestant  Metho- 
dists, and  the  Episcopalians,  if  not  all  the 
rest,  are,  it  is  probable,  understated.  I  am 
of  opinion  that,  if  we  should  include  the 
churches  annually  erected  by  the  omitted 
small  evangelical  denominations,  a  per- 
fectly accurate  summary  of  the  meeting- 
houses or  church  edifices  of  every  descrip- 
tion built  by  all  the  orthodox  Protestant, 
communion  in  the  United  States,  every 
year,  would  at  the  present  time  not  fall 
short  of  950. 


salaries  than  those  of  any  other  Church.  I  am  per- 
suaded that  they  average  considerably  more  than 
tiie  amount  named  in  the  text. 


It  is  impossible  to  calculate  with  exact- 
ness to  what  extent  this  yearly  increase  of 
church  edifices  meets  the  demands  of  a 
yearly  increase  of  the  population,  now 
amounting  to  nearly,  if  not  quite,  half  a 
million  of  souls,  of  whom  400,000,  if  not 
420,000,  are  of  an  age  to  go  more  or  less 
frequently  to  church,  and  for  whom  church 
accommodation  ought  therefore  to  be  pro- 
vided. The  whole  population  of  the  coun- 
try that  is  supposed  to  be  more  or  less 
under  the  influence  of  the  evangelical  de- 
nominations, estimated  at  15,500,000,  being 
divided  into  about  49,424  congregations, 
the  average  number  of  souls  in  a  congre- 
gation must  be  about  314  ;  and  as  the  num- 
ber of  church  edifices  already  erected  can- 
not be  short  of  29,000  in  all,  the  new  ones 
must  consist  partly  of  those  required  for 
existing  evangelical  congregations  not  pre- 
viously supplied,  partly  of  those  required 
for  accessions  to  the  evangelical  churches 
from  300,000  of  souls  not  previously  attach- 
ed to  such  congregations,  and  for  the  grad- 
ual increase  of  those  congregations  from 
births  and  immigration.  If  we  suppose 
the  evangelical  proportion  of  the  yearly  in- 
crease of  the  population  of  an  age  to  go  to 
church  (say  420,000)  to  be  as  15,500,000  to 
3,000,000,  or  about  338,725  souls,  and  this 
proportion  to  be  divided  into  congregations 
of  310  souls  each,  the  result  would  be  an  an- 
nual increase  of  about  1093  congregations, 
requiring  the  same  number  of  churches. 

Such  a  result,  however,  is  by  no  means 
probable  ;  for  many  of  these  would  no 
doubt  join  and  be  merged  in  existing  con- 
gregations, and  many  would  be  found  liv- 
ing in  remote  places,  rendering  it  impossi- 
ble for  them  to  be  gathered  into  congrega- 
tions requiring  church  edifices. 

Neither  is  it  easy  to  calculate  the  cost 
of  these  920  or  950  church  edifices,  of 
which  we  have  been  speaking.  A  consid- 
erable number,  perhaps  forty  or  fifty,  are 
annually  built  in  our  large  cities,  at  an  ex- 
pense of  from  10,000  to  60,000  dollars,  and 
a  few  of  them  cost  even  more.  Many  are 
large  buildings  which  will  hold  700,  800, 
1000,  1200,  1500,  and  a  few  even  more  ; 
while  a  great  many  in  the  country  are 
small,  and  cost  only  a  few  hundred  dollars. 
But  if  we  include  under  this  head  all  the 
expenses  of  our  churches  for  light,  fuel, 
sexton's  wages, choirs,  etc.,  etc. — in  a  word, 
what  may  be  called  the  materiel,  if  I  may 
so  term  it,  of  our  public  worship,  I  am 
quite  sure  that  it  will  reach  two  millions 
and  a  half  of  dollars.  I  speak  now  of  the 
evangelical  churches  alone. 

If  we  were  to  include  the  churches  or 
meeting-houses  built  by  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics, Unitarians,  Christ-ians,  Universalists> 
and  other  non-evangelical  sects,  we  should 
increase  the  number  from  950  to  1100  at 
least. 

VIII.  The  total  cost  of  Public  Woa- 


CONCLUSION. 


325 


ship  in  the  United  States. — It  may  be 
worth  while  to  bring  together  the  various 
estimates  which  we  have  made  respecting 
the  sums  raised  by  the  evangelical  church- 
es for  the  sustentation  of  religion  at  home, 
and  its  extension  abroad,  and  add  to  them 
the  amounts  raised  by  the  non-evangelical 
denominations  : 

1.  If  we  include  all  that  certain  omitted 
local  associations  do,  in  addition  to  the 
sums  raised  by  the  various  religious  socie- 
ties mentioned  in  book  iv.,  whose  object 
is  to  promote  religion  at  home,  we  shall 
have  a  total  amount  of  about      $1,000,000 

2.  The  amount  contributed  by 

the  various  religious  so- 
cieties last  year,  according 
to  the  summary  given  in 
chap.  xii.  of  bookviii.,  is        510,424 

3.  The  amount  annually  rais- 

ed for  the  support  of  the 
evangelical  ministry,  as 
we  have  seen,  may  be  es- 
timated at 5,500,000 

4.  The  amount  annually  rais- 

ed for  building  and  keep- 
ing in  repair  the  church 
edifices,    and    for    other 
expenses  connected  with 
the  maintenance  of  public 
worship,  may  be  given  at   2,500,000 
Making  a  total  of     .     $9,510,424 
From  this  statement,  it  appears  that  the 
sums  raised  by  the  evangelical  churches  for 
the  promotion  of  religion,  in  one  way  and 
another,  at  home  and  abroad,  amount  to 
more  than  nine  millions  and  a. half  of  dollars. 
If  we  add  to  this  the  sums  given  annual- 
ly by  Christians  to  build  and  endow  acad- 
emies, colleges,  and  theological  semina- 
ries, with  a  view  to  promote  religion,  and 
also  the  amount  raised  among  the  non- 
evangelical   denominations  for  the  same 
objects,  we  shall  increase  this  sum  to  at 
least,  eleven  millions  of  dollars,  as  the  amount 
raised  annually  at  present  in  the  United 
States,  on  the  voluntary  principle,*  for  the 
sustentation  and  promotion  of  religion  at 
home  and  abroad. f 

Nor  have  I  included  in  the  statements 
which  I  have  made  on  this  subject  all  that 


*  I  say  on  the  voluntary  principle,  for  the  sums 
raised  from  permanent  endowments  (which  are 
themselves  the  fruit  of  the  voluntary  principle,  and 
not  of  governmental  gift  or  taxation)  are  not  suffi- 
ciently great  to  deserve  to  be  excepted. 

t  If  we  were  to  add  to  the  above-mentioned  sum 
of  eleven  millions  of  dollars  to  promote  Religion  in 
America,  the  amount  which  education  costs  in  all 
its  gradations,  we  must  at  least  double  it.  The  sin- 
gle state  of  Massachusetts  bestows  little  short  of  a 
million  of  dollars  annually  upon  the  education  of 
her  youths  in  all  classes  of  her  literary  institutions, 
though  her  population  falls  short  of  800,000  souls. 
So  that  the  sum  of  at  least  twenty-two  millions  of 
dollars  is  annually  raised  in  the  United  States  for 
the  promotion  of  Religion  and  Education — a  sum 
about  equal,  at  this  time,  to  the  whole  revenue  of 
the  National  Government ! 


the  voluntary  principle  does  in  reference  to 
religion.  For  instance,  provision  is  made 
in  some  denominations,  by  incorporated 
associations  or  otherwise,  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  widows  and  children  of 
ministers,  and  of  superannuated  preachers. 
The  sums  thus  raised  are  to  be  considered 
a  part  of  the  sustentation  which  is  given 
to  the  institutions  of  the  Gospel  among  us, 
and  they  all  owe  their  origin  directly  or 
indirectly  to  the  voluntary  principle. 

It  is  not  pretended  that  the  voluntary 
principle  raises  as  much  money  in  Ameri- 
ca for  the  support  of  religion  as  do  the 
legal  provisions  of  some  countries,  where 
Christianity  has  created  those  opulent  and 
time-honoured  establishments  which  over- 
shadow them.  In  many  cases,  alas  !  these 
establishments  were  founded  in  the  ages 
of  superstition,  and  owe  their  origin  to  the 
influence  of  a  cunning  and  overreaching 
priesthood,  exerted  over  an  ignorant  and 
debased  people.  But  it  is  maintained  that 
it  cannot  be  said  with  truth  that  Christian- 
ity, left  to  its  own  resources  in  America,  is 
likely  to  go  down,  or  that  it  does  not  lead 
to  efforts  for  its  propagation  which  corre- 
spond in  a  good  measure  with  the  wants 
of  the  country.  Whatever  men  may  think 
on  the  subject  of  the  best  means  of  sup- 
porting the  Gospel,  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
the  voluntary  principle  in  America  has 
demonstrated  that  it  is  not  inefficient  :  a 
fact  which  was  well  established  in  the  first 
three  centuries  of  the  progress  of  Christi- 
anity in  the  world. 

IX.  Alleged  Church  Destitution  in 
the  United  States. — From  the  year  1837 
to  that  of  1840  inclusive,  for  an  annual  in- 
crease of  the  population  to  the  extent  of 
about  450,000  souls,  that  of  the  evangelical 
ministry  of  all  denominations  was  not 
much,  if  at  all,  short  of  700  per  annum. 
The  number  of  church  edifices  erected  in 
1841  was  fully  880.  The  nett  annual  in- 
crease of  evangelical  ministers  of  all  de- 
nominations is  about  750 ;  while  that  of 
church  edifices,  of  all  descriptions,  as  we 
have  stated  elsewhere,  is  not  less  than 
950.  As  the  annual  increase  of  the  popu- 
lation is  at  present  about  500,000,  the 
increase  of  evangelical  ministers  bears 
the  ratio  of  1  to  660  of  the  whole,  or  of 
1  to  about  560  of  those  who  are  of  an 
age  to  go  to  church ;  and  the  increase 
of  church  edifices  is  about  as  1  to  525 
souls.  But  it  must  have  been  seen  from 
the  tables  in  the  summary  of  evangelical 
churches,  ministers,  communicants,  and 
population,  that  partly  from  the  very  scat- 
tered condition  of  the  inhabitants  covering 
so  vast  a  territory,  partly  from  the  pres- 
ence of  several  denominations  at  one  spot, 
often  leading  to  a  plurality  of  churches  and 
ministers  where  one  might  suffice,  this  in- 
crease of  ministers  and  churches  is  not  so 
adequate  to  the  wants  of  the  country  as 


326 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


might  at  first  sight  appear ;  still,  it  is  so 
inconsistent  with  what  many  of  our  read- 
ers may  have  heard  of  the  "  moral  wastes" 
in  the  United  States  as  to  require  some 
explanation. 

First,  then,  let  it  be  remembered  that,  at 
the  Revolution,  the  number  of  ministers  of 
every  name  was  only  one  for  2440  souls,  or, 
at  most,  one  for  2000  ;  and  that  the  war  of 
independence  itself,  and  many  other  cir- 
cumstances, concurred  to  prevent  much 
from  being  done  to  overtake  this  great 
and  accumulating  arrear  in  the  religious 
institutions  of  the  country.  This  destitu- 
tion continued  to  increase  rather  than  di- 
minish, it  is  believed,  from  1775  till  1815; 
so  that,  notwithstanding  the  more  recent 
extension  of  the  churches,  and  of  institu- 
tions for  training  of  ministers  for  assisting 
feeble  congregations,  no  wonder  that  a 
great  deal  has  yet  to  be  done  in  recov- 
ering what  may  be  called  former  moral 
wastes. 

Second.  Churches  and  ministers  not  be- 
ing provided  beforehand  for  new  settle- 
ments, and  a  certain  amount  of  population 
within  a  given  district  being  required  be- 
fore means  can  well  be  taken  for  forming 
a  church  and  obtaining  a  minister,  some 
time  must  elapse  during  which  "  moral 
wastes"  may  be  found  in  newly-settled 
districts.  The  same  remark  applies  to 
the  mountainous  district  embracing  the 
Alleghany  range  and  its  skirts.  From 
the  interior  of  Pennsylvania,  down  through 
Virginia,  the  eastern  parts  of  Kentucky, 
and  North  Carolina,  there  is  a  considera- 
ble destitution  of  the  regular  ministrations 
of  the  Gospel.  The  sandy,  thinly-settled 
zone  of  country,  covered  with  pines,  stretch- 
ing along  the  seacoast,  from  New-Jersey 
to  Louisiana,  and  embracing  the  whole 
peninsula  of  Florida,  may  be  placed  in  the 
same  category.  From  such  regions  the 
cry  of  the  man  of  Macedonia,  "  Come 
over  and  help  us,"  is  continually  sounded 
in  the  ears  of  the  churches  in  more  fa- 
voured districts  ;  nor  is  it.  heard  in  vain. 
Much  has  been  done  for  them  by  the 
Home  Missionary  Societies,  and  Mission- 
ary Boards  of  the  different  churches,  and 
much,  no  doubt,  will  yet  be  done. 

In  the  third  place,  there  has  been  a  large 
immigration  from  Germany,  Alsace,  and 
Switzerland,  for  whose  spiritual  wants  it 
has  not  been  easy  to  provide.  The  letters 
from  these  people  to  their  friends  in  the 
Old  World  have  in  some  cases  given  rise 
to  the  opinion  that  the  moral  destitution 
of  the  whole  country  is  almost  boundless. 
For  a  long  time  after  the  Revolution,  the 
augmentation  of  German  ministers  from 
an  indigenous  source  was  very  slow, 
while  but  few  of  a  proper  stamp  came 
from  Europe.  Blessed  be  God,  the  pros- 
pect for  our  German  immigrants  is  becom- 
ing more  cheering.    There  are  no  less  than 


two  colleges  and  five  theological  schools, 
in  which  there  is  a  goodly  number  of  pious 
young  men  who  are  training  up  for  the 
work  of  preaching  Christ,  under  the  in- 
structions of  right  men. 

It  has  been  more  difficult  still  for  us  to 
provide  for  the  spiritual  wants  of  the 
French  who  have  come  to  our  shores,  or 
have  fallen  to  us  by  the  purchase  of  Lou- 
isiana. But  the  increase  of  evangelical 
religion  in  France  will,  I  doubt  not,  give 
us  the  labourers  we  need  to  look  after 
their  interests.  As  to  the  Spaniards,  Poles, 
Norwegians,  Italians,  etc.,  who  come  to  us, 
their  number  is  not  great ;  but  the  difficulty 
of  preaching  the  Gospel  to  them  has  been 
almost  insurmountable,  owing  to  their  not 
knowing  the  English  tongue. 

In  the  fourth  place,  the  representations 
made  on  this  subject  by  some  of  our  so- 
cieties are  often  calculated,  though  unde- 
signedly, to  mislead  a  stranger.  That 
there  is  much  real  destitution  to  warrant 
strong  appeals  is  no  doubt  true  ;  but  one 
is  apt  to  forget  that  there  is  much  that  is 
hypothetical  in  what  is  said  of  the  danger 
that  threatens,  if  this  destitution  be  not 
supplied.  This  danger  is  imminent ;  still 
it  is,  as  yet,  but  a  contingency.  If  the  re- 
quired efforts  be  not  made,  error  and  irre- 
ligion  will  overspread  the  country ;  if  the 
Protestants  be  not  on  the  alert,  Romanism 
will  conquer  it  for  itself.  But  it  is  to  pre- 
vent such  results  that  these  appeals  are 
made. 

Lastly,  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the 
agents  and  missionaries  of  our  Domestic 
Missionary  Societies  and  Boards  have  un- 
intentionally and  unwittingly  promoted  er- 
roneous impressions  respecting  the  reli- 
gious destitution  of  the  country.  When 
these  societies  were  formed,  some  fifteen 
or  twenty  years  ago,  the  first  missionaries 
and  agents  sent  into  the  West  found  many 
districts,  and  even  whole  counties,  deplora- 
bly destitute :  and  in  their  published  re- 
ports and  letters  they  gave  most  affecting 
accounts  of  the  want  of  shepherds  to  col- 
lect the  sheep  scattered  over  these  moral 
wildernesses.  Sometimes  they  thought 
that,  like  Elijah  of  old,  they  were  "  left 
alone  ;"  not  being  aware,  or  if  aware,  not 
rightly  estimating  the  fact,  that  men  of 
other  denominations  were  labouring  in  the 
same  regions,  as  itinerating,  if  not  as  set- 
tled ministers.  Such  misrepresentations 
led  the  Methodist  and  Baptist  churches  to 
publish  statements,  proving  that  the  al- 
leged destitution  had  been  greatly  exag- 
gerated. Hence,  of  late  years,  it  has 
been  usual  to  give  the  names  of  places 
requiring  ministers  and  churches,  of  the 
denomination  to  which  the  writer  belongs, 
acknowledging,  at  the  same  time,  the  ser- 
vices of  ministers  of  other  denominations, 
where  they  are  to  be  found.  Exaggerated 
statements  may  often  be  traced,  also,  to 


CONCLUSION. 


327 


the  warm  feelings  of  extempore  speakers 
at  public  meetings,  leading  them  to  com- 
mit themselves  to  expressions  that  have 
not  been  duly  weighed,  and  to  these  find- 
ing their  way,  often  with  additional  exag- 
gerations, into  newspapers.  Within  the 
last  fortnight,  I  have  read  in  one  of  the 
best  religious  newspapers  in  the  United 
States,  the  notes  of  a  minister  from  the 
East,  as  he  passed  through  Pennsylvania 
to  the  "  far  West."  The  writer  did  not 
see  a  single  church  in  any  but  a  few  of 
the  numerous  towns  and  villages  through 
which  he  passed  from  Philadelphia  to 
Pittsburgh !  Yet  I,  who  have  been  along 
the  same  route  no  fewer  than  twelve 
times,  and  who  know  every  town  and  vil- 
lage upon  it,  having  travelled  it,  not  only 
as  he  did,  in  stages,  but  by  railroad,  in  pri- 
vate carriages,  on  horseback,  and  even  on 
foot,  hesitate  not  to  say  that  there  is  no 
town,  or  even  village  of  any  considerable 
size,  that  has  not  at  least  one  church  be- 
longing to  some  communion  or  other. 
These,  however,  are  not  the  prominent 
churches,  steeple-houses,  as  our  Quaker 
friends  might  call  them,  to  be  seen  in  the 
Eastern  States.  Many  are  plain,  humble 
buildings,  standing  in  some  retired  street, 
and  if  visible  at  all  to  the  writer  as  he 
whirled  along,  were  hardly  to  be  distin- 
guished from  a  warehouse  or  respectable 
barn.  And  if  such  misstatements  are  hon- 
estly made  at  times  by  our  own  country- 
men, how  much  more  apt  must  foreigners 
be  to  form  equally  hasty  and  erroneous 
conclusions  1 

X.  Individual  Instances  of  Liberality 

IN  SUPPORTING  AND  EXTENDING  THE  INSTITU- 
TIONS of  the  Gospel. — It  is  one  of  the 
happy  fruits  of  the  voluntary  principle  that 
it  cultivates  a  spirit  of  benevolence  and 
self-reliance  among  Christians.  It  teach- 
es men  the  true  value  and  utility  of  wealth, 
in  showing  them  that  there  are  objects  infi- 
nitely more  worthy  of  living  for  than  mere 
self-gratification.  Pious  men  of  no  coun- 
try have  an  adequate  conception  of  the 
amount  of  good  which  they  can  do  until 
they  have  made  the  experiment.  We  sub- 
join a  few  instances  of  individual  liberali- 
ty, not  because  the  authors  of  them  were 
rich*  men,  but  because  of  the  systematic 
as  well  as  delightful  spirit  which  they  dis- 
played. In  the  course  of  this  work  many 
others  have  been  mentioned,  which  are 
well  worthy  of  imitation. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  instances 
of  liberality  in  the  middle  walks  of  life  is 
recorded  in  the  memoirs  of  the  late  Nor- 
mand  Smith,  of  Hartford,  Connecticut.  Mr. 


*  Had  1  been  disposed  to  speak  of  what  some  (I 
am  sorry  to  say  too  few)  of  our  rich  men  have  done, 
I  might  mention  one  man — a  merchant— who  has  in 
the  course  of  30  years  given  to  religious  and  benevo- 
lent objects  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  of 
one  who  gives  from  forty  to  sixty  thousand  annually. 


Smith  was  born  in  1800,  of  pious  parents, 
and  seems  to  have  become  decided  in  his 
religious  character  at  the  age  of  twelve, 
during  a  revival.  He  learned  the  trade  of 
a  saddler,  and  commenced  business  him- 
self at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  on  a  small 
capital  lent  him  by  his  father.  He  was 
remarkably  prosperous  in  business  from 
the  first,  so  that  he  was  soon  able  to  repay 
this  debt.  But  he  did  not  allow  his  busi- 
ness to  engross  his  time  and  thoughts.  He 
frequently  visited  the  poor  with  the  view 
of  inquiring  into  and  relieving  their  neces- 
sities, was  a  constant  Sabbath-school  teach- 
er, and  for  a  long  time  was  superintendent 
of  a  Sabbath-school  for  Africans.  In  short, 
he  was  the  foremost  to  encourage  and  sup- 
port every  good  undertaking.  But  we 
must  let  the  memoir*  speak  for  itself. 

"  In  the  early  part  of  1829  he  had  great 
doubts  whether  it  was  not  his  duty  to  re- 
linquish his  business,  in  part  at  least,  that 
he  might  have  more  time  to  do  good.  At 
that  time  he  called  to  converse  on  this 
subject  with  the  writer.  He  said  that  he 
found  his  business  engrossed  too  much  of 
his  time  and  attention ;  he  wished  to  be  in 
a  situation  more  favourable  for  the  culti- 
vation of  personal  religion  and  doing  good 
to  others  ;  and,  as  he  had  acquired  proper- 
ty enough  for  himself  and  family,  he  felt  a 
desire  to  retire,  that  he  might  enjoy  more 
quiet  and  leisure.  In  reply,  it  was  said  to 
him,  '  The  Lord  has  plainly  indicated  how 
you  are  to  glorify  him  in  the  world.  He 
has  greatly  prospered  you  in  your  busi- 
ness ;  the  channels  of  wealth  are  open,  and 
their  streams  are  flowing  in  upon  you, 
and  it  would  be  wrong  for  you  to  obstruct 
or  diminish  them.  Let  them  rather  flow 
wider  and  deeper.  Only  resolve  that  you 
will  pursue  your  business  from  a  sense  of 
duty,  and  use  all  that  God  may  give  you 
for  his  glory  and  the  good  of  your  fellow- 
men,  and  your  business,  like  reading  the 
Bible,  or  worship  on  the  Sabbath,  will  be 
to  you  a  means  of  grace ;  instead  of  hin- 
dering, it  will  help  you  in  the  divine  life, 
and  greatly  increase  your  means  of  use- 
fulness.'' The  effect  of  the  conversation 
was  not  known  at  the  time,  but  from  an 
entry  made  in  a  journal  which  he  began  to 
keep  about  that  period,  it  appears  that  the 
purpose  was  then  formed  to  continue  his 
business,  and  to  conduct  it  on  the  princi- 
ple recommended. 

"  From  that  time  it  was  observable  by 
all  who  knew  him  that  he  made  rapid 
progress  in  religion.  One  subject  seemed 
to  engross  his  mind,  that  of  doipg  good; 
and  much  good  did  God  enable  him  to  do. 
Besides  many  large  donations  in  aid  of  va- 
rious objects  previous  to  his  death,  he  be- 
queathed at  his  decease  nearly  30,000  dol- 


*  Written  by  his  pastor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hawes,  of 
the  First  Congregational  Church,  Hartford,  Connec- 
ticut. 


328 


RELIGION   IN  AMERICA. 


lars  to  the  various  benevolent  societies  of 
the  day.  The  amount  designated  for  these 
societies  in  his  will  was  13,200  dollars. 
But  they  were  also  made  residuary  lega- 
tees of  property  which  he  would  have  dis- 
tributed while  living,  had  it  been  practica- 
ble, without  loss,  to  withdraw  it  from  his 
business. 

"  On  his  deathbed  he  said  to  a  brother, 
'  Do  good  with  your  substance  while  liv- 
ing, and  as  you  have  opportunity ;  other- 
wise, when  you  come  to  die,  you  ■will  be 
at  a  loss  to  know  what  distribution  it  is 
best  to  make  of  it.  The  trouble  and  care 
of  such  a  distribution  in  a  dying  hour,'  he 
thought, '  should  be  avoided  by  every  Chris- 
tian, by  disposing  of  his  property  while  in 
life  and  health,  as  the  Lord  should  prosper 
him,  and  present  to  him  opportunities  of 
doing  good.' 

"  From  the  period  above  referred  to,  it 
became  his  established  rule  to  use  for  be- 
nevolent distribution  all  the  means  which 
he  could  take  from  his  business,  and  still 
prosecute  it  successfully  and  to  the  best 
advantage.  He  was  usually  secret  with 
regard  to  donations  of  a  private  or  person- 
al nature.  A  memorandum  which  he  kept 
three  or  four  years  before  his  death,  'lest 
he  should  think  that  he  gave  more  than  he 
did,'  shows  that  his  gifts  were  numerous 
and  large — sufficiently  so  to  prove  that  he 
adhered  to  his  principle  of  holding  all  as 
consecrated  to  the  Lord.  A  slip  of  paper, 
taken  from  his  vest  pocket  after  his  death, 
mentions  the  amount  of  his  contributions 
at  the  monthly  prayer-meeting  for  mis- 
sions among  the  heathen  to  have  been 
thirty  dollars,  or  360  dollars  a  year. 

"  In  personal  and  domestic  expenditure 
he  studied  Christian  economy.  While  he 
denied  himself  no  reasonable  comfort,  it 
was  his  habit  to  consider  what  things  he 
might  dispense  with,  that  he  might  have 
the  more  to  give  for  charitable  purposes. 
Modest  and  unassuming  in  his  natural 
character,  he  thought  it  not  consistent, 
with  the  simplicity  of  the  Gospel  for  one 
professing  godliness  to  follow  the  customs 
and  fashions  of  the  world.  While  oth- 
ers were  enlarging  their  expenditures,  he 
studied  retrenchment  in  all  things. 

"  When  he  set  out  in  the  world,  it  was 
with  the  purpose  to  be  rich.  But  grace 
opened  his  heart,  and  taught  him  that  the 
only  valuable  use  of  money  is  to  do  good 
with  it ;  a  lesson  which  he  emphatically 
exemplified  in  his  practice,  and  which 
made  him  an  instrument  of  good,  the  ex- 
tent of  which  can  never  be  known  till  it  is 
revealed  at  the  last  day." 

Another  instance  is  that  of  a  cotempo- 
rary  of  Mr.  Smith,  Mr.  Nathaniel  Ripley 
Cobb,  at  Boston,  who  died  only  seven 
months  after  him.  Mr.  Cobb  was  a  mer- 
chant in  that  city,  and  a  member  of  one  of 
its  Baptist  churches.     At  the  age  of  nine- 


teen he  publicly  professed  his  faith  in 
Christ,  devoting  himself  to  the  service  of 
God  in  the  sphere  in  which  Providence 
had  placed  him,  considering  himself  under 
the  same  obligation  to  employ  his  business 
talent  for  the  glory  of  his  Saviour  that  de- 
volved on  the  minister  of  the  Gospel  to 
consecrate  the  talents  intrusted  to  him  for 
the  same  great  end. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  drew  up 
and  subscribed  the  following  remarkable 
document : 

"  By  the  grace  of  God,  I  will  never  be 
worth  more  than  50,000  dollars. 

"  By  the  grace  of  God,  I  will  give  one 
fourth  of  the  nett  profit  of  my  business  to 
charitable  and  religious  uses. 

"  If  I  am  ever  worth  20,000  dollars,  I 
will  give  one  half  of  my  nett  profits ;  and 
if  I  am  ever  worth  30,000  dollars,  I  will 
give  three  fourths  ;  and  the  whole  after 
50,000.  So  help  me  God,  or  give  to  a 
more  faithful  steward  and  set  me  aside." 

"  To  this  covenant,"  says  his  memoir, 
"  he  adhered  with  conscientious  fidelity. 
He  distributed  the  profits  of  his  business 
with  an  increasing  ratio,  from  year  to 
year,  till  he  reached  the  point  which  he 
had  fixed  as  a  limit  to  his  property,  and 
then  gave  to  the  cause  of  God  all  the 
money  which  he  earned.  At  one  time, 
finding  that  his  property  had  increased  be- 
yond 50,000  dollars,  he  at  once  devoted 
the  surplus,  7500  dollars,  as  a  foundation 
for  a  professorship  in  the  Newton  Theo- 
logical Institution. 

"  On  his  deathbed  he  said  to  a  friend,  in 
allusion  to  the  resolutions  quoted  above, 
'  By  the  grace  of  God — nothing  else — by 
the  grace  of  God,  I  have  been  enabled,  un- 
der the  influence  of  these  resolutions,  to 
give  away  more  than  40,000  dollars.  How 
good  the  Lord  has  been  to  me  !'  " 

Mr.  Cobb — such  is  the  testimony  of  those 
who,  like  myself,  knew  him  well — was 
also  an  active,  humble,  and  devoted  Chris- 
tian, seeking  the  prosperity  of  feeble 
churches  ;  labouring  to  promote  the  be- 
nevolent institutions  of  the  day  ;  punctual 
in  his  attendance  at  prayer-meetings,  and 
anxious  to  aid  the  inquiring  sinner ;  watch- 
ful for  the  eternal  interests  of  those  under 
his  charge  ;  mild  and  amiable  in  his  de- 
portment ;  and,  in  the  general  tenour  of  his 
life  and  character,  an  example  of  consist- 
ent piety. 

His  last  sickness  and  death  were  peace- 
ful, yea,  triumphant.  "It  is  a  glorious 
thing,"  said  he,  "  to  die.  I  have  been  ac- 
tive and  busy  in  the  world — I  have  enjoyed 
as  much  as  any  one — God  has  prospered 
me — I  have  everything  to  bind  me  here — I 
am  happy  in  my  family — I  have  property 
enough — but  how  small  and  mean  does 
this  world  appear  when  we  are  on  a  sick- 
bed !  Nothing  can  equal  my  enjoyment 
in  the  near  view  of  heaven.     My  hope  in 


CONCLUSION. 


329 


Christ  is  worth  infinitely  move  than  all 
other  things.  The  blood  of  Christ — the 
blood  of  Christ— none  but  Christ !  0  how 
thankful  I  feel  that  God  has  provided  a 
way  that  I,  sinful  as  I  am,  may  look  for- 
ward with  joy  to  another  world,  through 
his  dear  Son." 

But  I  know  no  instance  of  more  syste- 
matic and  long-continued  benevolence,  nor 
one  that  produced  equal  fruit  from  similar 
resources,  than  that  of  the  late  Mr.  Solo- 
mon Goodell,  of  Vermont,  who  died  when 
about  seventy.  Mr.  Goodell  was  a  farmer. 
The  following  notice  of  him,  though  long, 
will  be  read  with  interest.  It  is  from  a 
source  worthy  of  all  confidence. 

"  About  the  year  1809,  the  writer  of  these 
lines  observed  a  donation  of  100  dollars  to 
the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society,  pub- 
lished in  the  annual  accounts  as  from  Mr. 
Goodell.  Such  donations  were,  at  that 
time,  very  uncommon  in  this  country,  and 
with  regard  to  that  society,  nearly  or  quite 
unprecedented.  The  thought  occurred, 
that  doubtless  some  gentleman  of  inde- 
pendent fortune  had  thought  proper  to  take 
up  his  residence  in  the  interior  of  Vermont, 
and  that  he  considered  the  society  just  na- 
med a  good  channel  for  his  pious  benefi- 
cence. This  conclusion  was  strengthened 
by  seeing  a  similar  donation  from  the  same 
source  at  the  return  of  each  successive 
year  for  a  considerable  period. 

"  When  the  American  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  began  its  operations,  Mr.  Goodell 
did  not  wait  for  an  agent  to  visit  him,  but 
sent  a  message  (or  came  himself)  more 
than  fifty  miles,  to  a  member  of  the  Board, 
saying  that  he  wished  to  subscribe  500  dol- 
lars for  immediate  use,  and  a  thousand  for 
the  permanent  fund.  He  sent  $50  as  ear- 
nest-money, and  said  he  would  forward  the 
remaining  $450  as  soon  as  he  could  raise 
that  sum  ;  and  would  pay  the  interest  an- 
nually upon  the  1000  dollars  until  the  prin- 
cipal should  be  paid.  This  engagement  he 
punctually  complied  with,  paying  the  in- 
terest, and  just  before  his  death  transfer- 
ring notes  and  bonds  secured  by  mortga- 
ges, which  (including  the  thousand  dollars 
above  mentioned)  amounted  to  1708  dol- 
lars, 37  cts. ;  that  is,  a  new  donation  was 
made  of  708  dollars,  37  cts.,  to  which  was 
afterward  added  another  bond  and  mort- 
gage of  350  dollars. 

"  Before  this  last  transaction,  he  had 
made  repeated  intermediate  donations.  At 
one  time  he  brought  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ly- 
man, of  Hatfield  (the  member  of  the  Board 
above  referred  to),  the  sum  of  465  dollars. 
After  the  money  was  counted,  Dr.  Lyman 
said  to  him,  '  I  presume,  sir,  you  wish  this 
sum  endorsed  upon  your  note  of  1000  dol- 
lars.' '  Oh,  no,'  was  his  reply  ;  '  I  believe 
that  note  is  good  yet.  This  is  a  separate 
matter.'  He  then  expressed  his  wish  that 
the  money  might  be  remitted  towards  re- 


pairing the  loss  sustained  by  the  Baptist 
missionaries  at  Serampore.  He  regretted 
that  he  had  not  been  able  to  make  the  sum 
500  dollars ;  consoled  himself  with  the 
thought  that  he  might  do  it  still,  at  some 
period  not  very  far  distant ;  and  said  that,  if 
any  of  the  bank-notes  proved  less  valuable 
than  specie,  he  would  make  up  the  deficien- 
cy- 

"  Mr.  Goodell  had  made  what  he  thought 
suitable  provision  for  his  children  as  he 
passed  through  life.  After  consulting  his 
wife,  he  left  her  such  portion  of  his  estates 
as  was  satisfactory  to  her,  gave  several 
small  legacies,  and  made  the  Board  his 
residuary  legatee.  He  supposed  that  the 
property  left  to  the  Board  by  will  would 
not  be  less  than  1000  dollars  ;  but,  as  some 
part  of  it  was,  and  still  is  unsaleable,  the 
exact  amount  cannot  be  stated.* 

"  On  visiting  Mr.  Goodell  at  his  house, 
you  would  find  no  gentleman  with  an  inde- 
pendent fortune,  but  a  plain  man  in  mod- 
erate circumstances,  on  one  of  the  rudest 
spots  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Green 
Mountains,  every  dollar  of  whose  proper- 
ty was  either  gained  by  severe  personal 
labour,  or  saved  by  strict  frugality,  or  re- 
ceived as  interest  on  small  sums  lent  to  his 
neighbours.  His  house  was  comfortable, 
but,  with  the  farm  on  which  it  stood,  was 
worth  only  between  700  and  1000  dollars. 
His  income  was  derived  principally  from 
a  dairy. 

"  Besides  the  donations  above  mention- 
ed, Mr.  Goodell  made  many  smaller  ones 
to  missionary  societies  formed  to  send  the 
Gospel  to  new  settlements.  He  paid  fifty 
dollars  or  more,  at  one  time,  to  a  mission- 
ary whom  he  employed  to  preach  in  the 
destitute  towns  near  him.  He  aided  in  the 
education  of  pious  young  men  for  the  min- 
istry, by  furnishing  them  with  money 
for  their  necessary  expenses.  He  discov- 
ered no  ostentation,  so  far  as  we  have  been 
able  to  learn,  in  his  religious  charities. 
Certain  it  is  that  he  always  appeared  to- 
consider  himself  as  the  obliged  party,  and 
as  obtaining  a  favour  from  societies  which 
he  made  the  almoners  of  his  bounty.  Far- 
thest of  all  was  he  from  supposing  that  his 
charitable  exertions  could  make  any  atone- 
ment for  sin,  or  authorize  any  claims  upon 
the  divine  mercy.  He  held  to  the  most 
entire  self-renunciation,  and  to  dependance 
upon  Christ  alone." 

A  very  lovely  example  of  benevolence 
is  to  be  found  in  one  of  our  large  cities. 
It  is  the  case  of  a  comparatively  young 
man,  who  was  born  of  parents  belonging 
to  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  was  taught 
the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Apostles'  Creed 
by  his  pious  mother ;  he  was  instructed  in 


*  In  the  summary  view  of  Mr.  Goodell's  donations 
in  aid  of  missions  to  the  heathen,  we  find  that,  from 
the  12th  of  February,  1812,  to  the  19th  of  November, 
1816,  they  amounted  to  3885  dollars,  16  cts. 


330 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


a  Presbyterian  Sunday-school,  learned  his 
occupation  (that  of  an  apothecary)  with  a 
Baptist,  and  was  brought  to  a  saving  knowl- 
edge of  Christ  under  the  preaching  of  the 
Methodists.  After  having  gained  enough 
to  furnish  a  comfortable  competency  to 
those  of  his  family  who  are  dependant  upon 
him,  he  now  gives  all  his  nett  profits  to  the 
promotion  of  the  cause  of  his  Lord  and 
Master.  Nor  does  he  confine  his  charities 
to  any  one  channel,  or  to  any  one  denomi- 
nation of  Christians.  On  the  contrary,  his 
delight  is  to  aid  every  good  work,  no  mat- 
ter by  whom  it  may  be  prosecuted.  It  is 
astonishing  to  learn  what  this  devoted  and 
excellent  young  man  has  been  able  to  do 
during  the  period  of  ten  years. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  instances  of 
benevolence  I  have  known  was  that  of  a 
coloured  woman,  who  gave  sixty  dollars 
on  one  occasion  to  educate  pious  but  poor 
young  men  for  the  ministry.  She  sup- 
ported herself  by  her  labour  as  a  servant. 
When  she  offered  the  above  sum,  the  agent 
refused  to  receive  it  all  until  pressed  by 
the  humble  donor,  who  said  that  she  had 
reserved  five  dollars  ;  that  she  had  no  one 
dependant  on  her,  and  that  she  hoped  to 
earn  enough  to  provide  for  her  wants  in 
her  last  sickness,  and  for  her  funeral :  nor 
In  this  was  she  disappointed.  She  often 
gave  large  sums,  for  one  in  her  circum- 
stances, and  rejoiced  to  have  it.  in  her  power 
to  do  anything  for  Christ  and  his  cause. 

Would  that  I  could  say  that  such  benev- 
olence is  universal  among  the  Christians 
of  the  United  States.  Alas  !  all  that  is 
done  by  too  many  of  our  merchants  and 
others,  who  profess  to  love  Him  who  died 
to  save  the  world,  is  in  reality  nothing  in 
comparison  with  the  means  which  they 
have,  or  have  had.  Too  many  have  in- 
dulged in  a  luxurious  and  expensive  style 
of  living,  while  they  knew  that  men  were 
dying  in  their  sins,  and  ignorant  of  the 
Gospel.  It  is  for  this  sin,  with  others, 
that  God  has  caused  so  many  of  our  rich 
Christians  to  lose  their  riches  in  the  com- 
mercial and  financial  distress  with  which 
the  country  has  been  visited  during  the 
last  few  years.  Nevertheless,  it  is  cer- 
tainly true  that  the  spirit  of  benevolence 
is  extending  itself  more  and  more  among 
the  Christian  portion  of  the  community. 
May  God  hasten  the  day  when  Christian 
men,  in  all  spheres,  will  deliberately  act 
on  the  principle  of  glorifying  God  in  their 
business,  and  live  for  the  promotion  of  His 
cause,  labouring  as  diligently  to  make 
money  for  this  high  purpose  as  they  now 
do  for  their  own  gratification.  Such  a  day 
must  come,  or  I  see  not  how  the  world  is 
ever  to  be  converted  to  Christ. 

XI.  Misconception  and  Misrepresenta- 
tions abroad. — To  notice  all  the  miscon- 
ceptions and  misrepresentations  which  are 
prevalent  in  some,  if  not  in  all  portions 


of  Europe,  respecting  the  religious  and 
moral  condition  of  America,  is  wholly  im- 
possible in  a  work  like  this  ;  we  must, 
therefore,  confine  our  attention  to  but  a 
few  of  them. 

1.  One  of  the  most  common  objections 
against  the  religious  institutions  of  this 
country  is,  that  they  have  not  prevented 
the  bankruptcies  and  other  species  of  dis- 
honesty which  have  here  occurred,  especi- 
ally of  late  years.  But  is  it  i-easonable  to 
make  the  religious  institutions  of  a  coun- 
try responsible  for  the  occurrence  of  such 
things  1  Must  the  churches  in  America  be 
blamed  for  the  unwise  legislation  of  the 
country,  as  well  general  as  local,  which 
has  been  the  primary  cause  of  the  over- 
trading and  inordinate  speculation  which 
prevailed  a  few  years  ago,  and  which  was 
so  disastrous  in  its  reaction  1  Must  they 
be  accountable  for  the  avidity  with  which 
the  foreign  merchant,  manufacturer,  and 
money-lender  encouraged  the  adventurous 
American  merchant  and  trader  to  purchase 
their  goods  on  credit,  and  invest  their 
money  in  American  stocks,  often  with  lit- 
tle or  no  effort  to  make  a  proper  discrimi- 
nation between  them  ]  Must  they  be  ex- 
pected not  only  to  prevent  our  own  people, 
whether  in  an  individual  or  a  corporate 
capacity,  from  committing  acts  of  rascal- 
ity, but  also  to  exert  a  similar  influence 
upon  the  foreign  adventurers  who  come 
among  us  from  all  parts  of  the  Old  World 
(and  their  number  is  not  small),  the  real 
object  of  many  of  whom  is  to  swindle  the 
American  creditor  out  of  all  they  can,  and 
then  escape  to  Europe  3  Take  our  mer- 
chants who  are  engaged  in  foreign  com- 
merce in  the  mass,  and  I  hesitate  not  to 
say  that,  as  a  body,  they  have  acted  with 
as  much  good  faith  as  any  men  in  similar 
circumstances  have  ever  done,  during  the 
last  seven  or  eight  years  of  commercial 
and  financial  difficulty  through  which  the 
country  has  passed.  Many  of  them  ruined 
themselves  in  endeavouring  to  meet  their 
engagements  abroad,  by  paying  an  exor- 
bitant interest  on  the  loans  which  they 
made  for  that  purpose.  I  speak  here  of 
them  as  a  body ;  that  there  have  been  in- 
stances of  dishonesty  among  them  will  not 
be  denied,  nor  will  any  one  be  astonished 
at  it. 

Our  General  Government  has  not  failed 
to  meet  its  engagements,  nor  is  it  likely 
to  do  so.  And  as  to  our  twenty-nine 
states  and  territories,  more  than  one  third 
of  them  have  no  debts  whatever ;  more 
than  another  third  have  not  failed  for 
a  single  day  to  meet  their  engagements  ; 
and  of  the  others  who  have  for  a  time 
failed  to  do  so,  only  one  has  avowed  and 
acted  upon  the  doctrine  of  "  repudiation," 
and  that  in  the  case  of  a  loan  which  the 
Legislature  of  that  state  believed  to  have 
been  fraudulently  contracted.      But  this 


CONCLUSION. 


331 


doctrine  of  repudiation  is  itself  repudiated 
with  scorn  in  all  other  parts  of  the  Union, 
and  will  be  so  in  the  state  in  which  it  had 
its  origin.  Some  of  our  states  are  not  at 
present  able 'to  meet  the  engagements 
which  they  made  a  few  years  ago  in  the 
enormous  loans  which  they  contracted  at 
home  and  abroad,  in  order  to  accomplish 
the  extensive  lines  of  canals  and  railroads 
which  they  undertook  during  the  years  of 
unbounded,  and,  I  must  say,  unnatural  pros- 
perity which  the  country  enjoyed.  But 
they  will  ultimately,  I  doubt  not,  fulfil  all 
these  engagements  faithfully.  They  feel 
unable  to  do  so  now,  but  they  have  not 
repudiated.  On  this  subject,  the  following 
extract  from  a  sermon  preached  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia.*  on  a  public  occasion, 
expresses  the  opinions  and  feelings  of 
every  Christian  minister  in  the  land. 

"  The  doctrine  of  repudiation,  upon  which 
the  changes  have  been  rung  throughout  Eu- 
rope to  our  great  discredit,  has,  I  am  hap- 
py to  believe,  but  few  advocates  in  our 
Commonwealth.  There  is  a  vast  differ- 
ence in  point  of  honour  and  morality  in  ad- 
mitting the  justice  of  a  claim,  but  inability 
to  meet  it,  and  denying  that  any  such  claim 
exists.  Men,  whose  honesty  is  above  sus- 
picion, sometimes  become  involved  and  are 
utterly  unable  to  meet  their  engagements. 
It  may  be  so  with  a  community,  a  state,  or 
a  nation.  It  is  deeply  to  be  lamented  that 
such  an  exigency  should  ever  occur.  The 
effect  is  eminently  disastrous  in  impairing 
public  confidence,  and  weakening  the  ties 
which  should  bind  men  together  as  a  great 
common  brotherhood.  But  poverty  is  not 
necessarily  a  crime  in  a  government  any 
more  than  it  is  in  an  individual.  Public  en- 
gagements may  not  be  met  at  the  time,  and 
yet  the  public  faith  may  eventually  be  pre- 
served inviolate.  I  have  nothing  to  say  in 
defence  of  those  who  advocate  the  doctrine 
of  repudiation  in  any  form  or  under  any  cir- 
cumstances. They  deserve  all  the  obloquy 
and  reproach  which  is  heaped  upon  them. 
It  is  nothing  better  than  public  swindling, 
where  the  means  of  redress  are  placed  be- 
yond the  reach  of  those  who  are  wronged. 
It  matters  not  a  particle  that  the  money  bor- 
rowed has  been  misapplied,  or  squandered 
in  projects  which  yield  no  profit.  This  is 
our  misfortune,  or,  it  may  be,  our  fault. 
But  it  does  not  make  void  a  solemn  com- 
pact, in  which  the  public  faith  has  been 
pledged.  I  cannot  believe  that  the  mis- 
chievous, disgraceful  sentiments  which 
have  been  promulgated  by  a  few  on  this 
subject,  will  meet  with  anything  like  gen- 
eral favour.  Our  resources,  our  love  of 
justice,  and  our  honour  abroad  and  at  home, 
all  forbid  such  a  resort  to  relieve  ourselves 
from  a  pecuniary  pressure.  It  is  better  to 
submit  to  any  personal  sacrifices  than  to 


*  By  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rood. 


bear  the  stigma  of  making  loud  professions 
and  solemn  promises  to  swindle  honest  and 
unsuspecting  creditors.  Our  debts  to  the 
last  cent  must  be  paid,  whatever  struggles 
the  effort  may  cost.  On  this  point  there 
must  be  no  shuffling  or  evasion,  but  an  hon- 
est acknowledgment  of  our  responsibili- 
ties, and  a  steady  and  honest  aim  to  meet 
them.  With  this  disposition  prevalent,  and 
proved  by  corresponding  action,  the  voice 
of  vituperation  and  abuse  will  be  hushed, 
and  our  enemies  abroad  and  at  home  will 
confess  that  they  have  been  too  hasty  and 
rash  in  their  opinions  of  our  national  integ- 
rity." 

We  are  willing  that  religion  should  be 
held  accountable  for  a  great  deal :  but  we 
are  not  willing  that  the  church  in  America 
should  be  blamed  for  not  preventing  what 
the  churches  in  no  other  countries  have 
been  able  to  prevent.  The  members  prop- 
er of  all  our  churches,  evangelical  and  tin- 
evangelical,  do  not  exceed  a  fifth  part  of 
our  population ;  and  though  the  influence 
which  they  exert  is  unquestionably  as  sal- 
utary as  that  of  any  other  body  of  equal 
number  in  the  world,  yet  it  is  obvious  they 
cannot  control  circumstances  such  as  I 
have  alluded  to.  WTould  the  churches  in 
Great  Britain,  France,  Holland,  Germany, 
or  any  other  country,  like  to  be  held  re- 
sponsible for  all  the  acts  of  legislation,  do- 
mestic and  foreign,  of  their  respective 
countries,  and  all  the  villanies  which  have 
been  and  are  annually  perpetrated  in  them  ? 
I  think  not ;  nor  should  they  apply  to  their 
brethren  in  America  a  rule  by  which  they 
would  not  like  to  be  measured  them- 
selves.* 

2.  The  Political  disturbances  which  oc- 
cur in  America  are  not  unfrequently  spo- 
ken of  in  Europe  in  a  way  that  conveys  a 
reflection  upon  the  churches  of  this  land, 
as  if  they  ought  to  prevent  these  things. 
That  these  disturbances  do  take  place,  no 
one  will  deny.  There  is  not  a  good  man 
in  the  United  States  who  has  not  lament- 
ed what  are  called  the  "  Abolition  Riots," 
and  other  disgraceful  scenes  which  have 
occurred  within  the  last  few  years.  These 
disturbances,  however,  have  been  greatly 
exaggerated  as  to  their  frequency  and 
their  extent,  in  the  reports  which  reach 
Europe.     Our  newsmongers,  in  their  ea- 


*  A  good  deal  has  been  said  in  Europe,  by  men 
who  have  travelled  in  America,  respecting  the  im- 
positions which  they  have  suffered  in  this  country. 
There  is  no  Christian  man  in  the  United  States  who 
is  not  distressed  when  he  hears  of  such  things.  But 
is  it  just  to  blame  the  whole  people  of  the  land  and 
their  religious  institutions  for  such  occurrences? 
The  author  of  this  book  has  travelled  much  in  almost 
every  country  in  Europe,  and  he  can  affirm,  with 
truth,  that  he  has  suffered  impositions,  and  some  of 
them  very  gross,  in  them  all ;  but  he  would  deem 
himself  utterly  destitute  of  common  sense,  as  well 
as  of  that  charity  which  his  religion  requires,  if  he 
were  to  judge  the  people  of  any  of  those  countries  by 
such  instances. 


332 


RELIGION    IN   AMERICA. 


gerness  to  concoct  a  piquant  article  of 
news  for  those  for  whom  they  cater,  often 
give  the  most  astounding  exaggerations 
of  what  was  a  dispute  or  open  quarrel  be- 
tween some  firemen,  or  between  the  blacks 
and  whites  in  the  suburbs  of  our  cities, 
or  the  interruption  which  some  lecturer  on 
slavery  has  encountered  in  some  of  our  vil- 
lages.* These  representations  go  abroad, 
are  circulated  there,  and  lead  many  peo- 
ple to  think  that  our  whole  country  is  in 
a  continual  state  of  disorder.  But  every 
American  knows  how  to  appreciate  these 
reports,  and  is  no  way  concerned  about 
them,  except  to  regret  their  occurrence. 
Indeed,  neither  their  frequency  nor  their 
nature  is  such  as  to  give  him  any  seri- 
ous apprehensions.  For  these  things  are 
local,  unfrequent,  and  wholly  insignificant 
in  comparison  with  the  bruit  which  our 
newspapers  make  about  them.  And  they 
no  more  affect  the  peace  of  the  country 
than  the  passing  cloud  ruffles  the  bosom 
of  our  beautiful  lakes. 

Within  the  last  seven  or  eight  years 
there  have  been  some  disgraceful  instan- 
ces of  summary  punishment,  without  the 
intervention  of  a  proper  trial  before  the 
courts  of  law,  of  some  gamblers,  swindlers, 
and  negroes  (who  had  committed  shock- 
ing crimes)  in  some  of  our  Southwestern 
States  and  Territories.  But  these  instan- 
ces have  hardly  exceeded  in  number  that, 
of  the  ten  years  in  which  they  have  oc- 
curred. They  took  place,  too,  in  a  part 
of  the  country  which  is  new,  and  very 
thinly  settled  ;  where  religious  institutions 
have  scarcely  taken  root,  and  where  the 
forms  in  which  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice is  carried  on  have  hardly  begun  to 
exist.  However  much  every  well-inform- 
ed, good  man  in  America  must  lament 
these  things,  he  cannot  but  be  less  aston- 
ished at  their  occurrence  than  at  the  in- 
frequency  of  them.f  No  man  can  look  at 
the  great  extent  of  even  the  settled  por- 
tion of  the  United  States,  the  long  line  of 


*  A  great  deal  has  been  said  in  Europe  about  the 
prejudice  which  exists  in  America  against  ttie  col- 
oured people,  and  the  difficulty  of  the  two  races 
living  together.  But  it  is  a  singular  and  indisputa- 
ble fact,  that  almost  all  the  disturbances  (which,  af- 
ter all,  do  not  amount  to  much)  that  occur  between 
the  blacks  and  whites  in  the  suburbs  of  Philadel- 
phia, New-York,  and  other  cities,  take  place  be- 
tween the  former  and  the  Germans  and  Irish  which 
live  in  those  districts. 

t  When  we  speak  of  the  instances  of  disorders 
which  sometimes  occur  in  the  Southwestern  and 
Western  districts  of  the  country,  it  is  worth  while 
to  notice  the  remarkable  instances  of  the  triumph  of 
order  which  are  also  sometimes  witnessed  in  them, 
amid  very  peculiar  circumstances.  A  few  years  ago, 
a  man  committed  murder  at  the  lead  mines  of  Du- 
buque, in  what  is  now  Iowa  Territory,  before  there 
was  any  sort  of  political  government  established 
there.  The  people  assembled  of  their  own  accord,  ar- 
rested the  murderer,  chose  judges,  constituted  a 
court,  and  gave  him  a  fair  trial  before  a  jury.  He  was 
condemned  after  such  a  trial,  and  peaceably  executed! 


seacoast  which  bounds  the  country  on  the 
east  and  south,  of  wilderness  frontier  on 
the  west,  the  mountain  ranges  in  the  cen- 
tre, and  the  forests  which  abound  almost 
everywhere,  which  furnish  innumerable 
facilities  for  the  commission  of  crime  and 
escape  from  punishment,  without  being 
surprised  that  we  have  had  so  few  disturb- 
ances of  a  serious  character,  especially 
when  we  have  had  the  element  of  slavery, 
with  all  its  concomitant  evils,  to  augment 
the  difficulty  of  our  position.  It  would  re- 
quire the  army  of  the  Czar  of  all  the 
Russias  to  keep  up  a  strong  armed  police, 
which  some  upbraid  us  for  not  having,  and 
which  would  be  necessary,  if  it  were  not 
that  the  moral  influence  which  pervades 
the  country — and  which  owes  it  existence 
to  our  religious  institutions — furnishes  a 
substitute  which  is  infinitely  better.  We 
have  had  three  attempts,  one  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, one  in  South  Carolina,  and  one  in 
Rhode  Island,  not  to  overthrow  the  political 
institutions  of  the  co  mtry,  but  to  obtain 
redress  of  grievances,  real  or  imaginary,  in 
an  extra-constitutional  way  ;  and  yet  all 
three  were  suppressed  without  the  loss  of 
one  life  taken  away  either  in  battle  or  by 
the  administration  of  law.  To  what  was 
this  owing  j  To  the  patience,  the  concili- 
ation, and  the  due  use  of  argument  which 
the  Christianity  of  the  country  could  alone 
inspire  and  teach.* 

A  few  other  facts  may  be  stated  to  show 
the  happy  influence  which  Christianity  ex- 
erts in  the  United  States  in  securing  the 
maintenance  of  order  in  a  nation  of  eigh- 
teen and  a  half  millions. 

Notwithstanding  the  unbounded  facilities 
for  highway  robberies  in  almost  all  sec- 
tions of  the  country,  who  has  ever  heard 
of  the  existence  of  hordes  of  banditti 
either  in  our  mountains  or  our  forests  ! 
And  how  few  highway  robberies  and  mur- 
ders, comparatively,  have  ever  taken  place 
in  this  country  !  In  many  of  the  Western 
States,  a  solitary  man,  or  even  a  boy,  may 
be  seen  carrying  the  mail  on  horseback 
through  unbroken  forests,  from  town  to 


*  That  the  political  institutions  of  the  United 
States  rest  upon  a  pretty  sure  basis,  and  are  deeply 
planted  in  the  affections  of  the  people,  is  most  cer- 
tain, whatever  inferences  foreigners  may  sometimes 
make  from  the  language  uttered  in  moments  of  ir- 
ritation and  despondency  by  the  organs  of  our  politi- 
cal parties  in  the  hour  of  defeat  or  disappointment. 
In  proof  of  this,  the  fact  might  be  cited  that  two 
newspapers  have  been  published  for  several  years  in 
the  city  of  New- York,  one  in  French  and  the  other 
in  English,  which  ably  advocate  the  principles  of 
monarchy  as  it  exists  in  France  and  England,  and 
incessantly  attack  and  vilify  the  political  institutions 
and  the  measures  of  the  country  which  furnishes 
them  hospitality  and  protection.  And  what  is  the 
effect  ?  These,  perhaps,  are  read  by  the  foreigners 
among  us — for  whom  they  are  in  fact  published — 
and  by  some  of  our  own  people.  But  no  American 
has  the  slightest  regard  for  what  they  say,  nor  does 
the  government  for  a  moment  trouble  itself  about 
them. 


CONCLUSION. 


333 


town,  in  perfect  security.  With  such  a 
population  as  is  to  be  found  in  most  coun- 
tries in  Europe,  could  such  a  thing  be  done 
with  safety  1 

There  have  been  seasons  of  great  excite- 
ment, when  the  nation  was  agitated  to  its 
centre.  For  instance,  during  the  recent 
unparalleled  commercial  distress,  when  so 
many  banks,  and  so  many  of  our  best  mer- 
chants and  traders,  our  enterprising  me- 
chanics and  manufacturers  —  and,  indeed, 
so  many  men  in  all  the  walks  of  industry, 
and  in  every  station  of  life — were  ruined. 
How  was  all  this  borne  1  Was  there  the 
slightest  attempt  to  seek  redress  by  revo- 
lution ]  No.  The  government  was  se- 
verely blamed  ;  all  these  evils  were  be- 
lieved, by  probably  a  majority  of  the  peo- 
ple, to  have  been  occasioned  by  unwise 
legislation,  obstinately  persevered  in  ;  and 
yet  not  a  gun  was  seized,  not  a  sword  was 
drawn,  and  not  one  human  life  was  lost 
during  the  long  and  dreadful  crisis.  The 
only  resort  was  to  the  ballot-box,  as  our 
elections  are  often  termed. 

Take  another  instance.  The  autumn  of 
1840  witnessed  the  greatest  political  strug- 
gle which  the  country  has  ever  seen.  The 
question  was  that  of  maintaining  or  of 
overthrowing  the  party  in  power,  in  the 
election  of  a  President.  Nearly  two  mill- 
ions and  a  half  of  men  resorted  to  their 
respective  places  of  voting,  and  gave  their 
votes  for  one  or  the  other  of  the  two  can- 
didates. The  excitement  was  almost  un- 
paralleled. At  every  poll,  or  place  of 
holding  the  election,  crowds  of  people  as- 
sembled on  the  day  which  was  to  decide 
the  question ;  and  yet  not  one  person  was 
either  killed  or  injured,  so  far  as  I  have 
heard,  in  this  great  political  contest.  Could 
such  a  thing  have  occurred  in  the  British 
realms,  or  in  France,  or  any  other  country 
in  the  world  1     I  believe  not.* 

In  the  British  realm,  if  we  suppose  the 
population  to  be  26  millions  (we  speak  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  the  islands 
adjacent),  there  is  one  regular  soldier  for 
about  260  individuals  ;  in  France,  the  army 
of  the  line  is  400,000,  by  which  if  we  divide 
the  population  of  the  kingdom,  now  thirty- 
four  millions,  we  have  one  soldier  for  85 
inhabitants ;  while  in  the  United  States, 
whose  standing  army  was  for  the  period 
of  more  than  20  years  which  immediately 
succeeded  1815,  but  6000  men,  and  is  now 
only  8000,  there  is  one  soldier  to  2312  in- 
dividuals in  the  population.  And  yet  there 
has  been  many  a  single  year  in  which  more 
people  have  been  killed  in  broils  and  emeute.s 


*  Within  the  last  five  years  there  have  been  more 
serious  broils  and  more  lives  lost  in  the  political  strug- 
gles in  Canada,  on  our  borders,  though  under  the 
strong  government  of  England,  and  m  presence  of  a 
standing  army  of  15  or  20  thousand  men,  than  have 
taken  place  in  the  United  States  from  the  first.  And 
yet  Canada  has  not  more  than  eleven  or  twelve  hun- 
.dred  thousand  inhabitants. 


(insurrections)  in  both  France  and  the 
British  realm,  than  have  lost  their  lives  in 
all  the  "  mobs"  and  "  riots" — political,  reli- 
gious, anti-abolitional,  anti-gambling,  etc. 
— that  have  occurred  in  the  United  States 
since  the  independence  of  the  country  was 
established,  sixty  years  ago.  What  a  refu- 
tation does  this  fact  furnish  of  all  the 
miserable  charges  which  are  heard  in  Eu- 
rope respecting  the  "  riots,"  "  disorders," 
etc.,  alleged  to  be  continually  occurring  in 
America! 

Nothing  strikes  the  observation  more  of 
one  who  comes  from  the  Old  World,  where 
he  cannot  turn  the  corner  of  a  street  in  the 
principal  cities  and  towns,  especially  on 
the  Continent,  without  meeting  a  soldier, 
upon  his  landing  in  the  United  States,  than 
the  almost  complete  absence  of  all  mili- 
tary force.  How  is  it  that  such  force  can 
be  dispensed  with  ]  Only  because  of  the 
widespread  and  salutary  influence  of  Chris- 
tianity. If  we  have  "  disturbances"  and 
"  riots"  sometimes — which  will  not  be  de- 
nied— we  have  fewer  of  them  than  any 
other  country  of  equal  population  in  the 
world.* 

3.  The  American  people  have  been  rep- 
resented sometimes  by  foreigners  as  being 
an  immoral  people.  Now,  although  1  know 
it  is  not  easy  to  reply  to  such  charges  in 
a  satisfactory  manner  in  the  very  restrict- 
ed space  which  I  must  allow  to  them, 
nevertheless,  I  will  say  a  few  words  upon 
this  topic. 

That  there  are  vices  and  crimes  in 
America,  and  in  no  inconsiderable  amount, 
is  without  hesitation  acknowledged.  But 
that  they  exist  to  such  an  extent  as  to  jus- 
tify the  assertion  that  the  American  peo- 
ple are  par  excellence  an  immoral  nation,  is 
denied. 

It  is  certainly  not  extraordinary,  as  has 
been  well  remarked  by  a  writer  in  a  late 
number  of  the  Westminster  Review,  that 
there  should  be  in  the  United  States  swin- 
dlers, counterfeiters,  thieves,  bigamists, 
murderers,  and  other  criminals,  since,  in 
addition  to  those  of  indigenous  growth, 
they  receive  so  many  from  the  Old  World. 
This  is  a  correct  view  of  the  subject.  For 
it  is  a  fact,  that  while  there  are  cases  in 
which  foreign  criminals,  especially  those 
who  have  committed  crimes  which  most 
deeply  affect  the  conscience   and  heart, 

*  It  is  sometimes  amusing  to  a  well-informed 
American  to  hear  in  Europe  the  reports  which  are 
circulated  there  respecting  the  riots  in  our  American 
cities.  Take  one  for  a  sample.  Two  or  three  years 
ago  a  "dreadful  abolition  riot"  occurred  in  Philadel- 
phia, in  which  it  was  said  that  there  was  much  fight- 
ing in  the  streets,  with  guns  and  other  deadly  weap- 
ons ;  and  yet,  wonderful  to  be  told,  no  person  was 
killed,  or  even  very  seriously  wounded,  I  believe ! 
And  this  was  said  to  occur  in  a  country  where  so 
large  a  portion  of  the  people  possess  fire-arms,  and 
know  how  to  use  them  better  than  the  people  of"  any 
other  land  !  Verily,  it  requires  strong  credulity  to  be- 
lieve that  such  riots  can  be  very  dreadful. 


334 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


who  have  come  to  our  shores  and  changed 
their  names,  reform  and  do  well  in  a  land 
where  their  past  history  is  unknown  (and 
certainly  the  friends  of  humanity  must  re- 
joice that  it  is  so),  there  are  very  many 
in  which  it  is  otherwise.  A  man  who  has 
been  a  thief,  a  robber,  a  counterfeiter,  a 
bigamist,  in  Europe,  is  not  likely  to  reform 
in  America,  unless  arrested  by  God's  grace. 
There  is  more  hope  of  a  man  who  has 
committed  manslaughter,  or  even  murder, 
than  of  him. 

A  few  general  statements  will,  however, 
best  express  all  that  I  have  to  say  on  this 
subject. 

With  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  Scot- 
land, there  is  no  country  in  Christendom 
where  the  Sabbath  is  as  well  observed  as 
it  is  in  the  United  States.  Of  this  any  one 
who  has  extensively  travelled  in  the  Old 
World  cannot  fail  to  be  convinced  when 
he  lands  at  any  of  our  cities,  I  care  not 
which,  excepting  New-Orleans,  which  is 
more  of  a  foreign  city  than  any  other.  It 
is  the  capital  of  a  French  state,  where 
American  influence,  though  fast  gaining 
ground,  is  still  far  inferior  to  that  of  the 
French  and  the  Spanish  who  remain  in  it. 
But  the  Protestant  religion,  when  it  gains 
the  ascendancy,  will  produce  there  the 
same  good  effects  in  this  respect  which  it 
does  elsewhere.* 

Although  thieves  and  robbers  are  not 
wanting  in  our  large  cities  and  towns, 
where  all  the  world  over  such  people  most 
congregate  and  find  the  greatest  facilities 
for  their  nefarious  vocation,  yet,  taking  the 
country  at  large,  it  will  be  difficult  to  name 
another  where  property  is  more  safe,  or 
where  people  live  in  greater  security. 

As  to  murder,  the  most  horrible  of  all 
crimes,  the  most  exact  enumeration  has 
never  been  able  to  show  that  more  than  one 
hundred  cases  have  occurred,  and  of  late 
years  not  much  more  than  one  half  that 
number,  in  any  one  year.  This  number  is 
sufficient  to  excite  deep  distress  in  the  heart 
of  every  good  man  ;  but  it  is  less  than  that 
which  takes  place  in  many  other  countries 
between  which  and  ours  comparisons  on  this 

*  As  to  travelling  on  the  Sabbath,  there  is  every 
prospect  that  the  establishment  of  railroad  and  steam- 
boat lines,  taken  in  connexion  with  the  just  senti- 
ments which  prevail  among  the  pious  and  strictly 
moral  portion  of  the  population,  will,  in  time,  almost 
wholly  put  an  end  to  it,  especially  on  the  long  and 
important  routes.  Railroad  and  steamboat  compa- 
nies already  know  that  they  gain  nothing  by  running 
their  cars  and  their  boats  on  the  Sabbath,  owing  to 
the  comparative  fewness  of  the  travellers  on  that 
day.  By  stopping  their  cars  and  their  boats  on  that 
day,  they  will  save  one  seventh  part  of  their  expen- 
ses, give  their  labourers  and  agents  the  rest  they 
need,  and  be  sure  of  having  on  Monday  the  persons 
whom  they  would  otherwise  have  carried  on  Sun- 
day. Indeed,  if  it  were  not  for  the  carrying  of  the 
mail  on  the  part  of  the  government,  there  would  be 
no  great  difficulty  in  causing  the  cars  and  steam- 
boats to  cease  on  the  principal  routes. 


point  as  well  as  others  are  sometimes  in- 
stituted. For  instance,  in  England  and 
Wales  alone  since  the  year  1812,  the  num- 
ber of  convictions  for  murder  has  varied 
from  60  to  75.  while  the  executions  have 
been  in  the  proportion  of  about  one  to  four 
of  the  convictions.  Were  the  comparison 
to  be  made  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  it  would  be  most 
decidedly  in  favour  of  the  former.  The 
murders  in  France  are  not  only  more  fre- 
quent than  those  of  the  United  States,  but 
often  more  diabolically  savage  and  shock- 
ing, as  the  records  of  her  criminal  courts 
clearly  show.* 

And  though  there  is  a  considerable 
amount  of  prostitution  in  some  of  our  large 
cities  on  the  seaboard  —  as,  for  instance. 
New- York,f  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and 
New-Orleans — and  something  of  it  in  the 
largest  interior  cities,  yet,  take  the  nation 
as  a  whole,  there  is  far  less  of  this  sin  than 
is  to  be  found  in  most  countries  in  Europe. 
In  many  of  our  cities  and  towns  of  ten  and 
twenty  thousand  inhabitants,  public  prosti- 
tution is  almost  unknown.  Scarcely  any- 
thing of  the  kind  is  seen  in  Boston,  and 
other  chief  places  in  New-England.  In  no 
nation  in  the  world,  I  am  sure,  is  there  a 
greater  amount  of  virtue  among  ladies,  both 
married  and  unmarried,  taken  as  a  body. 
Foreigners  are  shocked  at  the  familiarity 
which  subsists  between  the  youth  of  both 
sexes  with  us  ;  but  foreigners,  if  they  knew 
well  the  domestic  life  of  our  people,  would 
know  that  this  familiarity  seldom  leads  to 
evil  consequences  in  neighbourhoods  where 
the  Gospel  exerts  its  powerful  influences. 
The  youth  of  our  religious  families  are 
brought  up  under  a  strong  moral  influence, 
and  are  taught  to  have  confidence  in  each 
other,  and  in  themselves  ;  above  all,  they 
are  taught  to  fear  God.  From  their  earli- 
est years  the  children  of  both  sexes  frequent 

*  A  very  large  proportion  of  the  murders  which 
are  committed  in  the  United  States  are  committed 
by  worthless  foreigners.  The  same  thing  is  true  of 
the  robberies  and  other  great  crimes  which  occur 
among  us.  Almost  all  the  riots  which  take  place  in 
our  Atlantic  States  are  made  by  Irish  and  Germans 
congregated  in  the  suburbs  of  our  cities,  or  working 
on  our  railroads  and  canals.  Indeed,  it  is  this  for- 
eign element  which  gives  us  the  greatest  difficulty  in 
almost  everything.  Not  only  are  very  many  of  our 
criminals  foreigners,  but  they  form  a  large  proportion 
— in  some  places  a  majority — of  the  persons  in  our 
hospitals.  This  is  not  stated  as  a  reproach,  but  as  a 
fact. 

t  I  have  read,  with  great  astonishment,  some  re- 
marks of  Mr.  Tait,  of  Edinburgh,  on  prostitution  in 
New-York,  to  be  found  in  his  recent  work  on  Mag- 
dalenism  (p.  5),  and  referred  to  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Wardlaw  in  his  excellent  Lectures  on  Prostitution. 
The  sum  of  Mr.  T.'s  statement  is,  that  "that  city 
furnishes  a  prostitute  for  every  six  or  seven  adults 
of  its  male  population."  I  have  lived  much  in  New- 
York,  and  know  something  of  its  moral  state;  and  I 
affirm  that  this  statement,  founded  on  an  exaggera- 
ted report  published  by  the  Magdalen  Society  of 
that  city,  some  nine  or  ten  years  ago,  is  quite  incor- 
rect, and  in  no  way  approximates  to  the  truth. 


CONCLUSION. 


335 


the  same  common  schools.  Even  until 
quite  grown  up,  in  many  districts  they  go 
to  school  together  in  the  winter  season. 
And  yet,  how  seldom  has  any  evil  resulted. 
There  are  countries  in  Europe — it  would 
be  invidious  to  mention  them — where  such 
a  thing  could  not  be  done  with  safety  to 
their  morals,  and  even  where  it  is  thought 
dangerous  to  allow  large  girls  to  be  taught 
by  a  male  teacher. 

We  have,  indeed,  enough  of  the  sin  of 
uncleanness  to  mourn  over ;  and  yet,  in 
comparison  with  the  state  of  many  other 
countries,  we  have  great  reason  to  bless 
God  for  the  hallowed  influences  which  His 
Gospel  diffuses  among  us.*  If  we  have 
many,  too  many,  alas!  among  us  who  have 
not  submitted  their  hearts  to  these  influen- 
ces, there  are,  on  the  other  hand,  a  great 
many  who  have,  and  who  are  the  "  salt  of 
the  earth,"  and  the  "  light  of  the  world." 

We  may  be  charged,  as  a  people,  with 
being  rude,  and  wanting  in  habitual  polite- 
ness in  our  manners.  Witlings  who  visit 
us  to  find  subjects  on  which  to  employ 
their  pens,  and  with  which  to  garnish  their 
worthless  pages,  may  accomplish  their 
ends,  and  carry  home  portfolios  laden  with 
stories  respecting  the  oddities  and  awk- 
wardness which  they  may  have  remarked 
among  certain  classes  ;  but  beneath  the 
rough  and  unpolished  exterior  of  our  peo- 
ple there  will  be  found  much  sincere  be- 
nevolence, as  well  as  many  of  those  other 
enduring  virtues  which  conduce  to  social 
happiness. f   We  are,  comparatively,  a  new 


*  I  have  sometimes  been  amazed  to  hear  the  re- 
marks of  foreigners  who  have  undertaken  to  be  cen- 
sors of  American  morals.  A  certain  visitant  from 
Europe,  who  has  written  three  or  four  volumes 
about  America,  and  has  undertaken  to  represent  the 
American  cities  as  remarkable  for  the  prevalence  of 
prostitution,  did,  nevertheless,  when  at  the  dinner- 
table  of  a  gentleman  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  boast 
of  his  having  visited  half  of  the  houses  of  infamy  in  the 
city  of  New-York,  and  declared  his  intention  to  visit 
all  the  rest  upon  his  return  to  that  city — as  a  matter 
of  curiosity,  as  he  said  ! 

A  young  gentleman,  who  resides  in  a  city  not  one 
hundred  miles  from  that  in  which  this  work  was 
written,  lately  visited  America,  and  spent  two  years 
there.  On  his  return  home,  he  spoke  disparagingly 
of  the  religious  state  of  the  country,  and  charged  the 
merchants  of  Philadelphia,  and  especially  those  of 
the  respectable  body  of  Friends,  with  being  extreme- 
ly loose  in  their  morals,  and  unfaithful  to  their  con- 
jugal relations.  And  yet  this  same  young  man  boasts 
of  his  having  given,  when  among  a  tribe  of  Indians 
on  our  borders,  a  rifle  to  a  chief  in  exchange  for  his 
daughter ;  and  that,  after  he  had  lived  with  her  as 
his  wife  for  three  months,  he  abandoned  her  !  The 
wickedness  of  such  persons  is  not  so  wonderful  as 
their  intolerable  insolence  in  undertaking  to  misrep- 
resent and  slander  a  whole  people.  But  so  it  ever 
will  be :  bad  men  seek  to  hide  their  own  infamy  in 
charging  others  with  the  sins  of  which  they  are 
themselves  guilty. 

t  Among  other  charges  brought  against  the  Amer- 
icans is  one  which  I  must  not  omit  to  remark  upon. 
It  is,  that  they  have  no  discipline  in  their  families  ; 
that  their  children  grow  up  in  insubordination,  pride, 
insolence,  and  want  of  respect  for  old  age  and  pa- 
rental authority.    All  this  is  inferred  from  the  re- 


people  ;  this  is  emphatically  true  of  a  large 
portion  of  our  population.  And  notwith- 
standing our  vices,  whether  of  native  or  for- 
eign origin,  there  is  among  us  a  vast  amount 
of  practical  and  efficient  goodness.  We 
have  much  to  learn,  but  I  trust  we  shall  not 
be  slow  to  imitate  whatever  is  excellent  in 
the  manners  or  the  deeds  of  other  nations. 

4.  But  the  last  topic  which  I  shall  men- 
tion, on  which  we  have  been  the  subjects 
of  more  misrepresentation  and  abuse  than 
any  other,  is  slavery.  On  this  difficult  and 
humiliating  question  I  cannot  enter  into 
detail.  It  would  require  a  volume  to  say 
all  that  might  be  said  about  it,  and  even 
all  that  ought  to  be  said,  in  order  to  make 
our  position  to  be  fully  comprehended  by 
foreigners.     I  can  say  only  a  few  words. 

Slavery  is  an  accursed  inheritance 
which  the  Old  World  bequeathed  to  the 
New.  England,  France,  Spain,  and  Hol- 
land, all  contributed  their  respective  shares 
to  its  introduction  and  establishment  in 
what  is  now  the  United  States.  Several 
of  the  colonies  remonstrated  against  the 
bringing  in  of  slaves  among  them.  But  it 
was  all  in  vain.  Slavery  was  fastened  upon 
them  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  the 
commerce  of  the  mother-country,  Eng- 
land. And  when  the  struggle  came,  by 
which  the  colonies  were  dissevered  from 
Great  Britain,  slavery  was  one  of  the 
causes  which  led  to  that  event ;  and  of  all 
the  portions  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, as  it  was  originally  drawn  up 
by  Mr.  Jefferson,  the  most  severe  was  that 


ports  of  foreigners  (who,  generally,  have  had  no  very- 
good  opportunities  of  knowing  the  interior  life  of  the 
families  which  they  may  have  visited),  or  from  some 
poor  specimens  of  American  families  which  have 
gone  abroad,  or  from  what  they  suppose  must  be  the 
effects  of  Republican  institutions ;  just  as  if  Republi- 
can institutions  will  not  tolerate,  or,  rather,  do  not 
require,  due  subordination  and  discipline. 

N  ow  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  there  are  weak-mind- 
ed and  foolish  parents  in  America,  as  well  as  in  other 
countries,  who  do  not  govern  well  their  children,  but 
it  is  their  own  fault,  and  not  that  of  the  institutions, 
religious  or  political,  of  the  country.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  have  parents,  and  not  a  few,  who  are  as 
rigid  in  the  government  of  their  children  as  are  the 
Scotch  themselves  ;  we  have  few  teachers  who  can- 
not, or  who  do  not,  punish  their  scholars  with  the 
rod,  if  need  be;  there  is  not  a  college  in  the  land 
that  would  not,  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  expel 
from  its  halls  the  sons  of  the  greatest  men  in  the  na- 
tion, if  they  deserved  it,  as  I  have  myself  witnessed. 
In  our  army,  it  is  true  that  it  is  no  longer  allowed  to- 
flog  men,  save  as  a  commutation  for  the  punishment 
of  death  ;  but  other  and  severe  modes  of  punishing, 
though  less  degrading,  are  permitted.  While  in  our 
navy,  the  discipline,  1  believe,  is  the  most  severe  in 
the  world.  Recently  the  commandant  of  a  petty 
brig  of  war  hung  up  three  men  for  alleged  mutiny 
under  the  most  remarkable  circumstances,  one  of 
whom  was  a  son  of  one  of  the  first  officers  of  the 
government.  This  instance  was  summary  in  its  na- 
ture, quite  without  a  parallel ;  and  how  was  it  borne 
by  the  nation?  The  overwhelming  majority  of  the 
people,  including  almost  the  whole  of  the  religious 
portion  of  them,  approved  of  the  act.  Would  such 
things  be  tolerated  in  a  nation  in  which  there  is  no 
domestic  government  ?    I  think  not. 


S36 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


which  related  to  the  slave-trade.*  As  op- 
position was  made  to  it  by  some  of  the 
members,  it  was  stricken  out  in  order  to 
secure  entire  unanimity. 

The  war  of  independence  found  slavery 
existing  in  all  the  thirteen  colonies.  Du- 
ring its  progress,  or  soon  after  its  close,  the 
original  four  New-England  States,  Mas- 
sachusetts, New-Hampshire,  Connecticut, 
and  Rhode  Island,  abolished  slavery  within 
their  respective  limits.  Some  years  later, 
Pennsylvania,  New-Jersey,  and  New- York 
followed.  In  process  of  time  Vermont  and 
Maine,  in  New-England,  and  Ohio,  Indi- 
ana, Illinois,  and  Michigan,  in  the  West, 
were  formed  into  states  without  slavery. 
To  these  we  may  add  the  two  Territories 
of  Iowa  and  Wisconsin.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  six  original  slaveholding  states, 
Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Caro- 
lina, South  Carolina,  and  Georgia,  remain 
such  to  the  present  day,  and  to  them  have 
been  added,  in  the  West  and  Southwest, 
the  States  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Ala- 
bama, Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Missouri,  Ar- 
kansas, and  the  Territory  of  Florida.  And 
the  number  of  slaves  has  augmented  from 
about  600,000,  at  the  close  of  the  Rev- 
olution, to  nearly  three  millions.  How 
and  when  the  abolition  of  slavery  is  to  be 
accomplished  in  these  thirteen  states  and 
one  territory,  is  a  question  which  no  one 
can  answer. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  for  me  to  say,  how- 
ever, that  this  mighty  task  will  never  be 
effected  peaceably  but  through  the  influ- 
ence of  Christianity.  This  has  accom- 
plished all  that  has  hitherto  been  done — 
the  destruction  of  slavery  in  seven  states, 
and  the  prevention  of  its  entrance  into  six 
or  eight  more  ;  the  abolition  of  the  slave- 
trade  before  any  other  nation  had  done  any- 
thing on  the  subject,  and  the  declaring  of 
it  to  be  of  the  nature  of  piracy,  and  as  mer- 
iting the  same  punishment.  And  however 
desperate  the  struggle  may  prove  to  be, 
she  will  not  shrink  from  it. 

The  noble  example  of  England  in  abol- 
ishing slavery  in  her  islands  will  not  be 


*  It  was  in  these  words  :"  He  (the  King  of  England) 
has  waged  cruel  war  against  human  nature  itself, 
violating  its  most  sacred  rights  of  life  and  liberty  in 
the  persons  of  a  distant  people,  who  never  offended 
him,  captivating  and  carrying  them  into  slavery  in 
another  hemisphere,  or  to  more  miserable  death  in 
their  transportation  thither.  This  piratical  warfare, 
the  opprobrium  of  infidel  powers,  is  the  warfare  of 
the  Christian  King  of  Great  Britain.  Determined 
to  keep  open  a  market  where  men  should  be  bought 
and  sold,  he  has  prostituted  his  prerogative  for  sup- 
pressing every  legislative  attempt  to  prohibit  or  re- 
strain this  execrable  commerce.  And  that  this  as- 
semblage of  honors  might  want  no  fact  of  distin- 
guished dye,  he  is  now  exciting  these  very  people  to 
rise  in  arms  among  us,  and  to  purchase  that  liberty 
of  which  he  has  deprived  them,  by  murdering  the 
people  on  whom  he  also  has  obtruded  them ;  thus 
paying  off  former  crimes  committed  against  the  liber- 
ties of  one  people,  with  crimes  which  he  urges  them 
to  commit  against  the  lives  of  another." 


lost  upon  us.  It  has  given  a  great  impulse 
to  the  moral  movement  which  is  steadily 
going  on  in  the  community.  It  is  true 
that,  as  slavery  is  by  our  Constitution  left 
to  the  government  of  each  state  in  which 
it  exists,  to  be  managed  by  it  alone,  there 
can  be  no  such  action  among  us  as  that  of 
England,  by  which  the  overthrow  of  sla- 
very in  her  dominions  was  effected  at  a 
blow.  It  is  in  the  midst  of  us  ;  it  is  not  at 
a  distance.  Its  destruction  with  us  can  be 
accomplished  only  by  those  whose  pe- 
cuniary interests  are  at  stake  for  its  main- 
tenance. This  point  foreigners  should 
well  comprehend.  It  is  the  slaveholders 
among  us,  that  is,  the  inhabitants  of  each 
slaveholding  state,  who  alone  can  over- 
throw it.  This  it  is  which  makes  our  po- 
sition so  difficult. 

I  am  of  opinion  that  it  will  require  many 
years  to  efface  this  dreadful  evil  and  burn- 
ing disgrace  from  the  midst  of  us.  It  will 
require  long  and  persevering  efforts  on  the 
part  of  good  men,  and  a  large  amount  of 
that  "  wisdom  which  cometh  down  from 
above."  But  of  one  thing  I  feel  very  sure  : 
it  is,  that  although  some  may  act  rashly, 
and  sometimes  attempt  to  promote  the 
cause  by  unwise  measures ;  and  others 
may  be  too  supine,  and,  through  fear  of 
evil  consequences,  not  come  up  to  its  help 
as  they  ought ;  although  both  these  parties 
may  charge  each  other,  and  perhaps  justly, 
with  so  acting  as  to  retard  the  work,  yet 
there  is  a  growing  dissatisfaction  with  this 
great  evil,  a  conviction  that  it  ought  and 
must  be  terminated  as  speedily  as  possi- 
ble, consistently  with  the  true  interests  of 
all  concerned,  which  will  one  day  lead  to 
its  overthrow.  I  do  not  know  how  it  will 
be  brought  about,  but  Christianity  will  ef- 
fect it.  God — our  fathers'  God — invoked 
more  and  more  earnestly,  as  I  am  sure  he 
is,  will,  by  his  providence,  open  the  way 
for  this  great  achievement. 

To  this  great  struggle,  which  Christians 
with  us  must  carry  on — let  it  take  what 
course  it  may — in  order  to  be  successful, 
we  are  far  from  wishing  our  brethren  oi 
other  lands  to  be  indifferent.*     We  want 


*  The  visits  of  foreign  philanthropists  cannot  fail 
to  do  good-  among  us,  when  made  in  the  spirit  of  a 
great  and  a  good  man  who  lately  came  to  us  from 
England,*  who  travelled  throughout  all  our  states, 
and  "reasoned  of  righteousness,  temperance,  and 
judgment  to  come;"  who,  though  he  neglected  no 
opportunity  to  speak  of  the  wrongs  done  to  the  slave, 
was  ever  heard  with  respect  and  attention  by  the 
slaveholder,  for  he  spoke  words  of  mingled  wisdom 
and  love.  And  when  he  had  accomplished  his  mis- 
sion and  returned  to  his  native  land,  he  addressed  a 
series  of  letters  to  one  of  our  most  distinguished 
statesmen  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  and  especially 
on  the  effects  of  its  abolition  in  the  British  West  In- 
dia Islands,  which  have  been  widely  and  attentively 

*  Mr.  Gurney,  a  distinguished  member  and  minister  of 
the  Society  of  Friends,  and  who,  with  his  excellent  brother 
and  sister  (Mrs.  Elizabeth  Fry),  is  one  of  the  brightest  or- 
naments of  humanity. 


CONCLUSION. 


337 


their  sympathy  and  their  prayers.  We 
wish  them  to  make  a  proper  allowance 
for  the  difficulties  of  our  position ;  and 
while  they  reprove  our  delays  and  stimu- 
late our  zeal,  we  wish  them  to  do  it  in  a 
Christian  spirit,  not  only  because  it  best 
comports  with  the  religion  which  we  both 
profess,  but  also  because  of  its  influence 
upon  those  among  us  who  are  slavehold- 
ers, the  great  majority  of  whom  are  not 
religious  men.  It  is  easy  to  grow  indig- 
nant on  this  subject,  and  indulge  in  hard 
epithets  ;  but  the  "  wrath  of  man  worketh 
not  the  righteousness  of  God."  There  are 
those  abroad  who  see  no  difficulties  in  our 
position ;  to  whom  the  fact  that  slavery  is 
entwined  about  our  very  vitals,  so  far  at 
least,  as  one  half  of  the  country  is  con- 
cerned, is  of  no  importance ;  and  who 
vainly  imagine  that  it  is  enough  to  de- 
mand that  every  slaveholder  should  let  his 
slaves  go  free.  This,  indeed,  is  a  very 
simple  way  of  getting  rid  of  the  evil ;  and 
if  it  were  practicable,  it  would  be  well 
enough.  So  if  all  mankind  would  at  once 
of  their  own  accord  give  up  their  rebel- 
lion against  God  and  yield  a  heartfelt  obe- 
dience to  Him,  this  world  might  be  deliv- 
ered from  sin  without  the  toil  of  preach- 
ing the  Gospel,  and  the  employment  of  so 
many  other  instrumentalities  which  are 
now  found  to  be  necessary.  And  if  all 
the  men  in  the  United  States  who  were 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
intoxicating  liquors  twenty  years  ago  had, 
of  their  own  accord,  or  upon  being  simply 
requested  or  commanded,  abandoned  their 
wicked  business ;  and  all  who  drank  such 
liquors  ceased  to  do  so  from  the  same  in- 
fluence, there  would  have  been  no  need  of 
all  the  labour  and  expense  which  it  has 
cost  to  promote  the  cause  of  Temperance 
among  us.  But  how  vain  it  is  to  talk  in 
this  way !  To  overthrow  slavery  in  the 
United  States  is  a  great  work — the  great- 
est and  most  difficult,  I  hesitate  not  to  say, 
that  ever  man  undertook  to  accomplish. 
And  there  is  nothing  but  Christianity,  em- 
ploying its  blessed  influences,  light  and 
love,  which  can  effect  it.  A  good  deal  of 
time,  and  a  great  deal  of  patience  and  pru- 
dence will  also  be  required,  if  we  would 
see  this  evil  come  to  an  end  in  a  peaceful 
way. 

We  have  sometimes  been  not  a  little 
grieved  by  the  severity — no  doubt  wholly 
inconsiderate — and  the  want  of  discrimi- 
nation with  which  some  of  our  Christian 
brethren  in  the  Old  World  have  spoken  and 
written  respecting  the  American  churches, 


read,  and  which  cannot  fail  to  do  good.  What  a 
contrast  between  his  course  and  that  of  some  ardent, 
self-sufficient  "  friends  of  humanity,"  as  they  consid- 
er themselves,  who  have  visited  us  from  Europe  with- 
in the  last  seven  years,  and  who  accomplished  no 
good  whatever  for  the  cause  which  they  profess  to 
Save  so  much  at  heart ! 


in  relation  to  this  subject.  Now  I  have 
no  disposition  to  say  that  the  American 
churches  have  done  all  that  they  ought  to 
do,  that  they  feel  all  the  solicitude,  and 
distress,  and  sorrow,  which  they  ought  for 
the  continued  existence  of  this  great  evil. 
There  is  nothing  more  probable  in  itself 
than  that  our  churches  should  fail  of  com- 
ing up  to  their  whole  duty  on  this  subject,  $ 
more  than  on  almost  any  other,  when  we 
consider  how  they  are  situated.  I  do  not 
say  this  by  way  of  apology,  but  to  state 
the  case  truly.  But  to  accuse  our  church- 
es throughout  the  land  with  approving  of 
slavery,  because,  in  some  parts  of  the 
country,  they  think  they  are  compelled  to 
tolerate  it  as  an  evil  from  which  circum- 
stances do  not  at  present  allow  them  to 
extricate  themselves  (and  this  is  the  most 
which  can  be  said  against  them  on  this 
point),  is  going  beyond  the  bounds  of 
Christian  charity.  Besides,  to  charge  all 
the  American  churches,  as  well  as  those 
in  the  fifteen  states  and  territories  in  which 
slavery  is  unknown,  as  those  in  the  thir- 
teen states,  one  territory,  and  one  district 
in  which  it  does  still  exist,  with  the  sin  of 
"robbery,"  "man-stealing,"  etc.,  is  to  be 
guilty  of  something  more  than  a  mere 
want  of  Christian  charity. 

Nor  are  some  other  denunciations  of  a 
sweeping  nature  much  less  unjust  or  inju- 
rious. "  Let  America,"  said  a  distinguish- 
ed Christian  minister  whom  we  all  love, 
at  a  missionary  meeting  in  one  of  the 
great  capitals  of  Europe,  a  few  years  ago, 
"  let  America  wash  the  stain  of  slavery 
from  her  skirts,  and  then  she  will  be  worthy 
to  come  up  and  join  us  in  the  great  work  of 
converting  the  world."  Indeed!  and  must 
our  American  churches  be  compelled  to  ab- 
stain from  attempting  to  obey  the  command 
of  thejr  risen  Saviour— and  which  may  be 
one  of  the  means  of  staying,  if  not  averting 
the  divine  wrath,  which  would  otherwise 
overwhelm  their  guilty  country — until  their 
land  be  freed  from  slavery  1  And  if  they 
are  to  be  condemned  for  national  sins  which 
they  have  not  been  able  to  overcome,  where 
are  the  churches  which  are  to  cast  the  first 
stone  at  them  1  Shall  it  be  those  of  Eng- 
land, or  France,  or  Holland  1  Blessed  be 
God,  our  heavenly  Father  does  not  use 
such  language  towards  us.  He  deigns  to 
bless  our  humble  efforts  to  make  known 
his  Gospel  to  the  heathen  nations,  notwith- 
standing our  many  sins  ;  nor  does  He  for- 
bid our  co-operating  with  those  who  love 
his  name  in  other  lands  to  make  known  this 
great  salvation  to  all  men.  Still  more,  He 
condescends  to  visit  the  churches  in  all  parts 
of  our  land  with  the  effusions  of  His  Holy 
Spirit,  without  which,  indeed,  we  might 
well  despair  of  our  country. 

But  sympathy,  love,  prayer,  and  co-oper- 
ation better  become  those  who  love  God 
in  all  lands,  than  crimination  and  recrim- 


338 


RELIGION    IN    AMERICA. 


ination.  They  form  one  vast  brotherhood, 
and  their  trials,  their  labours,  and  their 
hopes  are  common.  Neither  difference  of 
language,  nor  separating  oceans,  nor  diver- 
sity of  government  and  of  ecclesiastical 
organizations,  nor  variety  of  modes  of  wor- 
ship, can  divide  them.  They  have  their 
various  difficulties  to  encounter,  and  their 
respective  works  to  perforin.  And  how 
they  should  delight  to  encourage  each  oth- 
er in  every  good  enterprise,  rejoice  in  each 
other's  success,  stimulate  and  reprove  each 
other  (when  reproof  is  necessary)  with 
kindness,  and  not  with  bitterness  ;  and  thus 
strive  to  hasten  the  universal  triumph  of 
the  kingdom  of  their  common  Lord  !  And 
how  appropriate  to  them  is  the  prayer  of 


England's  sweetest  religious  bard,*  with 
which  we  bring  this  book  to  a  close  : 
"  Come,  then,  and,  added  to  thy  many  crowns, 
Receive  yet  one,  the  crown  of  ali  the  earth, 
Thou  who  alone  art  worthy  !     It  was  thine 
By  ancient  covenant,  ere  Nature's  birth  ; 
And  thou  hast  made  it  thine  by  purchase  since, 
And  overpaid  its  value  with  thy  blood. 
Thy  saints  proclaim  Thee  king ;  and  in  their  hearts 
Thy  title  is  engraven  with  a  pen 
Dipped  in  the  fountain  of  eternal  love. 
Thy  saints  proclaim  Thee  king  ;  and  thy  delay 
Gives  courage  to  their  foes,  who,  could  they  see 
The  dawn  of  thy  last  advent,  long  desired, 
Would  creep  into  the  bowels  of  the  hills, 
And  flee  for  safety  to  the  falling  rocks. 
The  very  spirit  of  the  world  is  tired 
Of  its  own  taunting  question,  asked  so  long, 
'  Where  is  the  promise  of  your  Lord's  approacn  V 

*  Cowper — The  Task,  book  vi. 


INDEX. 


Abolition  Riots,  how  viewed  in  this  country,  p.  331. 
«  "       exaggerated  report  of,  in  Europe, 

333,  note. 
Aborigines  (see  North  America). 
Academies  and  Grammar-schools,  148. 
Allenite  Methodists,  noticed,  262. 
America  (see  North  America). 

Americans,  best  method  for  obtaining  correct  knowl- 
edge of,  29. 
American  Revolution,  effects  of  the,  on  religion,  102. 
"         morals,  character  of  two  foreign  censors 
of,  335,  note. 
American,  meaning  of,  when  annexed  to  religious 

societies,  140,  note. 
American  Sunday-school  Union  and  Auxiliaries,  152. 
"        Education  Society,  origin  of  the,  157. 
"        Bible  Society,  notice  of  the,  166. 
"        Tract  Society,  operations  of  the,  167. 
"        Prison  Discipline  Society,  174. 
"        Home  Missionary  Society,   operations  of 
the,  140. 
American  preaching,  character  of,  189, 192. 
"  "  different  methods  of,  191. 

"        Unitarian  Association,  278. 
"        Theology,  great  achievement  of,  291. 
"        Colonization  Society,  history  of  the,  314. 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, origin  and  constitution  of  the,  300. 

history  of  the,  301. 

statistics  of  the,  304. 

plan  of,  for  training  a  native  ministry,  305. 

— annual  meetings  of,  306.  * 

publications  of  the,  307. 

Andover  Theological  Seminary,  history  of  the,  160. 
Anecdote  of  two  young  ladies  under  conviction,  212. 
Anglo-Saxon  Colonists,  character  of,  23. 
"         "      effect  of  Norman  conquests  upon,  in 
England,  29,  30. 
Anti-slavery  Societies,  176. 
Associate  Reformed  Church,  255. 
Atheists,  notice  of,  286. 

Atonement,  doctrine   of,  illustrated   by  American 
theology,  291. 

Ballou,  Rev.  H.,  work  of,  on  the  Atonement  alluded 

to,  275. 
Banditti,  no  organized  hordes  of,  in  United  States, 

332. 
Baptists,  Regular,  account  of  the,'  229. 

"        Independents  in  church  government,  230. 

"        Declaration  of  Faith  of,  230. 

"        statistics  of  the,  232. 

"        Roger  Williams  not  the  founder  of  the, 
231,  note. 
Uaptists,  Board  of  Missions  of,  309. 

"        Home  Missions  of  the,  144. 

"        Seventh-day,  notice  of  the,  251. 

"        Free- Will,  history  of  the,  251. 

"  "  Missions  of  the,  312. 

"        Campbellite,  account  of  the,  251. 
Benevolence,  interesting  examples  of,  329. 
Bible-classes,  156. 
Blake,  Mr.  Joseph,  notice  of,  63. 
Blind,  asylums  for  the,  180. 
Boston,  early  settlement  of,  54. 
Bouck,  Hon.  W.  C,  proclamation  of,  320. 
Brainerd,  Rev.  David,  notice  of,  199. 

"  "      missionary  labours  of,  295. 

iBurr,  Mr.  Joseph,  and  Seminary,  notice  of,  149. 
"  Bush-whacking"  defined,  22. 


Camp-meetings,  origin  and  nature  of,  216. 
Carolina,  North  and  South,  benefits  of  dissolution  of 

Church  and  State  in,  115. 
Charters  of  American  Colonies,  curious  character 

of,  27,  28. 
Cheever,  Rev.  G.  B.,  extract  from  lecture  of,  319. 
Cherokees,  removal  of  the,  298. 
Christ-ians,  origin  and  belief  of  the,  280,  281. 
Christianity,  happy  influence  of,  on  public   order, 

332,  333. 
Christianity,  only  remedy  for  slavery  in  the  United 

States,  336,  337. 
Churches  and  ministers  at  the  Revolution,  103,  104. 
"        membership  in,  how  obtained,  185. 
"        evangelical,  order  prevalent  in  the,  218. 
"  "  three  divisions  of,  220. 

"  "  general  statistics  of  the,  264, 

265,  269. 
Churches,  evangelical,  missionary  efforts  of  the,  317. 
Church,  relation  of  unconverted  men  to  the,  187. 
"        union  of,  with  State  gradually  dissolved,  104. 
"        union  of,  with  State,  when  and  how  dissolv- 
ed, and  effects,  112,  323,  note. 
Church  edifices,  how  built  in  cities  and  large  towns, 

132. 
Church  edifices,  how  built  in  new  settlements,  134. 

supply  of,  in  the  large  cities,  134. 

number  annually  built  in  United  States,  324. 

efficiency  of  Voluntary  Principle  in  erecting, 

324. 
Church  edifices,  average  size  of  congregations  in, 

324. 
Church  edifices,  estimate  of  number  of,  annually 

needed,  324. 
Church  edifices,  grounds  of  alleged  destitution  of, 

325. 
Cobb,  Mr.  Nathl.  R.,  charitable  resolutions  of,  328. 
Colleges  and  universities,  150. 

"  "        effect  of  state  control  upon, 

151. 
Colonial  era,  state  of  religion  in  the,  99. 
Colonists,  religious  character  of  the  early,  51,  52. 
Colonization  Society,  history  of  the,  314. 
"  advantages  of  African,  315. 

"  plan  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  68. 

Coloured  people,  our  reported  quarrels  with  the,  332. 
"  "        disturbances  chiefly  between  them 

and  foreigners,  332,  note. 
Colony,  influence  of,  at  Liberia,  315. 

"       at  Plymouth,  account  of  the,  47-51. 
"  "  ecclesiastical  regulations  of 

the,  84. 
Colony  at  Plymouth,  causes  of  aversion  of,  to  prel- 
acy, 86. 
Congregations,  new,  how  formed,  133. 
Congregationalists,  parent  stock  of  those  in  Eng- 
land, 224. 
Congregationalists,  not  Dissenters,  225. 

present  religious  system  of,  225. 

mode  of  church  discipline  among,  226. 

mode  of,  for  supporting  public  worship,  227. 

nature  of  the  "  Associations"  of,  228. 

pastoral  office  among  early,  lost  by  dismis- 
sion, 228. 
Congregationalists,  ordination  among,  how  perform- 
ed, 228. 
Congregationalists  not  Independents  in  practice,  229. 

"  Consociations"  among,  nature  of,  229. 

Congregationalism,  opinions  of,  as  to  preventing 
heresy',  279. 


340 


INDEX. 


Connecticut,  early  settlement  of,  17,  56. 

"  .union  of  Church  and  State  in,  dissolved, 

112. 
Convent  at  Charlestown*  burning  of  the,  270,  note. 
Conversion  of  a  young  man  by  a  particular  mode  of 

preaching,  205. 
Covenant,  Half-way,  introduction  of  the,  273. 
Covenanters  (see  Reformed  Presbyterians). 

Deaf  and  Dumb,  history  of  asylums  for  the,  179. 

Deists,  notice  of,  286. 

Delaware,  early  settlement  of,  19,  68. 

"         early  relations  between  Church  and  State 

in,  90. 
Delaware,  character  of  the  Swedish  settlements  on 

the,  68,  69. 
De  Tocqueville,  works  of,  on  America  noticed,  31,  32. 
"  erroneous  opinions  of,  noticed,  194, 

note. 
District  of  Columbia,  origin  of  the,  35. 
D wight,  Rev.  Dr.,  opinion  of,  on  union  of  Church 

and  State,  115. 

Education,  attention  of  Puritans  to,  147. 

"         societies  of  different  sects,  157,  159. 

Edwards,  Rev.  Jonathan,  character  of  preaching  of, 
198,  274. 

Edwards,  Rev.  Jonathan,  labours  of,  among  the  In- 
dians, 295. 

Eliot,  Rev.  John,  missionary  labours  of,  294. 

English  language  first  introduced  in  Dutch  church- 
es of  New- York,  65. 

Episcopal  (see  Protestant). 

"  Evangelical  Association,"  account  of  the,  261. 

Evangelical  churches,  three  divisions  of,  220. 

statistics  of  missionary  efforts  of,  317. 

General  statistics  of,  264,  265,  269. 

Foreign  Evangelical  Society,  origin  of  the,  313. 
Fourierism,  notice  of,  286. 
Frelinghuysen,  Rev.  I.  J.,  notice  of,  65. 
French  colonists,  character  of  the,  25. 

Georgia,  early  settlement"  of,  19,  63. 
German  colonists,  character  of  the,  24. 

"       Reformed  Presbyterians,  account  of  the,  260. 
"       Transcendentalism,  278,  279. 
Germantown,  Pennsylvania,  when  founded,  80. 
Germany,  early  immigration  from,  80,  81. 
Goodell,  Mr.  Solomon,  systematic  benevolence  of, 

328. 
Gurney,  Mr.,  happy  influence  of  visit  of,  to  the  Uni- 
ted States,  336,  note. 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  colonization  plan  of,  68. 
"  "         death  of,  68. 

Half-way  Covenant,  introduction  of  the,  273. 
Hanover  Presbytery,  memorial  of,  to  Virginia  As- 
sembly, and  opposition  to,  106,  108. 
Harrison,  General  W.  H.,  a  Sunday-school  teacher, 

155. 
Harvard  College,  when  founded,  152. 

"  "        early  opposition  to  Unitarianism 

in,  276. 
Henrico,  University  of,  noticed,  61. 
Henry,  Hon.  Patrick,  notice  of,  109. 
Hopkins,  Rev.  Dr.,  sermon  of,  in  Boston,  1768,  275. 
Huguenots,  origin  of  the,  75. 

"  immigration  of,  to  America,  77,  78. 

"  interesting  facts  respecting  the,  78. 

"  eulogium  on  the,  80. 

Hunt,  Rev.  Robert,  notice  of,  62. 

Immigration,  extent  of,  from  foreign  countries.  42. 
"  influence  of,  on  the  Voluntary  Princi- 

ple, 42,  43. 

Indians,  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  among, 
277,  278. 

Indians  (see  Aborigines  and  North  America). 

Insane,  asylums  for  the,  178. 

Irish  colonists,  character  of  the,  24.  ■ 

Italian  colonists,  character  of,  25. 


Jefferson,  Hon.  Thomas,  proposal  of,  for  establish- 
ing religious  freedom,  110. 

Jews,  notice  of  the,  283. 

"      American  Society  for  benefit  of  the.  313. 

Judicial  order,  striking  instance  of,  in  a  new  settle- 
ment, 332,  note. 

Kentucky,  peculiar  character  of  revival's  in,  201. 
Kirkland,  Rev.  Samuel,  missionary  labours  of,  295. 

Laidlie,  Rev.  Dr.,  anecdote  of,  66,  note.  - 
Larned,  Rev.  Sylvester,  anecdote  of,  188. 
Liberia,  influence  of  colony  at,  315. 
"       Methodist  mission  at,  316. 
Lindsay,  Memoir  of,  by  Belsham,  276. 
Livingston,  John  and  Robert,  notice  of,  65. 

Dr.  J.  H.,  notice  of,  66. 
Lowell,  Massachusetts,  statistics  of,  182. 
Lutheran  Church,  history  and  statistics  of  the,  257,. 

259. 
Lutheran  Church,  Theological  Seminary  of  the,  164. 
"  "        Foreign    Missionary   Society  of 

the,  312. 
"  Lynch-law"  very  rarely  executed,  332. 

Maryland,  early  settlement  of,  18. 

"         effects  of  early  union  of  Church  and  State 
in,  90,  96. 

Maryland,  early  religious  toleration  in,  62. 

"      .   effects  of  disunion  of  Church  and  State  in, 
115. 

Maryland,  Declaration  of  Rights  in,  111. 

Marryat,  Captain,  opinions  of,  noticed,  271,  note. 

Mason,  Dr.  J.  M.,  originator  of  Theological  Semi- 
naries, 159. 

Massachusetts,  early  settlement  of,  17,  52  54,  55. 
"  the  last  to  dissolve  union  of  Church 

and  State,  116. 

Massachusetts  Bay  Colony,  trials  and  prosperity  of, 
55. 

Massachusetts,  dissolution  of  union  of  Church  and 
State  in,  112. 

Massacre  at  St.  Charles  city,  Virginia,  notice  of, 
61. 

Maternal  Societies.  156. 

Mather,  Cotton,  notice  of,  101. 

Mayhew,  Rev.  Thomas,  missionary  labours  of,  294. 

Mennonists,  account  of  the,  261. 

Methodist  ministers,  salaries  of,  323,  note. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  history  and  organiza- 
tion of,  245,  246. 

religious  belief  and  discipline  of,  246. 

statistics  of  the,  249. 

—  Home  Missions  of,  145. 
Foreign  Missions  of  the,  310. 


Methodists,  Primitive,  account  of  the,  262. 
"  Allenite,  notice  of  the,  262. 

"  Protestant,  origin  of  the,  262. 

"  Calvinistic,  notice  of  the,  263. 

"  Stilwell,  notice  of  the,  262. 

Ministers,  salaries  of,  how  raised,  136. 
"         extent  of  support  of,  137. 
"         how  trained  and  settled,  138.' 
"         proportion   of  evangelical  Protestant,  to 
the  population,  322. 
Ministers,  evangelical,  not    sufficient   for    present 

need,  323. 
Ministers,  total  amount  raised  to  support,  323. 
Montgomery,  rapid  growth  of  the  town  of,  135. 
"  Moore's  Charity  School,"  notice  of,  295. 
Moravians,  notice  of  the,  81. 

"         Church  of  the,  account  of,  250, 
"         Foreign  Missions  of  the,  312. 
Mormons,  origin  and  character  of  the,  285. 
Morris,  Mr.  Samuel,  notice  of,  105. 
Muhlenburg,  Rev.  Mr.,  anecdote  of,  113. 
Murders,  comparative  number  of,  in  England  and 

America,  334. 
Murders,  large  proportion  of,  in  United  States  com- 
mitted by  foreigners,  334,  note. 

Nassau  Hall  College,  when  founded,  67. 


INDEX. 


341 


New-England,  indebted  to  the  religion  of  the  colo- 
nists for  its  character,  32,  33. 

cause  of  rapid  growth  of  settlements  in,  57. 

apology  for  the  Fathers  of,  58. 

- — i religious  character  of,  59. 

influence  of  early  union  of  Church  and  State 

in,  91-96.   • 

relations  between  Church  and  State  in,  87. 

proposal  to   divorce  the   Church  from  the 


State  in,  how  received,  115. 

introduction  and  history  of  Unitarianism  in, 


272,  275. 

New-Hampshire,  early  settlement  of,  17,  57. 

New-Jersey,  early  settlement  of,  18,  66. 

early  eminent  ministers  of,  67. 

early  relations  between  Church  and  State  in, 

90. 

College  of,  established,  67. 

New-Orleans,  more  of  a  foreign  than  American  city, 
334. 

Newton  Theological  Seminary,  notice  of,  164. 

New-York,  early  settlement  of,  18,  64. 

"         intolerance  of  early  Episcopacy  in,  98. 
"         early  Indian  war  in,  64. 
"         character  of  first  colonists  of,  64. 
"         early  relation  between  Church  and  State 
in,  90. 

North  America,  geography  of,  9-11. 

discovery  of,  noticed,  15. 

account  of  the  Aborigines  of,  12-15. 

colonization  of,  16-23. 

curious  colonial  charters  of,  27,  28. 

forms  of  government  in,  33,  34. 

views  of  first  settlers  of,  on  religious  tolera- 
tion, 38. 

character  of  early  colonists  of,  83. 

relations  between  Church  and  State  in,  84. 

churches  and  ministers  in,  at  the  Revolu- 
tion, 103,  104. 

union  of  Church  and  State  in,  gradually  dis- 


solved, 104. 

early  efforts  to  convert  the  Aborigines  of,  293. 

•  obstacles  to  conversion  of  the  Aborigines,  295, 


296. 


sentiments  respecting  the  extinction  of  the 
Aborigines,  296. 

causes  of  the  decrease  of  the  Aborigines,  296. 

removal  of  the  Indians  by  Government,  297. 

governmental   sanction  to  missions  among 


the  Aborigines,  299. 

similarity  of  original  tribes  of,  12-15. 

advance  of  civilization  among  Indians  of,  299. 


causes  of  success  of  evangelical  religion  in, 

320. 

General  and  State  Governments  of,  not  indif- 
ferent to  religion,  320. 

grounds  of  hope  in  relation  to  the  churches 


in,  321. 

■  union  of  Church  and  State  in,  when  termi- 


nated, 323,  note. 
foreign  objections  to  religious  institutions  of, 

330. 
■ religious  institutions  of,  not  chargeable  with 

immoralities,  330. 
religious  institutions  of,  not  chargeable  with 

political  broils,  331. 
impositions  in,  as  reported  in  Europe,  331, 

note. 
prejudices  against  coloured  people  in,  331, 


financial  integrity  of  General  and  State  Gov- 
ernments of,  330. 

settlement  of  the  interior  of,  20-23. 


Northampton,  Massachusetts,  notice  of  revival  at, 

198,  274. 
North  Carolina,  first  settlement  of,  19,  63. 

"         early  relations  between  Church  and 

State  in,  90. 

Owenism,  notice  of,  286. 

"  Panoplist,"  commencement  of,  in  Boston,  276. 


Peace  societies,  176. 

Penn,  William,  notice  of,  69. 

Pennsylvania,  early  settlement  of,  19,  70,  74. 
character  of  colonists  of,  70. 

Perkins  Institution  for  the  Blind,  180. 

Philips  Academy,  notice  of,  149. 

Piedmont,  immigration  from,  82. 

Plymouth  Colony,  account  of  the,  47-51. 

ecclesiastical  regulations  of  the, -84. 

causes  of  aversion  of,  to  prelacy,  86. 

Plymouth  Company,  notice  of,  52. 

Poland,  early  immigration  from,  81. 

"  "        tradition  respecting  the,  82. 

Political  excitement,   recent  instances  of,  and  re- 
sults, 333. 

Political  disturbances  in  United  States,  how  exag- 
gerated abroad,  331. 

Political  institutions,  firm  attachment  to,  332,  note. 

Poor  and  afflicted,  how  provided  for,  177. 

Presbyterian  Church,  history  of  the,  238. 

churches,  how  organized,  233. 

qualifications  for  ministry  in,  233. 

Board  of  Domestic  Missions  of,  142. 

mode  of  communion  in  the,  187. 

Church  Session,  how  constituted,  234. 

"  "       deacons  not  members  of,  235 

Presbytery  of  the,  how  constituted,  235. 

Presbytery,  powers  of  the,  236. 

ministry  in  the,  how  licensed,  235. 


Synod  of  the,  noticed,  236. 

General  Assembly  of  the,  nature  of,  237. 

character  and  influence  of  the,  240. 

origin  and  progress  of  Old  and  New  School 

parties  in,  242. 

differences  between  Old  and  New  School,  244. 

the  recent  separation  in  the,  243. 

statistics  of  the,  245. 

Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the,  307,  308. 


Presbyterians,  Cumberland,  history  of  the,  252. 

"  Reformed,  distinguisiiing  traits  of,  256. 

Primary  schools,  146. 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  notice  of,  163. 

Prostitution,  foreign  exaggerated  account  of,  334, 
note. 

Protestant  religion  early  established  in  South  Caro- 
lina, 123. 

Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  account  of  the,  220. 

Puseyism,  how  extensive  in  the,  223. 

Board  of  Missions  of  the,  311. 

Theological  Institution  of  the,  164. 


Providence,  Rhode  Island,  settlement  of,  57. 
Public  worship,  total  cost  of,  in  United  States,  324, 

325. 
Public  opinion,  alleged  tyranny  of,  in  United  States, 

292,  note. 
Public  disturbances  and  crimes,  comparative  few- 
ness of,  332. 
Puritans,  origin  and  character  of  the,  44-47. 
"        eulogy  on  the,  33. 
"        attention  of  the,  to  education,  147. 
"        religious  views  of  the,  272. 
"        ecclesiastical  usages  of  the,  272. 

Quakers,  history  and  character  of  the,  263. 
"        persecution  of  the,  70,  93. 

Rappists,  notice  of  the,  283. 

Reformed  Dutch  Church,  history  of  the,  253. 

Home  Missions  of  the,  144. 

Theological  Seminary  of  the,  164. 

Religious  liberality,  noted  individual  instances  cf, 

327. 
Religious  institutions  of  the  United   States,  best 

means  of  knowing  the,  31,  32. 
Religious  liberty,  progress  of,  in  America,  130,  318. 
"  "        present  state  of,  in  America,  318. 

"        toleration,  extract  on,  319. 
Religion,  state  of,  in  the  colonial  era,  99. 
"         exigencies  of,  in  United  States,  131. 
"         evangelical,  causes  of  success  of,  in  United 
States,  320. 
Religion,  true  source  of  all  success  in  promoting,  321, 


342 


INDEX. 


Religion,  institutions  of,  not  chargeable  with  public 
crime,  330. 

Religion,  institutions  of,  not  chargeable  with  politi- 
cal disturbances,  331. 

Repudiation,  wrong  impressions  respecting,  abroad, 
330. 

Repudiation,  doctrine  of,  how  viewed  in  this  coun- 
try, 330. 

Revivals  of  religion,  nature  of,  136. 

character  of  early,  197. 

at  Northampton,  198,  274. 

extensive  in  1740-41,  199,  274. 

peculiar  character  of,  in  Kentucky,  201. 

—  remarkable,  in  Yale  College,  201. 

advantages  of  and  best  mode  of  conducting, 


202. 


207. 


consistency  of,  with  our  mental  constitution, 


—  instances  of  opposition  to,  disarmed,  208. 

—  importance  of  orderly  meetings  in,  218. 

—  happy  instance  of  female  influence  in,  212. 

—  alleged  abuses  in,  214. 

—  pernicious  effects  of  late  meetings  in,  218. 

—  who  oppose,  214. 
causes  of  prejudices  against,  215. 


Unitarian  objections  to,  in  New-England,  275. 

Revival  preachers,  objections  to,  216. 

Rhode  Island,  early  settlement  of,  17,  56. 

Rochester,  rapid  growth  of,  135. 

Roman  Catholic  Church,  early  establishment  of,  270. 

conversions  from,  how  checked,  272. 

statistics  of  the,  271. 

probable  influence  of,  271. 

Sabbath  associations,  176. 

"        comparatively  good  observance  of,  in  the 
United  States,  334. 
Sabbath,  interest  of  railroad  and  steamboat  compa- 
nies to  observe,  334,  note. 
«St.  Charles  city,  Virginia,  massacre  at,  61. 
Scotch  colonists,  character  of  the,  24. 

"        persecution  of  the,  73. 
Scotland,  early  cause  of  immigration  from,  72,  73. 

• "        religious  influence  of  immigrants  from,  75. 
Scottish  Secession  churches,  account  of  the,  255. 

Foreign  Missions  of,  312. 

Seamen,  efforts  to  promote  the  interests  of,  172. 
Sects,  advantages  of  numerous  evangelical,  26C. 
"      nature  and  character  of  theological  discus- 
sions among,  290. 
Sects,  grounds  of  alleged  want  of  harmony  among, 

267,  269. 
Sects,  evangelical,  often  commingle,  268. 
"      differences  between  evangelical  and  unevan- 
gelical,  288. 
.Sects,  extent  of  doctrinal  agreement  among,  289. 
Shakers,  account  of  the,  283. 

"        recent  extraordinary  book  of  the,  284,  note. 
Slavery,  true  position  of  the  country  respecting,  335. 
"        how  entailed  on  this  country,  335. 
"        severe  clause  against,  in  original  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  336,  note. 
Slavery,  when  abolished  by  the  free  states,  336. 
"        increase  of,  since  the  Revolution,  336. 
"         how  to  be  ultimately  abolished,  336. 
"        an  obstacle  to  promotion  of  religion,  40. 
"        Christianity  the  only  remedy  for,  336,  337. 
"        extent  of,  in  the  United  States,  42. 
"        difficulties  attending  the  abolition  of,  336. 
"        severity  of  foreign  Christians  respecting,  337. 
Slavery,  proper  Christian  spirit  in  relation  to,  337, 338. 
Smith,  Mr.  Normand,  extract  from. memoir  of,  327. 
South  Boston,  Transcendental  sermon  at,  279. 
South  Carolina,  early  settlement  of,  19,  63. 

"  "        early  relations  between  Church  and 

State  in,  90. 
Southern  States,  religious  character  of  the  early 

colonists  of,  60. 
State  legislation  here,  friendly  to  Christianity,  126. 
Stoddard,  Rev.  Mr.,  peculiar  sentiments  of,  273. 
Story,  Chief-justice,  opinion  of,  on  State  patronage 
of  religion,  116. 


Success,  true  source  of  all,  in  promoting  religion,  321. 
Sunday-schools,  mode  of  conducting,  154. 
Swedenborgians,  notice  of  the,  282. 
Swedish  settlements  on  the  Delaware,  68. 

"  "  character  of  the  colonists  of,  69. 

Swiss  colonists,  character  of  the,  25. 

Temperance  societies,  172. 

Tennent,  Rev.   Messrs.,  opinion  of  Whitefield  re- 
specting, 203. 
Thanksgiving-day,  publicly  appointed,  320. 
governor's  proclamation  for,  320,  note. 


Theological  Seminaries,  159-165. 
Tract  societies,  168. 
Transcendentalism,  notice  of,  278,  279. 
Transcendentalists,  charged  with  Pantheism,  279. 
Transcendental  sermon  at  South  Boston,  279. 
Trinity  Church,  New-York,  funds  of,  323,  note. 
Tunkers,  notice  of  the,  282. 

Union  of  Church  and  State,  when  terminated,  323, 
note. 

Unitarianism,  introduction  and  history  of,  in  New- 
England,  272,  275. 

circumstances  favourable  to  the  growth  of, 


275. 

different  writers  on,  276. 

early  opposition  to,  in  Harvard  College  and 

elsewhere,  276. 

early  concealment  of,  276. 


first  disclosures  of,  and  results,  276,  277. 

first  congregation  that  avowed,  275. 

first  American  writer  on,  275. 


Unitarians,  objections  of,  to  early  revivals  in  New- 
England,  275. 
Unitarians,    early  philosophy  of,  278. 

"  "  American  Association"  of,  278. 

"  religious  belief  of,  278. 

"  introduction     of     Transcendentalism 

among,  and  results,  278,  279. 
"United  Brethren  in  Christ,"  account  of  the,  261. 
United  States,  geographical  notice  of  the,  35-37. 

power  of  government  of,  in  promoting  reli- 

gion,  116. 

religious  character  of  government  of  the,  118. 


action  of  government  of,  Christian,  120. 

state  governments  of,  Christian,  120. 

when,  may  be  directed  to- 


wards religion,  127. 
—  church  discipline  in  the,  183. 

moral  character  of  ecclesiastical  discipline 


in,  189. 

causes  of  diversity  of  religious  doctrine  in,  287. 

difference    between  evangelical   and  other 

sects  in,  288. 

alleged  tyranny  of  public  opinion  in,  292,  note. 

- religious  literature  of  the,  169. 

misrepresentation  of  family  discipline  in,  335, 


—  character  of  political  papers  in  the,  171. 
•  commencement  and  progress  of  religious  lib- 


333. 


erty  in,  130. 

comparative  smallness  of  standing  army  in , 


absence  of  military  police  in  the,  333. 
comparative  morality  of  the  people  of  the,  333. 
much  of  the  gross  crime  of,  imported,  334. 


Universalists,  origin  of,  in  the  United  States,  281. 

doctrinal  belief  of  the,  282. 

definition  of,  in  the  United  States,  275,  276. 

difference  between,  and  Unitarians,  277. 

Virginia,  early  settlement  of,  17. 

the  first  to  dissolve  union  of  Church  and 

State,  105. 

religious  character  of  first  settlers  of,  61. 

—  intolerance  of  Legislature  of,  62. 

early  relations  between  Church  and  State  in, 


and  effects,  88,  89,  96. 

legislation  in,  about  religion,  110. 

effects  of  dissolution  of  Church  and  State  in, 


113. 


INDEX. 


343 


Virginia,  state  of  Episcopal  Church  in,  at  close  of 
Revolution,  114. 

present  state  of  Episcopal  Church  in,  114. 

act  for  establishing  religious  freedom  in,  110. 

Voluntary  Principle  in  supporting  religion,  obsta- 
cles to,  37-40. 

in  religion,  nature  of  the,  129. 

"        "       importance  of  the,  130. 

founded  in  character  and  habits  of  the  peo- 
ple, 131. 

developed  in  Home  Missions,  140. 

influence  of  the,  on  education,  146. 

"         "    on  moral  reformation,  172. 

"         "    on  beneficent  institutions,  177. 

"         "    in  furnishing  a  ministry,  322. 

efficiency  of,  in  increasing  the  ministry,  323. 

"  "   in  supporting  the  ministry,  323. 

"  "   in  erecting  church  edifices,  324. 

comparative  influence  of,  in  raising  religious 

funds,  325. 


Wales,  notice  of  immigrants  from,  71. 

Welsh  colonists,  character  of  the,  24. 

Western  States,  extent  of  population  of  1840,  22. 

Wheaton,  Hon.  Henry,  remarks  of,  on  relations  be- 
tween Church  and  State,  128. 

Wheelock,  Rev.  Eleazar,  school  of,  for  Indian  youth, 
295. 

Whitaker,  Rev.  Alexander,  notice  of,  62. 

Whiterield,  Rev.  George,  preaching  of,  at  Boston, 
274. 

Williams,  Roger,  arrival  of,  56. 
"  "       notice  of,  92. 

Winebrennarians,  notice  of  the,  261. 

Winthrop,  Hon.  John,  notice  of,  53. 

letter  of,  to  members  of  Church  of  England 

53. 

arrival  of,  in  this  country,  54. 


Yale  College,  remarkable  revival  in,  201. 


THE    END 


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